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00:02Thanksgiving night was the last calm moment I remembered I tasted black truffle on my tongue
00:08a holiday tart Grayson insisted I try and then everything blurred the world tilted my limbs went
00:14numb and consciousness slipped out of my hands like water through broken glass
00:25when I woke both of my arms were broken the pain sharp and white hot and I was lying somewhere
00:31deep
00:32inside the Sierra Nevada wilderness my fiance handed my private jet to his assistant like it
00:40was a party favor I didn't even pause to process the insult my fingers were dialing the FAA emergency
00:51line before the outrage fully settled in my chest and within minutes they intercepted her midair
00:57grounding the plane at the nearest federal airfield when Grayson Whitmore found out he didn't look
01:04shocked he didn't look guilty either he looked irritated at me not her Jesus Celeste he sighed
01:11stroked his forehead as if I were the unreasonable one Mia just wanted to fly home for Thanksgiving
01:17and make a good impression it's not that deep she's still being held by federal officers would
01:23you please go down there and explain it was a misunderstanding they're not going to prosecute
01:27a girl for wanting to feel important sometimes I wondered whether he genuinely believed the bullshit
01:32he said or if he simply thought I was too soft or too in love to call him on it
01:36Grayson this isn't
01:39about feeling important this is about flying a multi-million dollar aircraft without a pilot's
01:46license if he was showing off and people who break federal aviation law should face the consequences
01:52even if they flutter their eyelashes at you he let out a long theatrical exhale the kind meant to signal
01:59I was being impossible before turning away I'll have Whitmore Enterprises legal department deal with it
02:05you never know how to pick your battles
02:12the cold earth pressing through my skin like a second heartbeat a red glow washed over me the
02:18beam of an infrared camera before Grayson's voice followed low and venomous you know Mia was detained
02:24for 48 hours because of your little tantrum he asked his tone dangerously calm she was terrified
02:29so you can fly a plane big deal let's see what other impressive skills you have think you can walk
02:38out of here naked and make it home my vision shook but I forced my good fingers what remained of
02:43them
02:44to reach the side of my AR tactical glasses the emergency signal was faint but it was there
02:49I pressed the button my voice cutting through the wind in a low steady rasp get here in 30 minutes
02:55and I will owe you everything Celeste Montgomery you're going to apologize to Mia right now and say
03:02out loud that you're nothing but a worthless bitch otherwise you can rot out here in the Sierra Nevada
03:07until the toxins in the air finish you off or until something with fangs does Mia Carrington nestled
03:14comfortably against his chest as if this were some sick holiday movie scene instead of an attempted murder
03:19broadcast to criminals slid into the frame Celeste honey your arms are broken maybe just give in a
03:26little if you apologize I'll ask Gray to pull you out of here Grayson pulled her in and kissed her
03:31the glow of the screen sharpening the cruelty in his eyes then he lifted the drone controller
03:36sinking our feed to a dark net live stream packed with faceless buyers who treated human suffering like
03:42a sport ladies and gentlemen your Thanksgiving special begins now Celeste Montgomery daughter of old
03:50money royalty former federal wilderness survival specialist we'll attempt to cross the Sierra Nevada
03:55with no gear no clothes and two broken arms place your bets on how long she'll last
04:00one thousand dollars per minute no upper limit
04:12you heard the crowd let's give our patrons what they paid for he zoomed the camera in obscenely close
04:19letting the lens trace the line of my collarbone drift down the bruises on my ribs
04:23hesitate over every inch of exposed skin his greed felt physical like oily fingers crawling over me
04:29you always said people should pay the price for their mistakes Celeste
04:33now look at you your arms are useless you can't even dress yourself tell me is this enough of a
04:39consequence to help you remember how much you hurt Mia I was naked under the floodlight of the drone
04:44stripped not only of clothing but of privacy dignity and safety I pressed my forearms tight against my chest
04:51desperate to shield whatever fragments of myself I could still claim
