Page 81 of Liar
I toss her an impatient frown. “My father does things very traditionally. It took a long time to convince him to move the profits to crypto. Eventually, he caved. I planted the seed, and his advisors confirmed it would be advantageous to move the funds to a platform with no institution behind it. No monitoring by a higher power, like banks or the government.”
Ember nods. “Makes sense.”
“My father isn’t a stupid man. No oversight means more security. He’s put in place four verification methods to access or transfer the funds. The first is that he’s taken the bulk of it offline and into cold storage.”
I don’t elaborate on the definition. With Ember’s proficiency in computers, she already knows that ‘cold storage’ means moving all the crypto offline to a physical USB or other tower you can pocket, preventing any online hacking.
Ember thinks this over as we round the car. “Let me guess, the other methods would be something to do with multiple authorizations or a two-step verification when someone wants to transfer funds. Oh, or a transaction limit before a warning is sent to his phone.”
I look at her over the car’s roof, impressed. “Try all three.”
“Are you one of the parties able to authorize access?”
“Hell no.”
Ember slides into the passenger seat and slams the door. “Figures.”
“I didn’t know it, but it turns out I’ve been waiting for someone like you to help me break through his firewalls.”
“And why would I help you?”
“Because you want to take him for all he’s worth as much as I do.” I turn on the car’s engine but twist to face her. “That will hurt him more than any investigation by the FBI would. You and I both know they wouldn’t find anything on him.”
“How would taking his money stop the drugs? Couldn’t he just acquire more bitcoin?”
I flip the car into reverse and back out of the driveway. “He has to pay a lot of people for their time, and to do that his bitcoin goes through a complicated laundering process. Dangerous men wait on the other end of that crypto ATM. If he doesn’t have the funds to pay them what they’re owed, there’s no reason for them to keep doing business with him. And, they’re known for retribution.”
Ember goes quiet for a moment. “You’d do that to your own father?”
“You’re trying to save a father you don’t know, and I’m trying to stop one that I know all too well. Trust me on this. My father won’t be satisfied ruining or hurting Malcolm tonight. He’ll come after you. Then your adoptive parents. And if what Sav told you is true and not the result of mental trauma from being kidnapped…”
Ember gives me the side-eye.
“…then she’s just made herself a liability. I don’t know why he allowed her to return home after losing the baby or how she was able to obtain the ashes, but suffice it to say, Father never does anything half-assed.”
“I agree. Involving the FBI isn’t a bad idea, though.”
I stop at the first red light, making sure to face her and drill the seriousness into her head. “If you do, you’ll ruin everything I’ve worked toward. I’ve been collecting information on the location of his laundered profits for years, Ember. Years without raising suspicion. If you clue the FBI in, if you tee them up to raid Briar Industries and our home, I’ll lose it all. Father will bury every cent he has.” It’s then I unleash the most powerful weapon I have against her. “It won’t just be my father you’ll ruin. It’ll be me, too.”
Her determined expression wavers, just as I thought it would when I brought her feelings for me into the mix. I’m damned for it, but I’ll happily take up residence in Hell over being defeated by my father.
Ember stares straight ahead. “Fine,” she whispers. “I’ll help you.”
“Good girl.”
My low approval runs a tremor along her shoulders, as I knew it would. I’ve come to understand Ember all too well. I can only hope the same isn’t true for her because my manipulations won’t stop now that she’s confessed.
Ember openly shared a powerful secret she harbored about my family when she could’ve used it to destroy me. That move alone tells me how deeply invested she’s become. In me.
If I were a better man, this would be the perfect moment to reveal the powerful secret that I know about her family—about her biological mother and the circumstances of her conception.
I won’t, however. If I do, I’m admitting my feelings for her. I’m putting myself in the same position she is: vulnerable to another. Cared about and protected.
I’m no protector.
I’m a predator, and poor Ember keeps reaching out her hand.
One of these days, I’m going to bite it clean off.