The name sounded like something from a crime movie.
“Victor Kain,” I repeated.
Agent Reed nodded. “He is not just a businessman,” he said. “He is a collector. He collects favors. He collects people. He makes offers that are really traps.”
I swallowed again. “What does he have to do with Jason?”
“We believe,” Reed said, “that Jason took money from donors, then used it to cover a deal he made with Victor Kain—a deal he could not pay back.”
I gripped the edge of the table. “What kind of deal?”
Agent Reed spoke slowly, careful with his words. “We believe Jason agreed to move certain goods through his charity network, using charity trucks and charity paperwork as cover. That way it would not look suspicious.”
I stared at him. “Goods?” I said.
He nodded. “We do not yet know the full list, but we know it was illegal.”
My heart pounded. I thought about the charity vans I saw in Jason’s social media posts. The big Helping Hearts logo on the side. Kids waving, Jason smiling. It all looked so good. Now it all looked like a mask.
I looked down at my hands. “I never saw any trucks,” I said. “I never saw any warehouses. I only saw photos on his phone.”
Agent Reed’s voice softened. “That is why your help matters,” he said. “He brought you in just enough to use you, but not enough to protect you. That is how people like Jason operate when they are desperate.”
The words cut.
People like Jason, not my Jason.
But maybe it was my Jason now.
The door opened a crack and the female agent spoke quietly. “Daniel,” she said, “we found the man who tried to leave. He is in the lobby. He says he works for the hotel.”
Agent Reed stood up. “Keep him there,” he said. “Do not let him touch his phone.”
Then he looked at me. “Mrs. Miller, stay here. Do not open the door for anyone except her and me.”
I nodded, my mouth too dry to speak.
He left, and the female agent stayed by the door.
For a few moments, the room was silent except for distant voices in the hallway. I stared at the wall. My mind kept replaying Jason’s laugh, “Who wants my boring mom,” the room full of people laughing.
I had been embarrassed before in life. I had been poor. I had been alone. I had been tired.
But I had never been turned into a joke by my own child.
Tears gathered in my eyes. I blinked them back hard.
Then I heard something that made my whole body go still.
A buzz.
My phone.
It was in my purse.
I reached inside, pulled it out, and saw a text message.
Unknown number.
The message was short.
Do not talk. Do not trust the agent. Come out the back door now.
My heart slammed.
I looked at the female agent by the door. She was facing the hallway, listening. I stared at the message again. Unknown number.
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