04:57their laughter oozed into my ears I felt vile burn into the back of my throat my broken bones scraped
05:04against the torn flesh of my arms and a cold sweat spread down my spine all this because I reported
05:10Mia's illegal flight for five years I helped build Whitmore Enterprises from the ground up for five years I
05:17used Montgomery resources and old money leverage to clear his path fight off his competitors and shield
05:23him from the consequences of his own incompetence I made him into something I took a scholarship kid
05:29with nothing but ambition and turned him into a writhing star and now that he thought my family was losing
05:34influence now that he believed he no longer needed me he stripped me threw me into the wilderness and
05:40broadcasted my suffering to the highest bitter Grayson laughed again loud cruel almost giddy with the power he
05:47thought he held in that moment I realized he had never loved me he had only loved the way I
05:53made him
05:53feel powerful and now he wanted to prove he could destroy me just as easily make sure every paying creep
05:59in that channel has the time of their lives it's Thanksgiving give the bosses something to be thankful for
06:10here's the deal Celeste transfer 10% of Montgomery Global right now right into Mia's name and I'll have that
06:16drone drop a thermal blanket before the wolves smell you otherwise happy holidays
06:19gray babe that's too much I can't take her shares
06:27Celeste probably hates me she's always acting like I'm not good enough to fly the G650 that she thinks I'm
06:33just some gold
06:33digging flight attendant you've been too busy closing that Alaska pipeline deal to finish your pilot's license
06:38too busy closing deals I almost laughed even as the aphrodisiac set my bloodstream on fire
06:44too busy riding Grayson's lap in the Whitmore boardroom I collapsed against the rotting pine needles
06:50every nerve screaming blood frozen scarlet icicles on my forearms where the fall had snapped both bones
06:55Grayson Whitmore you make me sick
06:58we're done
06:59the engagement over
07:07for one heartbeat the mask slipped and I saw the same kid who used to sneak me into Met Gallus
07:13and promise me the world
07:14then Mia whispered something and the mask slammed back down harder crueler
07:19Celeste you can't just throw away five years
07:23unless
07:26you already have some side piece lined up some Wall Street wolf waiting in a Park Avenue penthouse
07:38Montgomery global stock is tanking faster than SPS Celeste you're nothing without me
07:43you want to call off the wedding fine when the feds freeze every offshore account your grandfather buried in the
07:48Caymans
07:50get that drone interface give the subscribers the money shot 4k night vision the works
07:57I threw up a broken arm shield
07:58I killed myself then remembered I was naked underneath the ruins of a $10,000 gown shame burned hotter than
08:05the chemical fire in my veins
08:06I curled into a ball slid another foot down the Iceland slope and nearly pitched into the ravine
08:13somewhere below Timberwolves started howling real ones not metaphors
08:18Celeste honey just signed the transfer it's only money let Grayson cool off
08:22we'll airlift you out get you a spa day at Merval pretend this never happened
08:25a second drone swooped in mechanical claw gripping a tablet displaying the share transfer agreement
08:29it hovered six inches from my nose like a guillotine
08:32sign or freeze your choice
08:44something slithered over my cheek centipede six inches long rocky mountain paranoia venom
08:50it crawled into my ear the pain was so bright I almost welcomed it then gravity took over again
08:56I clawed at frozen granite fingernails snapping and slid closer to the poison ivage okra
09:02where rattlesnakes denned for winter keep talking tough princess ten more feet and you're in the vipa pit
09:09let's see that harbor mouth negotiate with diamondbacks
09:11you're not the Montgomery heiress anymore Celeste
09:14Grayson says if you sign and apologize live admit you framed me for cooking the books
09:18tried to send an innocent girl to federal prison
09:19he'll call the chopper
09:21I'll even forgive you for that SEC subpoena you paid for
09:24you vicious bitch trying to lock Mia up
09:28what about her little sister who needs chemo
09:33the first drone released a glass ampule
09:35it shattered at my feet in a hiss of white vapor
09:39the snow around my bare feet melted into black sludge
09:42military grade corrosives
09:44flesh on my calf bubbled like acid on steak
09:47I screamed until my throat tore
09:50scared yet Celeste?
