Page 33 of Dial L for Lawyer (Curves & Capital #2)

"I... I can. But it'll destroy my career. Even just helping you makes me toxic in the industry."

"And if you don't," Logan presses, "I'll make sure you go down for every single breach alongside Maya. I guarantee every tech company in the country will know your name as either the rat who flipped, or the idiot who let a girl half his intelligence play him. You'll never work again. Your choice."

Kiernan swallows, then nods, shoulders slumping as he hugs himself. "OK. I'll do it."

Caleb's voice softens just enough not to be terrifying.

"If you're honest now, we can probably keep you out of the headlines.

Might even save your job. But you're going to help us reconstruct the whole evidence chain, and if you leave anything out.

.." He looks to Logan, who grins like a wolf spotting prey.

I'm spiraling over this tough-guy version of the normally awkward Logan.

But Kiernan looks ready to pass out, and he nods desperately.

"I'll tell you everything. Whatever you need."

Caleb takes my elbow, guiding me into the hall. The change in his face—the flush of victory, the thrill of having an enemy cornered—it's a little scary how alive he gets when there's someone to destroy.

He drags his thumb along my jaw, his palm landing warm on my neck once we're alone. "That's it," he murmurs, like he just closed a billion-dollar deal. "That's the smoking gun, sweetheart. You're about to be completely vindicated."

My heart pounds, but this time it's not fear. It's something raw, a little mean, and nowhere near satisfied with just surviving. "It's not enough," I say.

"No?” His brow lifts and his eyes drift to my mouth. “Tell me more."

"I want her to burn." My throat is tight, my words low. "I want everyone to know what she did, that she never cared about anyone but herself, and I want Radiance to regret ever touching her."

Caleb's grin could cut diamonds. He brushes his lips against my temple and says softly, "That's my Morgan."

We walk back into the conference room, where Logan is already uncapping a marker and sketching out a timeline with manic energy.

Kiernan hunches lower every time Logan barks an order or asks about digital fingerprints and audit trails.

I feel a tiny flicker of pity for him, but it dies fast—he set my career on fire just to watch Maya shine.

It's almost fun, in the twisted way that revenge fantasies are fun. Simple premise: you hurt me, now I hurt you back, but with facts instead of rumors.

The next hour is a blur of digital forensics, whiteboard strategizing, and the occasional savage thrill of piecing together the full story.

Maya wasn't just after my job, she'd been planning my destruction for months.

Every rumor she started, every lie she planted in Slack or over drinks at happy hour, every time she let me cover for her while she engineered my downfall.

Logan's forensic skills are terrifying. He pulls up every badge swipe, every VPN login, every text message, until the evidence is so damning that even Bennett, who's just catching up, lets out an impressed whistle.

"Jesus Christ. You could drop this in the Washington Post and win a Pulitzer."

"She needs to go down for this," I say. “Thoroughly.”

Caleb's hand finds the small of my back, a silent anchor. "Agreed. We don't just want vindication. We want spectacle."

Bennett looks between us, barely hiding a grin. "You're both insane."

"We're right," Caleb corrects. "And she started it."

An hour later, Kiernan's gone with threats of legal action and career destruction hanging over his head if he even thinks about backing out. Logan's already uploaded everything to multiple secure servers, because apparently paranoia is his love language.

"That was..." I start, then stop, not sure how to finish.

"Satisfying?" Caleb suggests.

"Exhausting." I slump against the conference room wall. "But yeah, satisfying too."

"Looks like this is about to be over," Bennett says, packing up his things. "The board will have no choice but to clear you and go after Maya."

"And Radiance," Logan adds, still typing furiously. "They orchestrated this whole thing."

Caleb pulls out his phone. "I'll call David, set up the meeting."

I listen to his side of the conversation as he presses the phone to his ear.

"David? It's Caleb... About the Luminous situation... We need to meet with Wong and Sterling as soon as possible... We have evidence. Concrete evidence that Maya Bolton orchestrated everything..."

A pause as he listens.

"Yes, all of it. The badge cloning, the leaked campaign, the frame job... Her IT accomplice confessed everything..."

Another pause.

"Monday morning would be perfect... Yes, before the quarterly audit... I'll send you the preliminary files now..."

He's nodding. "Uh-huh... Yes... Of course..."

Then his expression shifts slightly. "Tonight?" He glances at his watch. "But isn't Michaela's?—"

A pause. "Emergency? Right... Of course..."

More listening. "I can do that... Yes, I'm free... What time?"

He looks at me while talking. "Six works... No, that's fine... I think I can afford pizza... She's allowed two episodes before bed?"

Logan and Bennett exchange glances.

"Seven-thirty bedtime, got it... Yeah, I'll handle it... I have the key... See you then."

He hangs up and everyone stares at him.

"What did he say?" I ask.

"He'll coordinate with Wong and Sterling for Monday morning. Full board meeting." He pauses. "He also asked if I could babysit Michaela tonight. The nanny's mother had a fall and she needs to drive to Milwaukee immediately."

The pivot is so sharp I almost laugh. From plotting Maya’s destruction to bedtime stories in under a minute. Typical Kingsley.

“Babysit?” I repeat, suspicious.

“She’s seven. Sharper than half the partners at my firm–including me. Future Supreme Court justice. Last week she put her teddy bear on trial for cookie theft.” His mouth quirks. “Cited precedent.”

Despite myself, I grin. “Sounds terrifying.”

“She is. Which is why I want you to come with me.”

I blink. “You want me to meet your niece? Tonight?”

“Of course. Unless you hate kids?”

“No, I just…” My chest does that tight thing again. “I didn’t expect to go from clearing my name to being cross-examined by a second-grader about my intentions with her uncle.”

His grin is wicked and soft all at once. “She’ll definitely ask if we’re getting married. Just tell her the truth.”

“And what truth is that?”

“That you’re madly in love with me but trying to play it cool.”

I smack his arm. "I am not?—"

"Yet," he says with that cocky grin. "Give me time."

"So?" He asks again. "You in? There'll be pizza."

Despite everything—the reporters, the betrayal, the exhaustion—I find myself smiling but my heart is still racing. Not from Maya this time, but from something scarier: the idea of being folded into his family. "OK. Let's go babysit Michaela."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But full disclosure, I'm terrible with kids," I say. "Like, genuinely, tragically bad at interacting with children."

Caleb grins. "She's seven, not a firing squad. You'll be fine."

"I once made a toddler cry just by saying hi."

"Surely not."

Bennett's already heading for the door, muttering something about 'inoculating the next generation against sarcasm.' Logan just waves. "Don't let her hustle you," he says.

"Her or Serena?" Caleb asks.

"Yes," Logan answers, and then he's back to his screens, the warm glow of human interaction already fading from his memory banks.