Chapter 36
The agent's shout still echoed in my ears when I hit the floor.
Someone's hand pressed between my shoulder blades, forcing me down behind Richard's leather couch. The jade bracelet dug into my wrist as I braced myself against the carpet. Gunfire—no, not gunfire. Just shouting. Multiple voices overlapping, commands I couldn't parse through the ringing in my head.
"Stay down!" The agent above me—young, maybe thirty, with a buzz cut—kept his hand firm on my back.
I turned my head just enough to see Richard frozen halfway out of his chair, one hand still reaching toward the drawer. Morrison had her weapon trained on him, her stance wide and steady.
"Hands where I can see them," Morrison said. "Now."
Richard's face had gone from flushed to gray. His hand trembled as he raised both palms. "This is a misunderstanding. I was reaching for my phone to call my lawyer."
"Your phone is on your desk." Morrison gestured with her chin. "Agent Kim, secure the weapon."
One of the other agents moved around the desk, opened the drawer with gloved hands, and pulled out a small black handgun. He held it up for Morrison to see before sliding it into an evidence bag.
"I have a permit for that," Richard said. His voice had lost its smooth corporate polish. "This is my office. I have every right to—"
"You have the right to remain silent." Morrison holstered her weapon and pulled out handcuffs. "I suggest you use it."
The security guards had backed against the wall, hands raised like they were the ones being arrested. The younger one kept looking at me, then at Richard, then back at me.
Morrison snapped the cuffs onto Richard's wrists with practiced efficiency. "Richard Park, you're under arrest for obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements to federal investigators. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Richard's eyes found mine. The rage in them made my stomach clench.
"You stupid girl," he said. "You have no idea what you've done."
"That's enough." Morrison pulled him toward the door. "Agent Chen, get Ms. Chen's statement and make sure she gets home safely."
The agent above me—Chen, apparently—finally lifted his hand from my back. "You can sit up now."
I pushed myself up slowly. My legs felt like water. The wire under my shirt had shifted during the chaos, the tape pulling at my skin. I wanted to rip it off, wanted to scrub away the feeling of Richard's voice recorded against my chest.
"Ms. Chen?" Agent Chen crouched beside me. "Are you injured?"
"No." My voice came out hoarse. "I'm fine."
"You did good." He offered me a hand up. "That took guts."
I let him pull me to my feet, but the room tilted sideways. He steadied me with a hand on my elbow.
"Let's just—" I pressed her lips together. "Can I sit down?"
He guided me to one of the chairs facing Richard's desk. Not the couch. I couldn't look at that couch without seeing myself pressed against the floor, waiting for a gunshot that never came.
Agent Chen pulled out a notepad. "I need to get your statement while everything's fresh. Walk me through what happened from the moment you entered the building."
I told him. The security desk, the elevator, Richard's office. The conversation, the threats, the moment I'd pushed him to confess. My hands wouldn't stop shaking, so I gripped the armrests until my knuckles went white.
"And you felt threatened when he reached for the drawer?" Agent Chen's pen moved across the page.
"Yes." The word came out sharp. "He'd just been talking about how I was making things complicated. How I should have taken his offer. Then he went for the gun."
"Did he verbally threaten you at any point?"
"He said I had no idea what I'd done. Just now, I mean. Before that—" I pressed my thumb against the jade bracelet, feeling the cool stone. "He said I was in over my head. That I should think about what I was risking."
Agent Chen nodded, still writing. "That's consistent with the recording. Morrison will want to debrief you more thoroughly tomorrow, but for now—"
"Where's Daniel?" The question burst out before I could stop it. "Does he know? Did someone tell him?"
"I don't have that information." Agent Chen's expression softened slightly. "But I'm sure Agent Morrison will contact all relevant parties."
Relevant parties. Like Daniel was just another witness, another piece of evidence in Morrison's case.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out with trembling fingers.
Daniel: Where are you?
Daniel: Nora, answer me.