09:53apologize to Mia
09:54now
09:56or the next one goes in your face
09:58I dragged myself an inch uphill blood painting the snow red the metallic scent drew every leech tick and beetle
10:06in a five mile radius
10:07they burrowed under what was left of my dress I couldn't swap them off
10:12for the first time in 28 years of boardrooms bailouts and Forbes covers
10:18Celeste Montgomery was out of moves
10:20I lifted my head to the drone lens
10:22to the man who once swore he'd burn the world before he'd let me get hurt
10:28Grayson when I get out of here and I will
10:32I'm going to take everything
10:33then the centipede in my ear released its venom
10:37the ravine rushed up to swallow me
10:39and the last thing I heard was Mia laughing
10:41like she'd already want
10:48everything bled crimson blood
10:49mud
10:50the strobing red of the drone's emergency LEDs
10:53I couldn't tell where one ended
10:55and the other began
10:57my pulse hammered so loud
10:59I barely heard the dark net chat
11:01lose its collective mind
11:05even Grayson's executive assistant started sweating bullets
11:08the guy had buried bodies for Whitmore Enterprises in three continents
11:11but live streaming a billionaire heiress getting eaten by wolves
11:15apparently crossed a line
11:17Mr. Whitmore, sir
11:18Celeste looks half dead already
11:20heart rate's crashing on the biometric feed
11:23she's not dying
11:26girls like Celeste don't die
11:28they just get humbled
11:29if she hadn't
11:30spent the last five years
11:32trying to frame Mia for securities fraud
11:34maybe I'd have gone easy
11:37tonight's just a friendly reminder
11:45I force my head up
11:46locked eyes with the drone's cold lens
11:48and let every ounce of Montgomery Steel
11:50pour into my glare
11:51I did nothing wrong
11:53why the hell should I hand over 10% of the company
11:55my great-grandfather built from steel mills in Pittsburgh
11:58just because
11:59some trust fund psycho wants to flex
12:02bugs, please
12:03I'd spent summers tagging grizzlies
12:06with federal wildlife teams and catmine
12:08before I could legally drink
12:09this was just another Tuesday in hell
12:11with everything I had left
12:13I rolled onto my back
12:14and dragged myself across the jagged shale
12:16rocks tore fresh gashes across my shoulder blades
12:19but the pain was a blessing
12:21it scraped off half the leeches
12:23and centipedes burrowed into my skin
12:25blood mixed with snow into pink slush
12:27yet somewhere in the haze I spotted it
12:29a cluster of wild sagebrush
12:31glowing faintly under the drone's floodlight
12:33the same plant rangers in Denali square by
12:36crushed leaves masked blood scent
12:38for exactly 11 minutes
12:40I take six
12:41Celeste Montgomery have you no shame?
12:44beg right now
12:46or the next thing coming down that ravine
12:49won't be bugs
12:50you never planned to let me walk out of here Grayson
12:54dead or broken
12:56you decided
12:58the second you
13:00spiked the champagne
13:02oh my god Celeste
13:04what are you doing?
13:06as I clawed the sagebrush closer
13:07bit the stem until bitter juice flooded my mouth
13:10then smeared the pulse across every bleeding wound
13:13the alkaloids hit my bloodstream like ice water
13:16numbed the nerve endings
13:17killed the scent trail
13:18temporary sure
13:19but temporary was all I needed
13:21Mia always said you were a snake
13:23guess she's right
13:25you're trying to fake a suicide
13:26pin it on me
13:27ruin Whitmore Enterprises
13:29on Black Friday weekend
13:31classic Celeste
13:32even half naked in a blizzard
13:34you're still scheming
13:36five years Grayson
13:38five years I cleaned up your messes
13:40quieted the SC
13:41buried the insider trading rumors
13:44paid off that flight attendant
13:46you knocked up in Vegas
13:47without Montgomery Capital
13:49you'd be still slinging dime bags
13:52outside Yale
13:56for one heartbeat
13:58the mask slipped again
13:59something raw flickered behind those Wall Street eyes
14:01guilt maybe
14:02or the ghost of the boy
14:04who used to sneak me onto the roof of the Met
14:06to watch July 4th fireworks
14:08then Mia whispered poison in his ear
14:10and the mask hardened into granite
14:14this chick's got nine lives boss
14:15thought she was done ten minutes ago
14:18then let's burn through the rest
14:20I want to see how long that Montgomery pride lasts
14:24when the wolves start chewing
14:26Celeste sweetie
14:27don't make the wolves angry
14:29you're screaming loud enough to wake every predator
14:32from here to Glaciers National Park
14:34when you tried to send Mia to federal prison
14:37for cooking the books you cooked up yourself
14:38did you warn her?
