Page 46 of Player CEO (Billionaire Secrets #4)

Theo

It’s been almost two months now since Crystal was sentenced—in absentia—to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Hopefully, they’ll eventually extract her from overseas to start serving that sentence, but in the meantime, we’re finding our new normal. The press has moved on, and Mackenzie and Levi spend most nights at my place. I’m happy in a way I can’t remember being before.

The door to the executive conference room creaks open, and Maryann Ryan, my executive admin, steps in, her expression walking the line between urgency and unease.

“Jim Adelson’s on his way up and would like to meet with all of the executive team. I’ve just told them, and they’re on their way,” she says.

I straighten immediately. “Thank you.”

She gives a sharp nod and disappears, her heels tapping a brisk rhythm down the hallway. I stare at the empty doorway for a beat. Jim doesn’t deal in drama. If he’s calling a meeting, something major has happened.

Do they have Crystal? I can’t let my mind get ahead of itself.

I look across the table at Dillon and Mason. “Maybe we have news.”

“Fingers crossed,” Mason murmurs.

Our finance meeting is mostly over, so we look out through the glass walls to see Austin, Rhys, Mackenzie, and Jeannie, walking toward us.

“What do you think Jim wants?” Jeannie asks as she enters.

“I’m hoping he’s going to tell us they’ve got Crystal,” I tell her.

The others have just taken their seats when Jim walks in, and he’s not alone.

Behind him is Turner Bishop.

A dozen thoughts flash through my mind, none of them good. Turner, once a close friend and now a question mark, has spent the past few years since Justin’s disappearance lingering near Crystal.

What is he doing here now?

Jim doesn’t waste a second. “Crystal was arrested last night in Germany,” he announces without taking a seat.

I close my eyes for just a moment. It’s over.

“Almost two years ago Turner came to me. Said he had intel on Crystal. She’d admitted to him that she knew where Justin was.”

My head snaps toward Turner. “Is that true?” My voice is sharp.

He meets my gaze without hesitation. “He was my friend too, and I thought he was in hiding.”

For the first time, I see it, real grief in his expression. Quiet. Raw. Worn deep into the lines of his face. If Jim believes him, I should too.

“Turner had a locator app on his phone, which Crystal didn’t know. We tracked her movements through him, and he fed us information the entire time.”

No one speaks as shock settles over us.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about Turner before,” Jim continues. “I couldn’t risk someone slipping up.”

“Turner, I…” None of this makes sense. “Were you and Crystal involved?” I ask.

Turner looks at Jim.

“After Justin disappeared, Crystal reached out to Turner,” Jim says. “Told him she wanted to be with him. She thought they could rewrite their story.”

Turner’s jaw tightens, and I nod. I don’t need the rest spelled out. He let her believe it, let her think she was in control. And all the while, he was dismantling her plans from the inside.

“She actually celebrated when Justin’s body was found,” Jim adds, his tone flat. “She had no idea we’d already uncovered the oleander, linked it to the smoothie routine. She’d convinced herself she was untouchable.”

The knot in my chest twists tighter.

“And through it all,” Jim says, “she kept pointing fingers. Stan Richards was behind it. Blaming you all, said you’d shut her out. Said she was owed more. Turner was the one who first pointed Clear’s forensic accounting team toward the account with the stolen money. Without him, we would have never found it.”

A long silence follows. Mason leans back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. Dillon runs a hand down his face. The air is heavy with everything we’re feeling but can’t quite say—relief, grief, betrayal, disbelief.

I meet Jim’s eyes. “She’s really in custody?”

He nods. “German authorities are holding her. Extradition is already underway.”

Crystal Capriotti—no longer haunting our boardrooms or headlines—is just waiting now.

Waiting to serve her time.

It feels like years of worry are catching up to me in one long wave—every doubt, every long night, every unanswered question.

“Anyway, uh, the band has hit the road again,” Turner says suddenly, trying for casual. “Big tour. It’s keeping us moving.”

There’s something in his voice that almost sounds like hope. He wants to believe normal is still possible. I hope he’s right.

“I told her Berlin would be safe,” he adds after a moment. “Said no one would know she would be there. She came to see us play.”

The thought makes my stomach turn—Crystal slipping through a city, thinking she was invisible. And Turner, walking beside her, guiding her straight into a trap. There’s something brilliant in it. And something quietly devastating.

“Turner had her trust,” Jim says, looking at him with respect. “That made all the difference. Anyway, Crystal should leave Berlin and head to Tehachapi Women’s Prison sometime next week. The German government doesn’t want to hold on to her for long. She’ll arrive in Bakersfield and be taken directly to jail.”

I move to the edge of the table, thinking about everything that’s become clear today. Turner stands in front of us, not as the mystery we’ve been wondering about for months, but more like the friend we used to know. He isn’t hiding anything.

“Guys,” he says. “I need to say something.”

I brace myself.

“If any of you thought I was working against you, thought I would disrespect Justin by…” He stops, swallowing hard. “I’m sorry.”

I nod, the response catching in my throat. “We didn’t know quite what to think,” I confess. “But we’re grateful for everything you’ve done.”

Turner looks down. “Crystal…” His voice breaks slightly. “If I’d known what she was capable of, I would’ve stopped her. I swear I would’ve tried.”

I nod, but I’m not sure what he could have done. Crystal wanted control so badly, she lost sight of everything else. She couldn’t be stopped, not by love, not by loyalty, maybe not by anyone.

Turner runs a hand through his hair. “Velvet Anomaly wouldn’t be here without Justin. He helped me build the first car back in college. Selling it gave us the money for our demo, which got us a label. He believed in me before anyone else did.”

Then, instinctively, I know what we need to do. I step out into the hallway and whisper to Maryanne. In a moment she returns with a bottle of whiskey and glasses.

We pour a round of drinks and raise them high.

To Justin.

To EnergiFusion.

To Turner.

To second chances.

The toast is simple, but the sound of glasses clinking feels like closure. Like forgiveness. Like a new chapter beginning.

Turner lets out a breath, and a small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.

“Hey,” he says, turning to me, “some friends are getting together tonight. Want to come?”

I shake my head. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. I’m going to spend time with Mackenzie.”

His eyebrows rise, and then after a moment, Turner chuckles. “Right on, man.” He grins and adds with a wink at Mackenzie, “Just make your own smoothies.”