Daniel: Morrison just called. She said you were at Park Industries. What the hell is going on?
I stared at the messages. Three texts in five minutes. Daniel never sent three texts in a row.
"Ms. Chen?" Agent Chen was watching me. "Is everything alright?"
"I need to call someone."
"We're almost done here. Just a few more questions."
But I was already dialing. The phone rang once, twice—
"Nora." Daniel's voice was rough, like he'd been shouting. "Where are you?"
"Richard's office. I'm fine. The FBI arrested him."
Silence. Then: "You were there? When they arrested him?"
"I was wearing a wire." The words felt surreal coming out of my mouth. "Morrison asked me to meet with Richard and get him to confess. I did. He went for a gun, but the agents stopped him before—"
"He had a gun?" Daniel's voice cracked. "Jesus Christ, Nora. He could have killed you."
"But he didn't."
"That's not the point!" He was definitely shouting now. "You could have been shot. You could have—why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you would have tried to stop me."
"Of course I would have stopped you! This wasn't your fight. I never asked you to—"
"I know you didn't ask." My throat felt tight. "But I couldn't just stand there and watch him destroy you. Okay so, maybe it was stupid. Maybe I should have stayed out of it. But I didn't."
Agent Chen cleared his throat. "Ms. Chen, if you could—"
I held up one finger. Wait.
"Where are you right now?" Daniel asked.
"Still in Richard's office. They're taking my statement."
"I'm coming there."
"You don't have to—"
"I'm already in my car." The sound of an engine starting came through the phone. "Don't leave until I get there."
He hung up before I could argue.
Agent Chen was giving me a look that was probably meant to be professional but came across as mildly amused. "Your boyfriend?"
"It's complicated."
"It always is." He flipped to a new page in his notepad. "Now, about the false statement Richard tried to get you to sign..."
Daniel arrived twenty-three minutes later, which meant he'd driven like an absolute maniac through downtown traffic.
I was in the lobby by then, sitting on one of the uncomfortable modern chairs while Agent Chen finished his paperwork. The security guards had been replaced by FBI personnel. The whole building felt different now, like someone had flipped a switch and turned Park Industries from a corporate fortress into a crime scene.
Daniel came through the revolving doors at a near-run. His tie was loose, his hair disheveled like he'd been running his hands through it. His eyes found mine immediately.
"Nora."
I stood up. "I'm fine. Really."
He crossed the lobby in four long strides and pulled me into his arms. The hug was tight enough to hurt, his face pressed against my hair.
"You're an idiot," he said into my ear. "A brave, reckless idiot."
"I know."
His hands were shaking against my back. Daniel, who never showed fear, who kept everything locked down tight—he was shaking.
"I thought—" He pulled back just enough to look at me, his hands moving to cup my face. "When Morrison called and said you'd been in the room when Richard was arrested, I thought—"
"I'm okay." I covered his hands with mine. "I promise."
"You shouldn't have done this alone."
"I wasn't alone. Morrison had four agents with her."
"That's not what I mean." His thumb brushed across my cheekbone. "You should have told me. We could have figured out another way."
"There wasn't another way." I pulled back slightly, needing space to breathe. "Richard had evidence against both of us. He was going to use it unless I signed a statement saying you'd committed fraud. Morrison said this was the only way to stop him."
"Morrison asked you to wear a wire?" Daniel's expression shifted, anger replacing fear. "She put you in danger to build her case?"
"She gave me a choice. I said yes."
"Because you thought you had to protect me."
"Because I wanted to." The distinction felt important. "Daniel, he was going to destroy you. Your career, your reputation, everything you've built. I couldn't let that happen."
"So you risked your life instead?" His hands dropped from my face. "How is that better?"
"It's better because you're safe now." My voice came out sharper than I intended. "Richard's in custody. The evidence against you is inadmissible because he created it. Morrison said the charges will be dropped within forty-eight hours."
