Chapter 19: Adrian

The concrete walls of the federal holding cell are freezing, but the sweat dripping down my spine is scalding hot.

I sit on the edge of the rusted metal bench, my chest heaving as the echoes of the screaming mob outside the courthouse continue to ring in my ears. Panic crushes my lungs.

"Charity fraud!"

"Extortion!"

"Forgery!"

The words loop in my mind like a death sentence. Anastasia stripped away my armor and left me to rot in a cage.

The iron door at the end of the corridor screeches open, the sharp rattle of keys cutting through the quiet. "Adrian Von. Step forward to the processing...