14:40open the speakers
14:41the drone's PA system blasted a recorded
14:44alcohol snarl at 180 decibels
14:46enough to rattle bones
14:48every tree around me exploded with movement
14:51branches snapped
14:52snow cascaded
14:53the real pack answered the call
14:55I froze every muscle seizing
14:58pain from my compound fractures
15:00the acid burn on my calf
15:02the centipede venom
15:03none of it compared to the primal terror
15:05of glowing eyes circling in the dark
15:07eight maybe ten sets
15:08timber wolves
15:09coastal giants
15:10the kind that take down moves for fun
15:12one stepped into the floodlight above me
15:15silver gray
15:16two hundred pounds of pure hunger
15:17its breath
15:18deemed in the sub-zero air
15:20I heard the crunch of its paws
15:22the low rumble in its chest
15:24Grayson
15:25wanted me shredded on a camera
15:27survival instinct kicked harder than any drug
15:30I eased backward
15:31inch by inch
15:35running now princess?
15:37where's all
15:38that billionaire backbone?
15:41hide and seek with a wolf packer
15:42how's that for a thanksgiving tradition?
15:44green eyes multiplied in the darkness
15:46fangs caught the light
15:48like switchblades
15:49last chance Celeste
15:51kneel
15:51apologize to Mia on stream
15:53I'll hit the ultrasonic repellent
15:55keep fighting and you're dinner
16:00say you're sorry
16:01damn it
16:03this is how the Montgomery line ends
16:12she doesn't owe a single god damn apology to anyone
16:17and somewhere above the tree line
16:19a black hawk chopper roared in low
16:39celeste i've got you
16:43Nathan Hale swung down
16:45like some avenging specter
16:47former delta force
16:49three-time national combatives champion
16:51and the man my grandfather trusted with every dirty secret
16:55the Montgomery fortune ever needed buried
16:58Nathan Hale?
16:59Nathan didn't answer him
17:01the rage in his stare could have melted the glacier behind us
17:05but his hand stayed gentle when he stripped off his plate carrier parka
17:09and wrapped it around my shaking shoulders
17:13celeste i've got you
17:14he scooped me up like i weighed nothing
17:16so careful to keep pressure off the places where bone popes your skin
17:20i tried to shrink away
17:22mortified that Nathan Hale of all people
17:24was seeing me like this naked filthy broken
17:27it's over sweetheart
17:30nobody touches you again
17:32his team dropped in behind him
17:34suppressed rifles barking in short surgical bursts
17:38the remaining wolves scattered into the dark light
17:40they've never existed
17:41who the hell are you people
17:44this is a private matter
17:47private
17:50kidnapping
17:50aggravated assault
17:52attempted murder
17:54when did federal felonies become a couple spat
17:57race in Whitmore
17:58Mia Karen can kill the stream
18:00right now
18:01or i start putting rounds through optics
18:04and we watch whose skull
18:06blooms
18:07next
18:10captain hale sir
18:11this is a misunderstanding
18:13save it for the u.s attorney
18:14or for the Montgomery legal division
18:17your choice
18:19Montgomery?
18:21which Montgomery?