"And what about you?" Daniel took a step back, putting distance between us. "Did Morrison mention what happens to you now? Because Richard's lawyers are going to come after you for this. They'll say you entrapped him, that the recording was illegal, that—"
"The recording was legal. I consented to wearing the wire, and Richard was informed that he was being recorded."
"When? When was he informed?"
"When Morrison arrested him." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Look, I know you're angry—"
"I'm not angry." But his jaw was tight, his shoulders rigid. "I'm terrified. There's a difference."
Agent Chen approached us, his notepad tucked under his arm. "Mr. Park. I'm Agent Chen. I've been taking Ms. Chen's statement."
Daniel's expression smoothed into something professional. "Has she been cleared to leave?"
"Yes. We have everything we need for now." Agent Chen handed me a business card. "If you remember anything else, or if anyone contacts you about today's events, call me immediately."
I took the card. "What about Richard? Where are they taking him?"
"Federal detention center. He'll be arraigned tomorrow morning." Agent Chen glanced at Daniel. "Agent Morrison will be in touch with you as well, Mr. Park. She'll need your statement about the fraudulent evidence."
Daniel nodded once. "I'll make myself available."
Agent Chen left, and suddenly it was just the two of us in the lobby. FBI agents moved around us, carrying boxes of evidence out to waiting vehicles. Someone had cordoned off the elevators with yellow tape.
"Let's get you home," Daniel said.
"I can drive myself."
"Your car is at your apartment. You took an Uber here, remember?" He pulled out his keys. "I'm driving you."
I wanted to argue, but exhaustion hit me like a wave. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving behind a bone-deep weariness that made my legs feel heavy.
"Okay," I said. "Let's just—yeah. Okay."
Daniel's car was illegally parked in a loading zone, a ticket already tucked under the windshield wiper. He grabbed it without comment and tossed it into the back seat.
We drove in silence for the first ten minutes. Daniel kept his eyes on the road, his hands at ten and two like he was taking a driving test. The muscle in his jaw kept jumping.
"You can yell at me," I said finally. "If you want to."
"I don't want to yell at you."
"You're doing that thing where you go completely silent. That's worse than yelling."
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. "What do you want me to say, Nora? That I'm glad you put yourself in danger? That I'm grateful you went behind my back to trap my uncle?"
"I didn't go behind your back. I just didn't tell you beforehand."
"That's the definition of going behind someone's back."
"Fine." I turned to look at him. "I went behind your back. I made a decision without consulting you. I'm sorry if that bothers you, but I'd do it again."
He was quiet for a long moment. Then: "I know you would. That's what scares me."
We stopped at a red light. Daniel finally looked at me, and the expression on his face made my chest ache.
"I can handle it," he said. "Whatever Richard throws at me, whatever the board decides, whatever happens to the company—I can handle it. But I can't handle you getting hurt because of me."
"This wasn't because of you. This was because of Richard."
"Richard only went after you to get to me. You know that." The light turned green, but he didn't move until the car behind us honked. "Everything that's happened to you in the past month—the investigation, the threats, today—it's all because you're connected to me."
"So what are you saying?" My voice came out smaller than I intended. "That we should end this? That it's too dangerous for us to be together?"
"I'm saying I don't know how to protect you."
"I don't need you to protect me. I need you to trust that I can make my own decisions."
"Even when those decisions involve wearing a wire and confronting a man who keeps a loaded gun in his desk?"
"Especially then." I pressed my palm against the window, watching the city blur past. "Daniel, I'm not some fragile thing that needs to be kept safe. I'm a grown woman who chose to help the FBI build a case against a criminal. That was my choice. Mine."
"And if he'd shot you?" Daniel's voice was barely above a whisper. "If the agents had been thirty seconds slower, if Richard had been faster—what then?"
"But he didn't. And they weren't. And I'm fine."
"This time."
We pulled up in front of my apartment building. Daniel put the car in park but didn't turn off the engine.
"Are you coming up?" I asked.
He stared straight ahead through the windshield. "I don't think that's a good idea right now."
Something cold settled in my stomach. "Why not?"
