Page 50 of Shattered Truth (Off The Grid: FBI #15)

Three months later…

The Library Café near the Westbridge campus was busy for a Tuesday morning, filled with students hunched over laptops and professors grading papers.

Haley sat at a corner table, her laptop open, putting the final touches on her investigative series exposing corruption in elite academic institutions.

It was a three-part series, and the first part, focusing on Westbridge, had already garnered widespread attention, especially with the media avid for information to enhance their reporting on the upcoming trials of the key players.

Drew Sanderson and Henry Adler had been charged with multiple crimes and denied bail. She loved that they were still sitting in prison, away from their fancy lives, designer suits, and expensive homes. The rich boys had finally been brought down to earth.

Jill, Trent, and Brooke had all made deals for immunity while revealing evidence about the conspiracy network.

Kyle Vance, Charles Adler, and Graham Adler were in the midst of making plea deals, and the individuals responsible for Brooke's stabbing and Justin Harrington's attack had also been arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including attempted murder.

The LA field office of the FBI had undergone a thorough audit with the director, Rebecca Markham, and Matt's former partner, Shari Drummond, now awaiting trials for fraud, obstruction of justice, and other charges. Two other individuals at the FBI were also being investigated.

Senator Matson was under investigation as well but had yet to be officially charged as they continued to build a case against him.

The entire Westbridge alumni network had come under a great deal of scrutiny, and there were now other journalists, as well as the FBI and the police, who were working on uncovering crimes, bribes, and payoffs committed by other individuals tied to the university.

It would take a while to catch everyone, and there would probably be people who slipped through the cracks, but the school's reputation and alumni network had been severely damaged.

As for the launch of the algorithm, the market had bounced back after the warm-up fall, and thankfully, fully recovered without the chaos and mayhem that Drew and Henry had desired.

Kent Sanderson's company had lost a lot of money, and while he'd been oblivious to his son's dangerous intent, his reputation had taken a hit, and his investors were leaving him in droves, lowering his net worth by a great deal.

Also, in the plus column, Anthony Devray's complaints against Meridien Developments were now being reinvestigated, and Matt was determined to make sure the players responsible for the fraud at Meridien went down, and Anthony could finally be free.

But the most satisfying result for her personally was that Landon's algorithm was now being used by the SEC to detect and prevent exactly the kind of financial crimes that had killed him. Her brother's work was finally going to help protect investors, the way he'd wanted.

"Mind if I join you?"

She looked up to see Matt standing beside her table, holding two cups of coffee. He looked good—rested, happy, more relaxed than she'd seen him in months.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," she said, closing her laptop. "You said you'd be here by ten."

"I got caught at work. Looks like we're about to take down another Westbridge alum for corporate fraud."

"That seems to be never-ending. But I love it."

"So do I. That school will never be the same."

"Good."

He sat down across from her and sipped his coffee. "How are the last two parts of your series coming?"

"The second one is done and being published tomorrow.

The third will go out next week. I have to say the series is opening more doors than I ever imagined.

I got a call from two major news networks that want to interview me about my investigation that helped expose the biggest financial conspiracy in American history.

" She smiled. "It's the best story I've ever written.

I just wish it hadn't come at such a high personal cost."

"Landon would be proud of you."

"He would be. And now that I know the truth, it's getting easier to remember happy times with my brother and not the way his life ended. I want to honor the good he did."

"You are doing that every day."

"I'm trying. What's happening with you?"

"I got a call today about a job in DC, a promotion, actually, if I want it."

Her eyes widened. "Really? That sounds big. But I thought you loved working for Flynn."

"I do. My life is here. I love my work, my team, and I love you. How could I leave?"

"But if it's a big promotion…"

"I don't need a promotion to be happy. I have what I want. I turned them down."

She gave him a searching look. "Are you sure you don't want to think about it?"

"Do you want me to think about it?" he challenged.

"I just don't want you to turn something down for me. I love living here and working at the Sentinel , but if you have a better opportunity elsewhere, Matt, I'll go with you. I can write anywhere. I want you to know that."

"That's very generous, Haley. But I'm good. I'm happy."

"Me, too," she said with a smile. She'd given up her apartment and moved into Matt's place two months earlier and was in the process of warming up his life in every possible way, including his décor.

They'd bickered about a few items, like an orange and red rug she'd wanted to put in the office, and the purple pillows for the bed, but those silly little arguments had ended in compromise and a passionate tumble in their beautiful bed.

"I never thought I'd feel so perfectly safe with someone, and I'm not talking about outside danger," she added. "You give me a sense of security that allows me to be myself, to let go of constantly trying to control everything, and just live in the moment."

"And you have not only brought the color back into my life in every possible way," he said with a teasing smile. “Every day you remind me that there is at least one good person in the world."

"There's more than one. You have to stop being cynical."

"You make that a lot easier." His gaze turned serious. "I mean that, Haley. You light up every room you're in, and I do not ever want to be out of your light."

Her eyes filled with moisture. "That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

"It's the way I feel. I never wanted to risk everything I had on love, but you made me realize it's not a risk, but it's you."

"I feel that way, too. So, we're staying in LA?"

"We're staying together," he corrected, reaching across the table to take her hand. "Wherever you go, I go."

"And wherever you go, I go," she promised.

"I love you, Haley."

"I love you, too, Matt." She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. "I feel so free now. I'm looking ahead instead of back. I'm not trapped in the past, not stuck on the worst night of my life. I can see the future, and it's amazing."

"It's going to be."

"I feel like Landon is free, too. His work will do the good he wanted, and the people who caused his death will suffer in a prison of their own making. He finally got justice."

"He always deserved it, and so did you." He squeezed her hand. "I think we should get married."

Her jaw dropped. "Are you seriously proposing to me in the middle of a coffee shop?"

He laughed and gave her a helpless shrug.

"I'm sorry about the venue and the spontaneity.

I'm not the most romantic person on the planet.

But I do want to marry you, and I want you to know that.

But I'll ask you again with dinner and candlelight and a ring," he said, shaking his head in disgust. "I can't believe I asked you to marry me without a ring. "

"I don't want you to do it again. I love this moment because it's real.

It's us. I don't need the other stuff. Every day with you is the best day of my life, and I will marry you.

" She leaned forward and gave him a kiss.

"Thanks for believing in me, Matt. For always having my back. I hope you know I have yours, too."

"I do," he said, then laughed. "Oops, I said the words already. I am really jumping the gun today."

She grinned back at him, then leaned across the table to kiss him, knowing that they were already married to each other in their hearts, but one day soon they'd have a party to celebrate.