18:23the one that makes the dow twitch
18:24every time the old man sneezes
18:26the one your boyfriend's been siphoning from
18:28for five years
18:29thinking nobody was watching
18:33Celeste Montgomery
18:36heiress
18:38majority shareholder
18:39and the woman you just tried to feed to wolves
18:41on thanksgiving
18:43surprise
18:49Grayson
18:49the annulment papers hit your desk tomorrow morning
18:52and the bankruptcy petition hits the southern district of New York five minutes later
18:56happy thanksgiving
18:57sleep tight
18:59on that private jet cot
19:06I still couldn't stop shaking partly from hypothermia
19:09part the special kind of cold
19:11that settles in your bones
19:13when the man you loved
19:14tries to murder you for sport
19:16Nathan knelt between the jump seats
19:18cleaning blood from my forearms
19:20with steady marine precision
19:22every swipe of the alcohol wipe felt like fire
19:25but his touch never faltered
19:27the patriarchs got the estate on full lockdown
19:30top orthopedic trauma surgeon
19:32out of Johns Hopkins
19:33is already wheels up from Baltimore
19:34your grandfather tried to charter a C-130
19:37to come rip Whitmore apart with his bare hands
19:40took three generals to talk him down
19:43this one's yours to finish
19:45I managed to nod
19:46every memory from the last five years
19:48rewound in high def
19:50Grayson kissing my knuckles
19:51after the Montgomery Trust
19:53quietly bailed out his failing startup
19:55Mia sliding updated contracts across his desk
19:58pupils blown wide with victory
20:02the way he'd snap
20:03what is that?
20:06can you stop being so paranoid?
20:08every time I pointed out her forged signatures
20:11I'd ignored every red flag
20:13because I thought love meant trusting harder
20:15five years
20:16I'm the punchline in a joke
20:18I helped write
20:19you trusted the wrong person Celeste
20:22that doesn't make you stupid
20:24it makes you human
20:27and humans get even
20:35here's Mia's greatest hits
20:37we've got her cold
20:38I scrolled
20:39she'd hollowed Whitmore Enterprises out
20:41like a Thanksgiving turkey
20:42and stuffed the carcass with iOS
20:44another file
20:47Whitmore's real balance sheet
20:49red ink deep enough to drown Manhattan
20:53our legal team drafted everything
20:56an annulment returns every gift
20:57every trust contribution
20:59every share he ever touched
21:04attempted murder
21:05conspiracy
21:06violation of the computer fraud and abuse act
21:08for the dark net stream
21:09the drone footage alone will put them away
21:12for 25 to life
21:13I closed my eyes
21:14and saw Patriarch Montgomery's face
21:17crinkled with worry the last time
21:19I turned down his offer to vet Grayson personally
21:21he'd known
21:22of course he'd known
21:24and I'd been too proud
21:25too in love
21:27too blind
21:32take me home Nathan
21:34tomorrow we burn their empire to the ground
21:36and salt the earth
21:39copy that man
21:40next stop
21:41Montgomery State
21:43Aspen
21:44then we make them
21:47wish the wolves had finished the job
21:51five years ago
21:53I sat across from Patriarch
21:54I told him
21:56I wanted to try a relationship
21:57without the Montgomery name attached
22:00no private security tale
22:02no trust fund safety net
22:04just me and some guy from Yale
22:07who swore he loved me for my brain
22:08not my portfolio
22:10the old man's face
22:11went the color of ash
22:13he smashed his favorite crystal wine glass
22:15on the floor
22:16and roared that
22:17I was throwing away a century of blood
22:19and steel
22:20for a pretty smile
22:22in the end
22:23he caved like he always did
22:25when I dug my heels in
22:26play your little game Celeste
22:30but when the world shows you its teeth
22:33you come home
22:39I opened my eyes
22:40in the Blackhawk's dim cabin
22:41the morphine finally wearing off enough for the words
22:44to cut through the pain
22:47notify every major outlet
22:49CNN
22:49Bloomberg
22:50Fox
22:51The Journal
22:52all of them
22:53tomorrow
22:5410 a.m. sharp
22:55penthouse ballroom
22:56Montgomery Global Tower
22:57mid-down Manhattan
22:58I'm holding a press conference
23:00copy that
23:01comms team's already spinning up
23:03we'll have every network on the continent
23:04begging for seats
23:08the PR director met me
23:10in the private elevator
23:11ma'am
23:12the ballroom's locked down
23:13tighter than Fort Knox
23:14we've got every tier one journalist
23:16from here to Tokyo
23:16live feeds to every financial desk
23:18in the world
23:19the bespoke Armani suit
23:21hid the road rash
23:22and acid burns like armor
23:23only the faint tremor in my fingers
23:26betrayed the truth
23:27tell them I'm on my way
23:3130 minutes later
23:33I stepped onto the day eyes
23:34under a constellation of camera flashes
23:36hot enough to melt steel
23:38Nathan flanked my right
23:398 more operators ringed the stage
23:42hands never far from concealed Sig Sowers
23:45good morning
23:46thank you for coming on short notice
23:49I'm here to set the record straight
23:51on one matter
23:53and to announce a decision
23:57Grayson Whitmore stormed in
23:59looking like he'd slept in a dumpster
24:00Mia clung to his arm
24:02mascara tracks carving rivers
24:04through her foundation
24:05Celeste
24:06you vicious bitch
24:08what did you do to my company?
