Brennan shifts in his seat. “Destroy us, how? Are we talking financially? Politically? Bodies in the closet?”
I nod. “All of the above.”
Fiona is staring right at me. “I don’t understand.”
Ronan exhales slowly, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that, brother.”
“I know. Which is why the evidence has to look real enough.”
Kieran’s eyes narrow. “Are you planning to hand him our real dirt?”
“Fuck, no. I’m not sacrificing my family to bait a trap. I’ve drafted documents, transactions and various movement logs that are close enough to the truth that he recognizes the shape of it, but wrong enough that it collapses if he tries to use it.”
Brennan whistles under his breath. “So, your plan is to weaponize misinformation.”
“Exactly.”
I look to Ronan then for approval, and when he nods, I exhale a breath.
Ronan rubs his chin. “If it mirrors things he already suspects, he’ll bite.”
Fiona’s fingers curl into the fabric of her sweater. “And when he asks where I got it?”
“You tell him what he already believes. That you had access to me, but that you waited for the right moment.”
Her throat bobs. “You want me to sell him the idea that I betrayed you?”
“I want you to sell him the idea that you would do anything for your family.”
“And if he asks why now?”
“Because you want this debt paid so you can leave this all behind.”
Ronan looks from her to me. “Fiona’s going to need to understand what she’s handing over. At least enough for it to sound convincing.”
I nod. “But not too polished that he’ll get suspicious. Tell him you only copied what you could, and that accessing more information would have tipped me off.”
“Cormac… If he tries to scare me?—”
“You don’t fill the silence. You lethimdo the talking. Let him still think that he’s the one in control.”
Fiona exhales. “I can do that.”
Brennan looks around at us. “So, how are we going to get this evidence to him?”
I look into Fiona’s eyes. “You’re going to call Lorcan now and tell him to meet you.”
“Now?” she asks, panicked.
“We can’t waste any more time.”
Fiona nervously runs her hands up and down her thighs, and I give her shoulder another reassuring squeeze.
“I’ll be here the whole time,” I remind her.
Kieran shakes his head. “That’s nothing short of a suicide mission.”
Fiona flinches, and I shoot Kieran a glare.