"Because I'm angry, and I'm scared, and I don't trust myself to have this conversation without saying something I'll regret." He finally looked at me. "I need some time to process what happened today."
"Okay so, what does that mean? Are we—are you breaking up with me?"
"No." The word came out fast, almost desperate. "No, I just need—I need to think."
"About what?"
"About whether I'm putting you in danger just by being with you. About whether Richard was right when he said you were in over your head." He ran a hand through his hair. "About whether I'm being selfish by wanting you in my life when my life is this complicated."
I unbuckled my seatbelt. "You don't get to make that decision for me."
"I know."
"Then stop acting like you do." I grabbed my purse from the floor. "I'm going upstairs. When you're done thinking, you know where to find me."
I got out of the car before he could respond. The cold air hit my face, sharp and clarifying. I didn't look back as I walked into my building, didn't let myself check if he was still parked at the curb.
The elevator ride up to my floor felt endless. My hands were shaking again, but this time it wasn't from fear. It was from anger, from frustration, from the crushing weight of having done the right thing and being punished for it anyway.
I unlocked my apartment door and stepped inside. The space felt too quiet, too empty. I dropped my purse on the counter and pulled out my phone.
No new messages.
I peeled off the wire with shaking fingers, the adhesive pulling at my skin. There would be marks tomorrow, red and angry. I threw the whole thing in the trash, then immediately pulled it back out. Evidence. Morrison might need it.
My phone buzzed.
Daniel: I'm sorry.
Daniel: You were incredibly brave today.
Daniel: I just need to figure out how to be worthy of that.
I stared at the messages. Three texts again. Three texts that said everything and nothing at the same time.
I didn't respond. Instead, I walked to my bedroom, lay down on top of the covers, and stared at the ceiling.
The jade bracelet was still on my wrist. I touched it with my other hand, feeling the smooth stone, the weight of it. My grandmother had worn this bracelet every day for sixty years. Through war, through immigration, through my grandfather's death. She'd never taken it off, not once.
"What would you do?" I whispered to the empty room.
My phone buzzed again. But this time it wasn't Daniel.
Unknown Number: You made a mistake today.
Unknown Number: Richard isn't the only one who knows what you did.
Unknown Number: We'll be in touch.
I sat up so fast the room spun. My fingers fumbled with the phone, trying to call the number back, but it went straight to a generic voicemail.
I pulled up Agent Chen's card and dialed with shaking hands.
"Agent Chen."
"It's Nora Chen. I just got—someone just texted me. They said Richard isn't the only one who knows what I did. They said they'll be in touch."
"Forward me the messages immediately. Don't respond, don't delete them." His voice had gone sharp, professional. "Are you alone right now?"
"Yes. I'm at my apartment."
"Lock your doors. I'm sending a unit to your location." I heard him talking to someone else, his hand partially covering the phone. "Ms. Chen, are you still there?"
"Yes."
"The messages came from a burner phone. We're trying to trace it now, but—" He paused. "There's something you should know. Richard made a phone call from the detention center about an hour ago. We're still working on identifying who he called, but the timing suggests—"
A knock at my door made me jump.
"Someone's here," I whispered.
"Don't open the door. Do you have a peephole?"
I crept toward the door, phone pressed to my ear. Through the peephole, I could see—
"It's Daniel," I said.
"Are you sure?"
I looked again. Daniel stood in the hallway, his tie completely gone now, his expression grim.
"I'm sure."
"Let him in, but keep me on the line until my unit arrives. They're five minutes out."
I unlocked the door. Daniel's eyes went immediately to the phone in my hand.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
I held up my phone, showing him the messages. His face went pale.
"When did you get these?"
"Two minutes ago." I stepped back to let him in. "Agent Chen is on the phone. He's sending people."
Daniel took the phone from my hand. "Agent Chen? It's Daniel Park. Has Richard been in contact with anyone since his arrest?"
I couldn't hear Chen's response, but I watched Daniel's expression shift from concern to something darker.
