Page 112 of Thorns and Ashes
“It belongs to me. I’m the only one who gets the live notifications, so you have nothing to worry about.” He turns to faceme. “Now let’s go, we have work to do. And Rory,” he says, pinching his lips together and raising a brow. “Tell Ainsley I said hello.”
Rory and I exchange glances and try not to laugh. I suppose Ainsley isn’t as good at being a lookout as Rory is at breaking into houses. Noted. Rory double-checks that I’ll be okay before leaving me with Tom, and soon, we’re all on our way, leaving the Thorne Lake House for what’s likely the very last time.
Instead of being filled with grief or sadness, I feel lighter. Like I’m finally making the right choices and exactly where I should be. My hand itches to pick up my phone and call Levi, to tell him everything that’s happening, but we still haven’t spoken, and I’m not doing this for him. I’m doing this for me. Not to prove anything to anyone else but to prove to myself that I can be better. Better than the person I was and better than the person I thought I could be.
“Who’s better than you, Jerry?” Callie asks her lawyer on the phone after we’ve been on with him for over an hour.
I explained the situation to Callie when Tom and I arrived at their home, and she said this sounds like a job for Jerry. The only Jerry I’ve ever known was a little mouse with a love-hate relationship with a cat named Tom. Turns out that Jerry is their lawyer who stays on retainer. From the sound of it, he knows the family well.
“So, Callie, if Tom files that evidence, the FBI will connect the dots themselves, and we lose any chance to control how this comes out. Tris, if we’re going to disclose the accounts and try to negotiate restitution, we need to move before that report lands on a federal prosecutor’s desk.”
“I don’t want to stop Tom from doing his job.” I look over at Tom, who’s leaning against the kitchen island.
He rubs his hand through his hair before sighing. “I’ll do my job, but if Jerry can move fast, I can give him enough time to do his too.”
Warmth blooms in my chest, and I offer him a quiet, appreciative smile.
“The next step is a proffer session with the U.S. Attorney’s office. That’s a protected meeting where you can tell them what you know without it immediately being used against you,” Jerry explains as he continues to go over the plan. “We explain the accounts, the money, and how you discovered it. We make it clear you’re willing to make those funds available for the victims. If they’re interested, that opens the door to negotiating a plea agreement for your father. I’m willing to bet they will be more interested in those contracts you found and whatever is on that USB. But once we walk into that room, Tris, the government will know it all exists. There’s no taking it back after that.”
I let his words sink in. There’s a possibility in all of this that I can be arrested even though I’m innocent. I’m at risk. But if I do nothing, I might not ever be able to live with myself. I’m not doing this to help my father escape justice. I’m offering a path to accountability and compensation. Without this evidence, my father will walk, and the families of everyone affected will get nothing.
“I made my decision the second I handed that folder over to Tom. I know the risks,” I assure him. “This is the right thing to do.”
“Alright, I’ll make a few calls and set it up. This is a big case that the FBI has been chasing down evidence for and turning up with nothing for over a year. Between the multiple deaths, Mr. Arias still on the run, and this evidence being the key to cracking open this case in the FBI’s favor, I have a feeling things are going to move fast,so be ready,” Jerry says, sounding so confident through the phone that a part of me starts to believe this might actually work. My shoulders relax, and I take the first full breath in an hour, but stop short when I remember one more thing.
“What should I do about all the cash I found?”
Callie and Tom look at each other before looking back at me. I smile awkwardly at them both and hold my palms up.
“How much cash are we talking about?” Jerry asks slowly.
“Umm.” I open my bag and pour it out onto the table.
Callie laughs. She’s no stranger to money, but at this point, me walking around with this much is actually comical. Tom slides his hand over his face, looking like he wishes he could erase the last two hours from memory.
I mouth a silent “sorry” to him, but he waves me off and pours himself a glass of whiskey. Definitely don’t blame him.
“Looks like about one hundred sixty thousand, Jer,” Callie says.
His hum travels through the phone. “Even if it’s not technically part of the crime, bring it as evidence. If they can’t tie it to any illegal activity, they’ll return it, but we handle it through proper channels. I’ve got a lot of work to do, so I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you, Jerry,” we all say before hanging up.
Callie leans back and takes a sip of her tea as she looks me over. Her expressive face shows an array of different emotions until she settles on a smirk.
“What?” I finally ask.
“You look like her,” she teases, taking another sip, tapping her finger on the mug. “But I never thought I’d see the day where I was not only impressed by Tris Thorne, but so freakin’ proud.”
My lips tilt up slowly, and I look down. “It doesn’t matter who I was. All that matters is who I amnow,and I finally like who I am.”
She nods her head, a soft smile forming. “I think we all do.” She glances at Tom before returning her gaze to me as she twirls her hair. “Seriously, Tris. This is a big deal. Have you told Levi?”
I purse my lips together before rolling my tongue against the inside of my cheek.
“I’m not doing this for him. I’ll tell him eventually, but we need to work this out before I do that. I need him to see the good in me without having to prove it.”
“He will,” she says confidently. “He already does, but he’s too stubborn to get out of his own way.”