24:11every account frozen
24:12every supplier ghosting me
24:14do you have any idea
24:16what you've cost me?
24:17Celeste please
24:19Gray only lost his mind
24:21because he loves me
24:23punish me not him
24:25cameras swung like howitzers
24:27the flash storm was blinding
24:29Nathan started forward
24:31I stopped him cold
24:36let them through
24:40five years Celeste
24:42five years and this is how you repay me?
24:47I ignored him completely
24:48nodded to Nathan
24:50the 80 foot LED wall behind me
24:52flared to life
24:53the Aspen backcountry
24:55filled the screen
24:56my own screams echoed
24:58through the ballroom sound system
24:59you said a real player
25:00could walk home naked
25:01right?
25:02let's test that theory
25:10the room temperature seemed to drop 20 degrees
25:13Grayson went whiter than the marble floor
25:17this is the clarification
25:19I am Celeste Montgomery
25:21majority shareholder
25:24and designated heir to Montgomery Global
25:27last night my fiancee
25:30Grayson Whitmore
25:31in collusion with his executive assistant Mia Carrington
25:35kidnapped me
25:37drugged me
25:38and attempted to murder me
25:39on a dark-knit last stream for sport
25:46and the decision
25:47effective immediately
25:49Montgomery Global
25:51is initiating chapter 7
25:53liquidation of Whitmore Enterprises
25:55every asset
25:57every patent
25:58every offshore shell
25:59will be seized to compensate
26:01for emotional distress
26:02physical damages
26:04and five years of fraud
26:07the double doors opened again
26:09this time to a phalanx of U.S. Marshals
26:12in tactical vests
26:15Grayson Whitmore
26:16Mia Carrington
26:16you are under arrest
26:18for kidnapping
26:20aggravated assault
26:21with a deadly weapon
26:22attempted murder
26:23and conspiracy to commit the same
26:25you have the right to remain silent
26:30remember when you said
26:31I'd come crawling back
26:32once the money ran out
26:34turns out the money never left
26:36you did
26:37the marshals dragged them past rows of reporters
26:40now shouting questions like
26:42machine gun fire
26:43I stayed on the dais
26:44until the doors slammed shut
26:46behind the circus
26:48then I turned to the cameras
26:49one last time
26:50voice steady as the empire at my back
26:52happy thanksgiving America
26:54justice is served cold
26:57and today the Montgomery table
26:59is finally full
27:03Nathan Hale stepped to my side
27:05offered his arm for the walkout
27:07in my head
27:08I could already hear
27:09Patriarch Montgomery
27:10raising a glass
27:11to the granddaughter
27:12who finally came home
27:22I'm telling the truth
27:25Mia masterminded everything
27:28she's been jealous of Celeste
27:31since day one
27:32kept whispering that Celeste
27:34was sabotaging me
27:36laughing at me behind my back
27:39the aspen tripped
27:41her idea
27:43she said it was just a scare
27:45a little humiliation
27:46to force the share transfer
27:48he shoved every ounce of blame
27:50across the hallway
27:50like it could save him
27:55I'm just a secretary
27:58Grayson resented Celeste for years
28:00said she lorded her money over him
28:02treated him like a charity case
28:03he wanted revenge
28:05told me to play along
28:06or he'd destroy my family
28:07I was trapped
28:08please help me
28:10two people
28:11who used to finish each other's sentences
28:13now tore each other apart
28:14like rabid dogs
28:15Grayson finally ran out of oxygen
28:18and collapsed forward
28:19the memories hit harder than any punch
28:27the night we met at that Yale alumni mixer
28:29me in a borrowed dress
28:30laughing that
28:31my family ran a couple hardware stores
28:33back in Pittsburgh
