Chapter 11 - THE WOMAN THEY CHOSE
That revelation changed something inside Paige.
For months, she blamed herself.
For loving Kevin.
For sharing documents.
For ignoring red flags.
For being tired.
For being poor.
For saying honey to the wrong man.
Now she understood.
Vale had selected her because she was clean, talented, financially vulnerable and invisible inside a large company.
That did not erase Kevin’s choices.
But it erased one lie:
She had not been stupid enough to accidentally enter the trap.
Someone built the trap around her.
Gabriel sat across from her in the now-empty executive conference room.
Vale was in federal custody.
Rusk cooperating.
Kevin negotiating through counsel.
Natalia cleared after investigators verified her covert audit arrangement—though Gabriel informed her he was still furious she hid it from him.
Family dinner would be excellent.
Paige should have felt relieved.
Instead:
“I don’t know what I do tomorrow.”
Gabriel frowned.
“What?”
“I still work here?”
“You can.”
That answer annoyed her.
“You can?”
He understood.
“You decide.”
Better.
Paige looked through the windows toward Manhattan.
“I don’t want to be an administrative assistant anymore.”
Gabriel did not say good.
Did not offer promotion.
He asked:
“What do you want?”
She had avoided that question for two years.
Graphic design.
Branding.
Creative direction.
Work where her eye mattered for something other than catching fraud.
“I want my career back.”
“Then take it.”
She laughed.
“That simple?”
“No.”
Good answer.
Her portfolio was outdated.
Debt remained.
She needed income.
Vale’s fraud investigation might follow her name online despite exoneration.
Nothing simple.
Then Gabriel said:
“Northstar’s fraudulent registration will be corrected.”
“Good.”
“Rusk’s collections from you are documented.”
“Good.”
“You will receive the money back through legal restitution or I can—”
“No.”
He stopped.
“I know.”
Progress.
The $8,600 eventually came back through a settlement funded by Rusk.
Not Gabriel.
That mattered.
Moretti Logistics also owed Paige something else.
Her intellectual property.
Vale had used her designs without permission.
Company counsel offered compensation.
Independent attorney reviewed.
Paige accepted.
Not charity.
Payment.
$42,000 for unauthorized commercial use and settlement of design rights.
She stared at the check.
More than she earned all year.
Gabriel said:
“Take it.”
“I am.”
He looked almost surprised.
“I earned it.”
“Yes.”
That money changed her life.
Not because it made her rich.
Because she paid off the predatory remnants of Kevin’s financial mess.
Built emergency savings.
Moved Buster back to New York.
Her mother cried more about the dog than Paige.
Then Paige resigned from Moretti Logistics.
Officially.
Gabriel signed the paperwork himself.
“You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do.”
He looked annoyed.
“Why?”
“Because every person here thinks people don’t quit.”
She smiled.
“I’d like to improve company culture.”
His mouth almost curved.
“Cruel.”
Then she handed over her badge.
He looked at it.
“Dinner?”
Paige froze.
“That transition was aggressive.”
“I’ve been told I’m inefficient socially.”
“By who?”
“Natalia.”
She laughed.
Then considered.
“You are my former boss.”
“Yes.”
“An alleged mafia boss.”
“Alleged?”
“Don’t enjoy that.”
He almost smiled.
“And your life is complicated.”
“Yes.”
“And I’m trying to rebuild mine.”
“Yes.”
She stared.
“You agree too much now.”
“I’m experimenting.”
Then:
“One dinner.”
His eyes changed.
Not victory.
Something softer.
“Your choice of restaurant.”
“Obviously.”
Then Nico entered without knocking.
“Boss.”
Gabriel sighed.
“What?”
“Kevin is missing.”
Paige’s blood went cold.
Again?
No.
This time Kevin had disappeared from federal-protected housing.
No forced entry.
No struggle.
A note remained.
For Paige.
I’m finishing what I should have finished six months ago.
Underneath:
WAREHOUSE 17.
Paige recognized the number.
Not from Moretti Logistics.
From the very first Northstar logo brief Kevin gave her two years earlier.
Project title:
May you like
Warehouse 17.
Kevin had hidden something there before the entire fraud began.
