Badass In Disguise.

Chapter b254 /b

Author’s POV:

Jade stared at the inclothes officer standing in the doorway of Philip’s office and couldn’t help the smirk that formed on her lips.

“Just you?” she basked/b, raising an eyebrow at Sergeant Ford.

be /bmet her gaze with a slight nod. “Just me.”

He

Philip looked between them, his brow furrowing in confusion. “You two know each other?”

国

Sergeant Ford stepped fully binto /bthe office, extending his bhand /bto Philip. “President Thornton, good to see you again.”

hilip turned to Jade with a mixture of surprise band /bamusement. “Is there any connection in America you don’t have, Miss Morgan? I actually called the policemissioner this morning to make sure you were treated fairly, Seems I wasted my time worrying.”

Jade shruggedb, /bher face neutral.

it Ford cleared his throat. “Well, shall we head down to the station now?”

Sergeant

“Not yet,” bshe /breplied, motioning for Ss toe closer. He approached, still clutching hisptop. “Let me see what we’re bdealing /bwith

first.”

Ss ced hisputer on Philip’s desk, and fade quickly began typing. Her fingers flew bacross /bthe keyboard as she attempted to hack into Mike’s Auto Service’s security system. After a few minutes of intense focus, bshe /bfrowned.

“The footage from that bday /bis missing from their server,” she said, her voice tight with irritation, “bSomeone’s /bdeleted it. But…” She kept typing, navigating throughyers of security, “Let’s see what the bmedia /boutlets have.”

She managed to breach the security of several news websites bthat /bbhad /bposted bthe /bviral video.

“These videos have all bbeen /bedited,” she said.

Sergeant Ford scratched his chin. “Well, thisplicates things. We’ll need to bfind /b

find the original footage.”

bJade /bclosed theptop and stood up. “I think we should pay Mike’s Auto Service a bvisit/b.

“I’ming too,” Ss said firmly. “I was there. I’m a witness.”

Jade followed Sergeant Ford out of the office, with bSs /bclose behind. As they walked through the campus, students stopped and stared, phones out, undoubtedly bspreading /bthe news that she was leaving with the police.

“Isn’t that the bcar/b–crash girl?“.

“She’s getting arrested!”

Jade kept her eyes forward as they reached Sergeant Ford’s unmarked car.

12:28 Sat, bSep /bb27 /b

Once they were all inside, Sergeant Food turned to her, “So, Jade, want to tell me what actually happened?”

国

n me over with his car.

Sitas jumped in before she could answer. This guy at the garage refused to pay for his repairs and threatened to run me Miss Morgan stopped him by… well, by using her car,”

Sergeant Ford raised ban /beyebrow at Jade. “By ramming your million–dor hypercar into his Chevrolet?”

She shrugged. It worked, didn’t it?

Sergeant Ford sighed and started the engine.

While they drove, Jade’s phone buzzed constantly. She finally checked it to find that the online storm had intensified. Some inte detective had dug up information about her Princeton eptance and posted it online,

“Princeton’s standards have really fallen. epting violent criminals nowb?/b”

b“/bWhere does a teenager get ba /bb$/b6 million bcar /banyway? Drug money?”

Jade scrolled through thements with mild amusement.

bJade /bput her phone away as they pulled into Mike’s Auto Service.

Half a world away, Chase Astor sat in his penthouse suite, watching the bviral /bvideo for the tenth time. Each time he saw the Koenigsegg One:1 m into the Chevrolet, he winced as if feeling physical pain.

it was my dream car. Not even mine, and I’m heartbroken.”

“Jesus Christ, bJade/b,” he muttered, watching the car’s hood crumple. That was

He picked up his phone and dialed his media contact.

“I need every version of this video taken down immediately,” he demanded.

“Mr. Astor, we’ve btried/b, but it’s gone viral. It’s on every tform now. Even if we remove it from bthe /bbmajor /bsites, there bare /bthousands of copies floating around.”

d him?”

Chase bran /ba hand through his bhair /bin frustration. “Where the hell is Ethan Haxton bwhen /byou need

He tried calling Jade again, but the bcall /bwent straight to voicemail.

In the meanwhileb, /bChris Jensen nced at his phone, reading the screenshots Eleanor Astor had sent him of the viral video and public outrage

He chuckled softly band /btexted bback/b: Thanks for letting me know. Jade can handle it

Setting his phone down, he rolled his stiff neck, grimacing at the pain. His designer suit was wrinkled, and ba /bsmall bloodstain marked the cuff of his sleeve. After three days of running from assassins in Barcelona, he was exhausted and irritable.

12:28 Sat, bSep /bb27 /b

“These fucking people, he muttered,

At bMike’s /bAuto Service, Grant Ford shed his badge at the front desk clerk.

I need to see your security footage fromst Sunday,” bhe /bsaid authoritatively.

The clerk, a young man with grease–stained hands, looked nervous. I’ll get Mike for you.”

A few minutester, a burly.

rly man

in overalls approached them, wiping his hands on a rag. Tm Mike. What can I do for byou/bb, /bofficer?”

“We need to see your security footage fromst Sunday,” Grant brepeated/b.

Mike shook his head. “What happened?”

Grant looked surprised. “You have no idea? No one from the media contacted you for the video that’s all over the inte?”

“No sir,” bMike /bsaid firmly. “First I’m hearing babout /bit.”

Grant’s expression darkened. “Let’s take ba /bblook /bat your security system.”

Mike led them to a small back office where a dusty monitor disyed feeds from several security cameras. He fumbled with the controls for a moment before pulling up the archive.

“Here’s Sunday,” he bsaid/bb, /bclicking through the timeline. “But… that’s weirdb./b”

The screen showed nothing but static for the entire day.

“The footage is gone, Mike said, genuinely confused. “I don’t understand. We’ve never had problems with the system before.”

Grant turned to Mike. “bDid /bthe owner of the white Chevrolet evere back after the incident?”

“No,” Mike replied confidently. “Never saw him again.”

Grant frowned. “Those videos online, did you release them?”

“What videosb? /bI don’t know anything about any videos,” Mike insisted. “I’m not much for social media,”

Grant was about to press further, but fade put her hand on his arm. “Let’s bgo/b,” she said quietly.

Outside the garage, Grant turned to Jade. “Someone’s covering their tracks. The Chevrolet owner needs toe forward and give ba /bstatement to clear this up.”

Ss looked worried. “But theplete video is gone. How are we going to prove what really happened?”

Jade smiled slightly. “Who said the video is bgone/bb? /bIf it existed on ba /bdigital system, it bcan /bbe recovered.” She took Ss’sptop and began typing again. “I just need to dig a little deeper into their backup systems.”

nt for that.

bGrant /bwatched her with a mixture of concern and admiration. “You know, most people would need a warrant

She didn’t look up bfrom /bthe screen. “Good thing I’m not most people.”

Her fingers continued to fly across the keyboard as she worked to uncover the truth buried in digital space.

Chapter Comments

3