Page 224 of Gathered Sparkle

Phones are already dialing, people are live-streaming, and the fury of public opinion ignites like wildfire.

As it fucking should.

“That’s what I call a showstopper,”Levi murmurs, loud enough for me to catch through the earpiece.

Sylus’s voice buzzes through. “Ric, your turn.”

In an instant, Harrington Heights plunges into darkness, making murmurs of confusion sweep through the crowd, butbefore anyone can process the blackout, another drone glides into position in front of the building, transforming the façade of the hotel into a screen that lights up in sync with the Lane Building, and showing CCTV footage Sylus pulled from Belmont’s office.

The grainy images show Veronica seated at the head of a conference table. Blackwood sits to her right, Foster to her left, and Belmont leans back in his chair at the far end, a cigar between his fingers.

The audio kicks in, the sound startling in the silence that has overtaken the crowd.

“Thisclientis difficult,” Foster states. “We need leverage, something to keep him on our leash while he moves the money.”

“Leverage is easy.” Veronica’s lips curl. “Why don’t you just do it?”

“Because I’m suspecting that he could talk anyway,” Foster interjects. “This guy isn’t exactly loyal.”

“Then we make sure he never talks again.”

“Not a big deal,” Blackwood agrees with Veronica.

“This traffickingoperation… it’s messy,” Foster warns. “Riskier than our usual setup.”

“That’s why we’re careful.” Veronica waves him off. “This guy needs to learn that we don’t just sell girls. We sell silence. Loyalty. And when that fails…” she taps a polished nail against the table. “… we clean up.”

The crowd collectively freezes as her words linger.

“Is she fucking serious?” someone yells while the murmur builds again. Phones rise higher, recording everything.

Good.

Spread the fucking word.

The screens fade to black for a moment, then a black-and-white photo of Oscar appears, the solemnity silencing the murmurs again.

And then, her voice begins to play.

“He wanted to rat me out after years together and was supposed to rot in jail for that. But no, he came back out. And I let him live, didn’t I? For three years, I let him stay in his little circle of misery, wasting away in that house and doing his stupid little magic shows.”

“This is fake, I never said that!” Veronica yells before she gets cut off by her own voice again.

“Then he started poking around where he shouldn’t. He wrote his own death sentence. He would have come for me.”

Phones flash, hands pointing to the screens as the image of Oscar fades, replaced by the now familiar note, now larger than life on both buildings.

I killed Oscar Lane.

The murmurs turn into confusion and outrage as people push closer to the epicenter of it all.

“This is absurd!” Veronica screams, thrashing against Nicholas, who holds her firmly in place. “Let me go!” Her gaze darts wildly across the crowd as if searching for an escape, but all she finds are phones and horrified faces staring back.

The picture on the screens changes again, and the drone displays the newspaper headline Levi had conjured earlier.

Veronica Harrington Sentenced to Life for Murder, Money Laundering, and Human Trafficking.

I grin when I look up at the words, satisfaction surging through me, but when I turn my gaze to the crowd again, they seem even closer.

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