"I see," Daniel said. "And you think—yes. Yes, I understand." He handed the phone back to me. "He wants to talk to you."
"Ms. Chen," Agent Chen said, "I need you to listen carefully. Richard called his lawyer, but he also made a second call to a number we haven't been able to trace yet. That call lasted forty-seven seconds. We believe he may have contacted an associate who wasn't part of our initial investigation."
"An associate?" My voice sounded hollow. "You mean there's someone else involved in the fraud?"
"We're not sure yet. But given the timing of these messages, we have to assume you may be in danger. My unit will stay outside your apartment tonight. Don't go anywhere alone until we've identified the source of these threats."
"Okay."
"And Ms. Chen? You did the right thing today. Don't let anyone make you doubt that."
He hung up. I lowered the phone slowly, looking at Daniel.
"You came back," I said.
"Of course I came back." He moved closer, his hands hovering near my shoulders like he wanted to touch me but wasn't sure if he should. "I was an idiot. I was sitting in my car, thinking about how I needed time to process, and then I realized—"
"Realized what?"
"That I was doing exactly what Richard wanted. Pushing you away. Making you feel like you'd done something wrong when you'd actually been—" He stopped, his jaw working. "You saved me today, Nora. You put yourself in danger to save me, and instead of thanking you, I made it about my fear. I'm sorry."
I wanted to stay angry. I wanted to hold onto the hurt of him driving away, of him saying he needed time. But the look on his face—raw and open and terrified—made it impossible.
"You're forgiven," I said. "But if you ever pull that 'I need time to think' crap again, I'm going to—"
He kissed me. Hard and desperate, his hands finally landing on my waist, pulling me close. I kissed him back, tasting fear and relief and something else I wasn't ready to name.
When we broke apart, he pressed his forehead against mine.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "Whatever happens next, we face it together. Right?"
"Right."
My phone buzzed again. We both looked down at it.
Unknown Number: Tell Daniel his mother says hello.
The world tilted sideways. Daniel's hands tightened on my waist.
"My mother is dead," he said, his voice flat. "She died six years ago."
Another message came through before I could respond.
Unknown Number: Are you sure about that?
And then a photo loaded on my screen—a woman with Daniel's eyes, standing in front of a building I didn't recognize, holding today's newspaper.
Daniel grabbed the phone from my hand, staring at the image. His face had gone completely white.
"That's impossible," he whispered. "That's—"
A third message appeared.
Unknown Number: Room 412, Mercy General Hospital. Come alone, or she disappears again.
Unknown Number: You have one hour.
Daniel was already moving toward the door when someone knocked—three sharp raps that made us both freeze.
"FBI," a voice called from the hallway. "Agent Morrison. Open up."
I looked at Daniel. He looked at the phone. The photo of his supposedly dead mother stared back at us from the screen.
"Don't open it yet," Daniel said quietly. His hand found mine, squeezing hard enough to hurt. "If Morrison sees those messages, she'll stop us from going to the hospital."
"Daniel, we can't—"
"My mother is alive, Nora." His voice cracked on the last word. "She's alive, and someone's been hiding her for six years, and I need to know why."
The knocking came again, louder this time.
"Ms. Chen, we know you're in there. Open the door."
Daniel's eyes met mine, and I saw the question there. The choice he was giving me.
Trust the FBI, or trust him.
I looked at the phone in my hand, at the photo of a woman who was supposed to be dead, at the countdown ticking away in my head.
Fifty-eight minutes.
My thumb hovered over the screen, ready to delete the messages before Morrison could see them.
"Nora," Daniel whispered. "Please."
The door handle started to turn—Morrison had a key, or a warrant, or both—and I had exactly three seconds to decide whether to destroy evidence in a federal investigation or let the man I loved lose his mother all over again.
I pressed delete.
The door swung open, and Morrison stepped inside, her eyes sharp and assessing as they moved from me to Daniel to the phone in my hand.
"We need to talk," she said. "Richard Park just made bail."