28:36the week his startup was bleeding out
28:38and I slid term sheets across the table
28:40Montgomery money laundered through
28:42a dozen blind trusts
28:43he never questioned
28:44the flu that knocked him flat for six days
28:47I sleeping upright in a plastic hospital chair
28:49with my hand on his IV
28:54every time I pointed out
28:56Nia's forged invoices
28:57and he snarled
28:58you're just jealous
28:59and she's better at the job
29:01than you ever were
29:03all those moments I thought were love
29:05he'd seen as charity
29:06from a girl too naive
29:08to know her own worth
29:18I wasn't some small town factory owner's daughter
29:20I was the Montgomery heiress
29:23and I'd wasted five years shielding his ego
29:26while he sharpened the knife
29:32I lay perfectly still
29:34while the city's top orthopedic surgeons
29:36swapped temporary splints
29:37for titanium-laced casts
29:39light enough for primetime close-ups
29:53Whitmore Enterprises is iced
29:54every account
29:56every patent
29:56every square foot of real estate
29:58proceeds transferred directly
30:00to your personal restitution trust
30:02Darknet Rain has been taken offline
30:04by Cyber Division
30:04every user name
30:06every crypto wallet
30:07our litigation team's filing suits
30:10faster than they can delete browser history
30:12and the ex-lowbirds sang like canaries
30:14on our left-right
30:14full confessions
30:16cross-corroborated
30:17airtight
30:18they're looking at 15 to 20
30:20easy
30:21no parole
30:26you sure you're ready for
30:28what comes next
30:30the board's already floating your name for CEO
30:33Patriarch wants you in the corner office by New Year's
30:36I flexed my new titanium-laced forearm
30:38felt the bite of metal meeting bone
30:41painful
30:42perfect
30:42permanent
30:49tell grandfather the prodigal's home
30:51and this time
30:53I'm not asking
30:55permission
30:59Montgomery Estate
31:00Aspen
31:01three days after Thanksgiving
31:02the snow had stopped falling
31:04but the wind still howled like it wanted back in
31:14ma'am
31:15there's someone at the main gate
31:17who?
31:19Grayson Whitmore's mother
31:22let her freeze
31:24copy that
31:26she's already been out there two nights
31:28security won't even give her coffee
31:30good
31:31when I feel like it
31:33I'll decide if she gets in
31:35not before
31:36oh
31:37and Nathan
31:38make sure Grayson gets the morning paper in his cell
31:42front page
31:43above the fold
31:45Whitmore Enterpurse's liquidated assets
31:48to Montgomery heiress
31:49I want him to read it
31:51while he eats his Thanksgiving leftovers
31:52cold
31:54already on the warden's desk ma'am
31:56day three
31:57I finally had them escort Mrs. Whitmore to the east parlor
32:05Celeste
32:06thank god
32:08Celeste my son is an idiot
32:11a monster
32:12whatever you want to call him
32:14but he's still my only child
32:18I'm begging you look at what we meant to each other once
32:21find it in your heart
32:24auntie
32:25you seem confused
32:28your son didn't break my heart
32:29he committed felony kidnapping and attempted murder
32:32you want mercy
32:35file an appeal with the first circuit
32:40let me refresh your memory
32:42three years ago your heart was failing
32:45Grayson couldn't scrape together 30 grand
32:47I sold my mother's watch
32:48I sold my mother's watch
32:49the one she wore the day she died
32:50so you could have the best surgeon in Boston
32:54you woke up
32:55took my hand
32:56and told me to stay out of men's business
33:01you mistook kindness for weakness
33:04you taught your son the same mistake
33:07now you're both learning the price
33:47Celeste
33:48wouldn't
