A Woman Worth Billions Dated the Wrong Brother novel Chapter 186

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Victims

Amber POV

We arrived at the base, the ride was silent, you could feel the tension in the air.

The base was under heavier security than before. Gates opened in stages, checkpoints doubled, armed guards posted at every entrance. Whatever had begun in that courtroom had already changed the atmosphere here.

John Stait got out of the car, and after speaking with the guards for a few minutes we were in.

Now i got why he said we had to ride with him.

Emory Watson met us personally at the entrance, he just showed the guard his intelligence ID and he was in. Without ceremony, Mr. Stait handed Jason and me high-clearance access badges. Mine still smelled like fresh laminate. Jason glanced at his, then clipped it on without comment.

Emory Watson received a regular clearance pass.

That made Jason smirk.

It was small, quick, and deeply satisfied.

There was definitely something going on between those two. Some silent rivalry made entirely of professional pride and mutual irritation. Watching Jason become slightly immature over a badge was unexpectedly adorable, a happy moment in all the chaos.

John led us straight to his office. Once inside, he closed the door, took a long sip of water, and turned on the main

screen.

“First, Amber, Jason, thank you for coming,”

He took a deep breath.

“We know about the two girls you took in, what you are about to see may shock you, but we can assure you that we have taken Iris and Rose’s pictures off the victim board you are about to see,”

Photographs appeared.

Rows of faces. Men and women at different ages. Children in some images. Teenagers in others. Adults in later files.

Most looked unwell. Thin. Hollow-eyed. Neglected.

Too many of them looked exactly as Rose had when we first found her.

My stomach turned.

“In total,” John said quietly, “there are more than fifty victims.”

He changed the slide. Names, ages, family affiliations, dates last seen.

“These are the victims we have managed to identify. They were captives under the Beckers. Most come from influential families around the country.”

He paused.

“While we have located twenty-eight, the rest are still missing.”

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The room felt colder.

We suspect the Beckers are involved in human trafficking with different purposes.”

No one spoke for a moment. Even Jason had gone still beside me.

John gave us time to absorb it, then stepped back.

Emory moved forward next.

“We tracked Becker locations and safe houses across the country,” he said, bringing up maps marked in red.” Unfortunately, we do not yet have enough evidence to formally prove another family is involved.” 1

He switched screens again. Financial records appeared. Transfers. Shell entities. Offshore routing.

“The reason we suspect the Vinnys is this. While the Beckers received payment from victims’ families, they transferred eighty percent of those funds to an offshore account.”

He enlarged one section.

“We connected that account to a phantom company belonging to the Vinny family.”

Jason’s expression darkened.

“The problem,” Emory continued, “is that the moment we linked the account to the Vinnys, it was closed.”

Meaning they knew.

Meaning someone had warned them.

“We have reason to believe the Vinnys were informed and chose to erase the evidence.”

His next words landed like a blade.

“And we are afraid that means they may choose to make their victims disappear.”

“We need to know everything there is, what you were able to find and how you extracted the girls from the Beckers house, this information may bring light to the missing victims location.”

Jason went still beside me.

The change was immediate and unmistakable. Not fear. Not surprise. Something older. Sharper.

Protectiveness.

John either did not notice or chose to continue anyway.

“How were you able to save Rose and Iris?”

The air in the room shifted.

Because Rose and Iris were not just part of an investigation to Jason. They were children who had survived something cruel. Children he had taken into his home. Children he guarded with the kind of instinct that came from wounds no one fully spoke about.

He had passed through something similar once.

And some scars never stopped recognizing themselves in others.

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John’s voice softened, fipally understanding he was stepping onto dangerous ground.

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We need to know how they were found. Where they were being kept. Who handled them. Anything that may help us locate the others.”

Jason’s jaw tightened. His hands curled once at his sides before relaxing again.

For a moment, I thought he might refuse outright.

Then I placed my hand over his.

He looked at me.

The tension in him did not disappear, but it steadied.

He exhaled slowly and pulled out a chair.

When he sat, his eyes were no longer on John. They were on the photographs of the missing.

On the children still waiting to be found.

I knew that look.

Jason did not sit immediately. He remained standing, shoulders rigid, eyes fixed on the wall of missing faces.

Then he spoke.

“I will not involve the girls in this investigation.”

His tone allowed no room for argument.

“Rose and Iris have already survived enough.”

A beat passed.

“I know what something like that does to a child.”

The room went still.

Jason’s jaw tightened before he continued.

“I went through something similar once.”

My breath caught.

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