Chapter 4

The car soon pulled up at the café we'd agreed on.

The moment I pushed the door open, I spotted Walsh, the journalist I'd set up the meeting with ahead of time.

"Miss Sinclair, there you are. The Sinclair Group just put out a statement saying you're donating a kidney to young Mr. Sinclair of your own free will. Now everyone's out there praising Miss Sinclair for being such a kind, devoted daughter." Walsh pushed his glasses up and slid his voice recorder toward me.

"But I have to ask... this dirt you mentioned. Can it really bring down the Sinclair Group?"

I set the USB drive I'd prepared on the table and kept him guessing.

"Take a look at what's on here, and you'll know whether it can or not..."

"Sure, sure." Walsh nodded quickly and plugged in the drive. A couple of pages in, he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Miss Sinclair, where did you get all this? This is explosive!"

I picked up my coffee and took a sip. "Don't ask how I got it. All you have to do is put it out there. I promise you, once you publish it, the traffic will go through the roof, and there's enough dirt coming after this to keep you fed for a year!"

Walsh nodded at once. "Okay, I'll publish it as soon as I get back..." He grabbed the drive and got ready to leave, but as he stood up he couldn't help adding a warning: "Miss Sinclair, if you do this, you'll have made a mortal enemy of the Sinclair Group... Aren't you afraid Gregory Sinclair will send people after you?"

I gave a dismissive smile. "Come after me? Him?"

Seeing how confident I was, Walsh let out a long breath.

"Okay, I get it," he said quietly, then hurried out of the café.

An hour later.

Sinclair Group Chairman Forces His Own Daughter to Donate a Kidney.

Sinclair Properties Caught Cutting Corners on Construction. Both topics shot to the top of trending topics faster than anyone could blink.

Investors dumped Sinclair Group stock in a frenzy, and in just half an hour, the share price crashed so hard that trading was halted.

Looking at the flood of comments online tearing into the Sinclair Group, I couldn't help laughing. "Didn't expect Walsh to move this fast!"

Just then, my phone buzzed.

I glanced at it. It was a message from Jake Donovan.

Your Majesty, the guys watching Gregory Sinclair say he's headed for the basement with a whole carload of people. What's the next move? Want us to just grab all of them?

Grab what? Wait for me to get back! If you grab him now, how am I supposed to put on my show! I typed out the reply and sent it, then got up unhurriedly and headed toward the basement, murmuring to myself, "The big show is finally about to start..."

Once I got to the basement,

I had Jake tie my hands and feet with a slipknot and said coldly, "Remember, when he comes in, even if you hear me screaming for help, nobody comes out. Wait until he's said everything he needs to say, then come out and take him. Got it?"

Jake thumped his chest. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. The guys have rehearsed this dozens of times. Nobody's going to blow it!"

I smoothed out my wrinkled hospital gown and nodded. "Good. Once this is over, everyone's bonus gets doubled!" Then I had Jake stuff a dirty rag into my mouth and settled in to wait quietly for Gregory Sinclair to take the bait.