He wiped his fingers on his handkerchief as if he had touched something dirty.

“Now, tell me where the ledger is, or I will let Marcus start on your brother’s other leg,” Ethan said.

The guard, Marcus, grinned, shifting his weight.

Liam looked up at me, his eyes pleading.

“Don’t do it, Claire,” Liam whispered.

I reached slowly into my coat pocket.

Ethan watched my hand, his posture tense, ready to react if I pulled a weapon.

Instead, I pulled out the burner phone.

The screen was bright, displaying a running timer and a series of green bars.

At the top of the screen, a small red icon was flashing.

“What is that?” Ethan asked, his brow furrowing.

“It’s a transmitter, Ethan,” I said.

The silence in the room suddenly felt incredibly heavy.

“You’re bluffing,” Ethan said, but he took a half-step back.

“It’s connected to a secure cloud server,” I said, my voice steady and calm. “And to the federal prosecutor’s office in Washington.”

Ethan’s eyes darted to the phone, then back to my face.

“They don’t have jurisdiction here,” he said, though his voice had lost its certainty.