33:50she loved me
33:53there's more
33:55Montgomery Legal just added commercial fraud to the indictment
33:59they have your original pitch decks
34:02every inflated revenue number
34:04every fake vendor contract
34:06you used to impress her
34:07back when you thought she was just a girl with a trust fund
34:24they're saying
34:25he tried to hang himself with his jumpsuit
34:27didn't get far
34:30let him live long enough
34:31to watch every cent
34:33he ever touched
34:33come home to me
34:38tell Legal to drop the papers
34:39I'm taking the corner office
34:41January 1st
34:44and schedule a board meeting
34:45it's time the world remembered
34:47what happens when you bet against a Montgomery
34:56the trial had been a coronation in reverse
34:59every Montgomery lawyer in a 500 mile radius
35:02showed up in Zegna and vengeance
35:04evidence stacked higher than the jury's coffee cups
35:07his public defender tried
35:09the crime of passion angle
35:10temporary insanity
35:11toxic masculinity
35:13whatever buzzword might shave off a decade
35:15it was like watching a toddler argue with a tsunami
35:18it's all going according to plan
35:20your honor
35:21new evidence
35:29gray
35:30celeste found the offshore transfers
35:32what do I do?
35:33let her bark
35:34I'll just say she's jealous
35:35and trying to tank your career
35:37keep moving the money
35:38once we push her out
35:39Whitmore Enterprises is yours
35:40push her out
35:41Whitmore Enterprises is yours
35:54backstabbing bitch
35:55you were a stepping stone Grayson
35:57a very expensive one
35:59I recorded everything
36:01in case you ever forgot
36:02who held the leash
36:06he finally understood
36:07he'd never been the king
36:09he'd been the pawn she kept in the front row
36:11in case the queen decided to sacrifice something
36:15the judge didn't even look up from his notes
36:17Mia Carrington
36:1915 years
36:20federal penitentiary
36:21credit for cooperation
36:23Grayson Whitmore
36:25kidnapping
36:25attempted murder
36:27commercial fraud
36:28conspiracy
36:28life imprisonment
36:30no parole
36:31political rights terminated for life
36:36Celeste
36:37I'm sorry
36:48Grayson's apology
36:49floated behind us
36:50thin and worthless
36:51as the paper jumpsuit
36:53he'd wear for the rest of his life
37:09you just beat my kill ratio
37:11ma'am
37:12the air force is gonna cry
37:14hands are better than ever
37:15book the Gulfstream
37:17G800
37:18we're doing the globe run
37:19pole to pole
37:2190 hours
37:22no stops
37:26swallowed three competitors
37:27before breakfast
37:28and still found time
37:29to get type rated
37:30in everything with wings
37:31you wasn't the girl
37:32who used to wait up
37:33with soup anymore
37:35I was Celeste Montgomery
37:36CEO in waiting
37:38heir to an empire
37:39that made nations blink
37:45prison mail
37:46Whitmore
37:4710th won this month
37:49summary
37:50same sob story
37:51he is sorry
37:52praise every night
37:53misses the old days
37:54blames me
37:55says if she hadn't existed
37:57we'd be married by now
37:59wants one visit
38:00just one
38:02tell Leavenworth
38:03we're done
38:03forwarding mail
38:05Grayson Whitmore
38:06died on that mountain
38:07as far as I'm concerned
38:09cremate the rest
38:10yes ma'am
38:17are you ready to face
38:18a new storm
38:18at 41,000 feet
38:20like making a cup
38:21of coffee
38:22yep
38:24just like the coffee
38:25you made every day
38:27I didn't slow down
38:28I didn't need to
38:31I was flying to everything
38:32I didn't need to
38:33I didn't need to
38:35I didn't need to
38:41I didn't need to
38:41I didn't need to
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