Chapter 3

The helicopter's rotor wash hit like a wall. It tore at my coat and whipped my hair across my face as I stepped up onto the landing skid and climbed in.

Alice was right behind me. She pulled the cabin door shut and sealed out the roar.

I tossed the black briefcase onto the metal table between the seats.

Two clicks. I popped the latches and lifted the lid.

Stacked inside: a full set of documents stamped in red.

"Report," I said, settling back into the leather seat.

Alice pulled the top folder and flipped it open.

"Over the past three years, acting through the 'Apex Capital' fund, you have acquired seventy-five percent of the equity in Hamilton County United Bank — the bank that services Oakvalley. You are the controlling shareholder."

She slid the document across to me.

"These are the mortgage agreements on every asset the mayor holds in his name. To maintain his lifestyle, he mortgaged the family farm, the commercial strip downtown, and the villa Jessica lives in. All of it comes due at the end of next month."

I picked up the agreement. The paper edge was thin and sharp.

"Accelerate the call," I said.

"Understood." Alice pulled the second folder.

"Liam. Current sheriff of Oakvalley." Her voice didn't change. "To fund his campaign for state sheriff, he took out a private loan of three hundred thousand dollars from an underground lender. We acquired that lender outright last month. His debt note is now yours. The moment he defaults, the interest compounds until he can't pay it off in this lifetime."

I looked at Liam's signature on the loan agreement — the same loose, looping handwriting I'd once thought was charming.

Ten years ago, that hand had pressed the back of my head down into the mud and held it there while he laughed.

I picked up the steel pen on the table and drove it straight through Liam's signature.

The tip punched through the paper and bit into the tabletop.

"Default clause activates immediately," I said. I pulled the pen free. "I want him broke by tonight."

Alice nodded and lifted the last stack.

"These cover eighty-four households in Oakvalley. Residential mortgages, farm equipment loans, overdue credit card balances."

"The grocery store owner mortgaged his shop. The butcher mortgaged his cold storage facility. Even the loudest farmer in the chat — his entire property is collateral in our portfolio."

She held out a red-letterhead document. "Your signature on this liquidation authorization, and the entire town of Oakvalley belongs to you. Every blade of grass. You can put them all on the street whenever you choose."

I stared at the authorization form.

My phone lit up.

The Oakvalley chat pushed through a photo.

Jessica had posted it.

In the center of the town square, a bonfire platform had been built. Next to it sat the iron cage — rusted through, door hanging open. A filthy metal bowl sat inside, holding a raw, bone-in cut of meat still wet with blood.

A wooden sign hung off the top bar: BASTARD'S DINNER.

Jessica's message: "Cage is clean and ready. @Chloe — here's your reserved seat. If you try to run, we'll search every corner of this town, drag you back by the hair, and break both your legs before we put you in it."

The butcher replied: "My boning knife is sharp. One clean stroke — takes the meat right off the bone without nicking it."

Grocery store owner: "I've got ten dog leashes ready. Heavy-duty. Tonight we take turns walking her around the square."

The chat erupted in celebration emojis.

Then Liam sent a voice message.

I pressed play.

"Chloe." His voice was smooth, unhurried, soaked in the particular brand of condescension that comes from never being held accountable for anything. "Don't blame everyone here. You were born a mistake. Come back tonight, admit what you are, spend one night in the cage, and everyone will forgive you."

Forgive me.

I laughed — a single, short sound with nothing warm in it.

I picked up the liquidation authorization.

My fingers pressed into the paper hard enough to dimple the surface.

Ten years ago, I was locked in that cage like an animal. Rain and mud. The whole town standing outside with their drinks, laughing at the smell coming off me.

I'd begged Liam to let me out.

He'd walked over and kicked the iron bars so hard my eardrums rang for a week.

"Trash like you belongs in there," he said. "This is how I earn my recommendation letter."

I closed my eyes.

The smell of rust, blood, and wet earth filled my nose as clearly as if I were still inside.

I opened my eyes.

I grabbed the steel pen and signed my name at the bottom of the liquidation authorization — hard enough to tear through the paper, leaving a red-black ink scar across the page.

"Alice."

I slapped the authorization down on the metal table.

"Activate the forced liquidation process." I held her gaze. "Notify the federal court enforcement division, the state police riot unit, and the bank's collections team. I want them surrounding Oakvalley within five hours."

"Yes."

"Freeze every bank account. Cut the town's water and electricity. Seal the roads in and out." I drove my palm flat against the tabletop. "I'm buying every debt in that town. I'm buying their lives."

The helicopter banked hard, knifing through the cloud layer.

Out the window, the black ridge of mountains fell away behind us.

In the valley ahead, a cluster of lit-up buildings appeared against the dark — warm, small, oblivious.

Oakvalley.

Harvest Festival fireworks burst over the treeline, bright and festive.

They were celebrating. They were counting down to claiming one and a half million dollars in prize money. They were waiting for the bastard girl they could grind under their boots one more time.

"Boss, three minutes to Oakvalley," the pilot called through the headset.

I stood up.

The cabin vent pushed cold air across my face and tangled my hair.

I walked to the side hatch and pressed my hand against the red release handle.

The helicopter began its descent.

The searchlight beam cut straight down through the dark and hit the worn stone marker at the edge of town.

Chiseled into it: WELCOME TO OAKVALLEY — GOD'S BLESSED LAND.

I pulled the release handle down.