Madam President

Chapter Twenty-Five

Rebecca let out a trembling breath just before the cell door slid open. Even as prepared as she'd believed herself to be, seeing her brother in prison garb was jarring enough that she stood across the room from the glass barrier that would separate them long enough for Richard to raise a brow in her direction.

She steeled herself and walked over to take a seat on the chair opposite his own. They were so close now, yet so far apart.

"Hey, Sis. What's up?" Richard sounded like he always did. It was as infuriating to Rebecca as it was confounding.

"You tried to kill me and the first thing you can think to say to me is 'what's up'?" She asked incredulously while somehow managing to keep her voice low and even.

Richard rolled his eyes and Rebecca nearly demanded the barrier be removed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Rebecca," he chided with genuine irritation in his voice. "I would never hurt you. Well. Aside from the scraped cheek, which was unintentional."

"Then I don't understand and I demand an explanation," Rebecca responded quietly.

The type of quiet that was almost scary.

"I'm a little disappointed you haven't figured it out yet, honestly," Richard meandered with a sigh and a shrug. "But all right. Not like it matters now. I'll start from the beginning, yeah?"

"Sure," Rebecca offered despite how sick she was currently feeling.

"Great. So, I knew your little girlfriend wasn't human. Or at least I had an inkling. That's the main reason I intruded upon your little vacation, really. Confirmation. Which I got, of course, because your Secret Service Agent is ever so dutiful in her cause of protecting you. You were going to ruin me for the sake of misplaced righteousness, and I was going to show you exactly why the tech contract you ruined for me was necessary. You see, you had one of them next to you every day. Intimately. And you never knew. Do you know how dangerous that could've been? I provided you a service--"

"You nearly killed her," Rebecca spat out, no longer willing to let him finish. "To prove a point. You- you ruined your life to prove a point. You threw it all away. Why?"

"I haven't thrown anything away, Rebecca. The last thing you want is for your government goons to pin this on your own brother. Don't tell me I'm wrong, because I'm not."

Rebecca sat there in silence for a moment. Seething. Boiling. Her hands trembled where they were hidden against her lap.

"You are wrong, Richard," She responded quietly. "You've never been so wrong in your life."

For the first time, Richard's expression faltered as he looked at Rebecca closer and noticed a nearly invisible earpiece in her ear.

"Clever," Richard's voice dripped with venom.

"But I highly doubt you plan on doing anything with this recording. I'm still your brother after all. It'd still look terrible. Not to mention you basically admitted to fucking your--"

"Don't you dare presume to know what I do behind closed doors or who I do it with, Richard," Rebecca snapped in a tone so cold and harsh Richard actually leaned back away from the glass.

"And I'm not the one recording. The agents outside are."

Richard looked so genuinely betrayed, then. A look that only someone who had been grievously outplayed would wear.

He stood and slammed his hands on the table and Rebecca didn't so much as flinched as she looked up at him, secure in the knowledge that he was utterly powerless.