CHAPTER 111: CASSANDRA USED YOU

~AXEL~

I slipped out the back door while Layla was upstairs changing, my phone already buzzing with Tye’s update. "Meet me at the old warehouse on 5th," his text read. "She’s secure, but twitchy. Time to talk."

I grabbed my keys and headed for the garage. She thought I was just stepping out quickly to check on something at the office. She didn’t know about Erica. Not yet.

Tye was waiting in his black SUV when I pulled up to the meeting point, his face lit by the dashboard lights, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"She still secured?" I asked as I climbed into the passenger seat.

"Yeah, she’s tied up in the back room. Conscious, but scared shitless." He took a long drag. "No major damage yet. Figured you’d want first crack at her."

"Good. Let’s move."

We rode through the darkening evening silently, city lights rushing by. Tye had relocated Erica to one of his safehouses the moment he’d got into town. I’d instructed him to keep her and get the information out of her about Cassandra’s intentions.

It was off the books, a little risky, but necessary. The bugs, the seduction attempt, the attack on the safe house... she was a secret card we had to play closely.

The warehouse was up ahead, an old factory in the rundown part of the distrcit. Around back was where we parked; no camera, nobody.

Tye took the lead and we went inside, his boots pounding on the concrete. He turned on a dim bulb mounted to the ceiling, shadows falling in sharp angles.

Erica was inside, zip-tied to a metal chair in the middle of the room. Her face was bruised, not too badly, but enough to indicate she’d fought back a bit.

Her eyes were wide with fear, mascara streaked down her cheeks. The sultry, confident woman who’d shown up at my house in a silk robe was long gone.

"Axel," she whimpered when she saw me. "Please, I didn’t mean..."

"Save it," I cut her off. "We’re way past excuses."

I nodded to Tye, who stepped forward, cracking his knuckles theatrically. "Let’s make this simple, sweetheart. You answer my questions, and maybe you walk out of here without any permanent damage."

"I told you everything already!" she sobbed. "I don’t know what else you want!"

"You haven’t told us shit," Tye said, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. "But you will. We can make this easy or hard. Your call."

Her eyes darted between us, panic clear on her face. "What do you want to know?"

I pulled up a chair and sat down directly in front of her, keeping my expression neutral. "Let’s start simple. Who hired you to plant those bugs? Cassandra, or Charles?"

She shook her head frantically. "I can’t. If I tell you, she’ll kill me."

"She?" I leaned forward. "Cassandra?"

Erica’s silence was answer enough.

Tye moved closer, pulling out a pair of pliers from his jacket pocket. "Wrong answer. See, the way I figure it, you’ve got two choices here. You can tell us what we want to know, or I can start removing body parts until you do. Small ones first. Maybe a finger. Then a toe. How’s that sound?"

"Wait! Wait!" Erica’s voice rose, her eyes filled with genuine terror. "Okay! Okay, I’ll talk!"

"Smart girl," I said. "Now, from the beginning. Cassandra hired you?"

She nodded, tears streaming freely now. "Yes. Cassandra approached me months ago. She knew I... she knew I had a vendetta against Layla. So, she approached me promised me money, and a way to get back at Layla for everything."

"Everything?" I asked. "What exactly did Layla do to you?"

"She... allowed her father to destroy my family’s business! My father went bankrupt because of her father, doesn’t like the idea of us hanging out together. We lost everything!"

I sat back, studying her. "That’s your revenge story?"

"But..."

"No buts. You know who actually destroyed your family’s business?" I let the question hang. "Charles Watson. He’s the one who controls the supply chains, who cuts off competitors, who uses his influence to crush anyone who threatens his interests. Not Layla."

Erica’s face fell.

"Charles has been playing this game for decades. Your father’s company was probably just collateral damage in one of his larger schemes. And Cassandra knew that. She used your misplaced anger to manipulate you into becoming her spy."

"No... that can’t be..."

"It is," Tye said, leaning against the wall. "So your revenge? It was bullshit from the start. You were just a pawn."

Fresh tears fell, but I had no sympathy left. "What else did Cassandra have you do? The deepfakes? The corporate sabotage?"

"All her," Erica gasped. "She contracted hackers overseas, people in Eastern Europe who specialize in that stuff. She paid them through shell accounts, cryptocurrency, untraceable."

"Not untraceable," I corrected. "Just difficult to trace. What about Daniel? Was he involved?"

She hesitated, and Tye stepped forward again with the pliers.

"Yes! Yes, Daniel knew everything. He helped with some of the leaks... Layla’s vulnerabilities. He fed it all to Cassandra."

"Where’s the proof?" I demanded. "We need hard evidence. Emails, messages, financial records."

"On my laptop... it’s still at the safe house. The one you set up for me. I backed everything up there." She swallowed hard. "Password’s ’revenge2025’."

"Original," Tye muttered.

"What else?" I pressed. "What was Cassandra planning next?"

"I don’t know! I was supposed to call her when I got back home but..." she paused. "I’m sorry," she sobbed. "I’m so sorry. I didn’t think..."

"No, you didn’t think. You just acted out of jealousy and greed." I stood up. "You have no sense, Erica. The person who ruined your family was Charles, not Layla. So all this talk of revenge? It’s just an excuse for your own selfish desires."

I nodded to Tye, who pulled a gag from his pocket. "Wait! What are you going to do with me?"

"Keep you here until we need you," I said. "You’re going to testify against Cassandra. Everything you know, everything you did... you’re going to tell it to a judge."

"I can’t! She’ll..."

"She’ll what? Kill you? If you don’t cooperate, you’re looking at conspiracy charges, corporate espionage, attempted blackmail. You’ll go to prison for years." I leaned down so we were eye level. "Or you can help us put Cassandra and Charles away, and maybe... just maybe, you’ll get a lighter sentence. Your choice."

Tye gagged her before she could respond, and we stepped outside into the cool night air.

"Layla doesn’t know we have her," I said, exhaling.

Tye raised an eyebrow. "And what happens when she finds out? You gonna tell her you went vigilante? Kidnapped and interrogated her ex-best friend?"

"When the time’s right." I replied. "She can’t handle more right now. The court hearing was brutal, the counter-suit, Charles’s threats... she’s barely holding it together."

He chuckled darkly. "Secrets have a way of biting back, brother. Especially in a marriage. Even if it started as a revenge plot."

"It’s not just a revenge plot anymore," I said quietly.

"Yeah, I noticed. You’re in deep with her."

Before I could respond, my phone rang. Layla’s name flashed on the screen.

"Hey," I answered, keeping my voice casual.