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“Open it.”
He looks at me confusedly. “What the fuck is this?”
“Open. It.”
He bristles. But he reaches for the file and flips it open, shaking his head. “This had better be your official statement dropping out of the?—”
His face turns pale as his shoulders tense. He blinks rapidly, his throat working before his eyes slowly drag up to mine.
The file I’ve just given him contains copies of the un-redacted documents I got unsealed by Judge Myers. It also has a statement sworn by Fumi this morning, detailing exactly what happened that awful day. I watch, my lips slowly curling into a vicious, thin smile as Preston’s face turns gray.
It’s not a silver bullet. At best, even with a sworn statement, it’s hearsay. But the point is to force Preston’s hand. I want him terrified that this will get out. Because if it does, hearsay or not, he’s fucking done.
“As I was saying, Preston,” I growl, “you bow out today. You suspend your campaign, don’t spend another dime on ads, quietly finish up your term and fade the fuck away. Or this all goes?—”
He starts to laugh. My eyes narrow on him as he shakes his head and stands, sighing.
“You’re a great attorney, Gabriel. I’ll give you that. But you’re new to politics, so I guess I need to explain how this stuff works.”
“If you think I’m bluffing?—”
“Oh, I don’t think you’re bluffing, Gabriel. But you’re not going to use that.”
I laugh coldly. “Well, famous last words. Enjoy your office while you can.”
I turn to leave.
“If you use this, Gabriel, she’ll be all over the news.”
I stiffen. Slowly, I turn to him.
“What?”
“She’ll be the star here. Not me.” He shakes his head again. “When you’ve been in the game as long as I have, you’ve heard everything. Every allegation, every rumor. Every?—”
“This is proof.”
“No, it’s he-said/she-said.” He grins darkly at me. “We both know that. Who do you think the media will focus on? Me?” He shrugs. “Please, I’m just an old politician. I’ve been at this so long, the public has already seen my name dragged through the mud for a dozen unfounded things over the years. But Fumi?” He grins. “The pretty, plucky new wife of the up-and-comer? The press and the public will devour her. Really. They’ll rip her apart, Gabriel.”
He grins as my jaw grinds tightly.
“You release that,” he shrugs, “and yeah, it may cause some problems at home for me. But Deborah’s heard a hundred allegations of affairs, and I’ve talked her down from every one of ’em.” He smirks. “If you put all that out there, yeah, I may come off looking a little sleazy?—”
“You’ll look like a criminal.”
He shakes his head. “I’ll look like a stud.”
Every muscle in my body tenses as I level a cold look at him.
“Careful, Preston.”
He grins. “The public gets wind of that story? You know how it’ll play out in their heads. Like I ‘knew’ your wife. Like I cucked you.”
My eyes draw to slits. Preston grins widely.
“Angry, Gabriel? Frosted that before you even met her, I had your wife on her knees, fucking her teenaged whore mouth?—”
He goes down with a wail, tumbling backward into the credenza as I slam my fist into his mouth.
