My Husband Called Me a Crazy Pregnant WomanUntil My Army Colonel Father Saw the Bruises / Chapter 13 / 20

Chapter 13 - The War CouncilI was sitting in a windowless room at an FBI safe house in Alexandria when my father walked in. He wasn't alone.

With him was Sarah Jenkins, the DA who had prosecuted Ethan, and a tall, sharp-eyed man in a tactical suit introduced as Special Agent Miller of the FBI's Organized Crime Task Force.

"We have a problem, Claire, but we also have an opportunity," my father said, pulling up a chair.

Agent Miller placed a file on the table. "Viktor Kozlov. Russian mob affiliate. He’s been running underground casinos and loan-sharking operations on the East Coast for a decade. We’ve been trying to nail him for years, but he’s perfectly insulated. He uses low-level thugs to do his dirty work."

"He threatened my son," I said, my voice steady despite the fear clawing at my chest.

"Which is his first major mistake," Jenkins chimed in. "Extorting the wealthy victim of a highly publicized domestic abuse case crosses state lines and involves federal kidnapping threats. Kozlov just handed the FBI the jurisdiction they needed on a silver platter."

"But we need to catch him in the act," Agent Miller explained. "Kozlov sent a burner phone in that package, buried beneath the cardboard lining. He’s expecting a call to arrange the wire transfer."

I looked at my father. "You want me to call him."

"We want to set a trap," my father corrected. "We wire Kozlov a fraction of the money as 'proof of funds,' but we insist on a face-to-face meeting to hand over the rest in bearer bonds, claiming the trust lawyers are monitoring the electronic accounts."

"Kozlov won't show up himself," Agent Miller said. "But he will send his top lieutenants. Once we arrest them during the exchange, we squeeze them to testify against Kozlov. But Claire... you would have to be the one to hand over the briefcase. It has to look real."

I looked at Leo, sleeping peacefully in a portable crib in the corner of the room. Ethan had brought this violence to my doorstep. He had married me for this money. Now, that same money was going to buy our absolute freedom.