After an extensive sweep of the internet that took nearly thirty-six hours, we found a match for our mystery woman. Lola Madsen was a remarkably private person, which made her quite valuable in her line of work. As a high-end escort, she prided herself on being undetectable.

She could accompany a client to a function, a gala, a dinner... and no one, except for the occasional past clients, would find out she was hired company. On the surface, she was an assiduous student, on her way to becoming a brilliant environmental scientist. It seemed she really was enrolled in her third year at Columbia University, studying earth and environmental science, so we believed this was true, and not just a facade.

But with a deeper research, one could find out that Lola had a small business registered to her name, called Wilde Dreams. That business then led us to find out about Lola Wilde, the only other person associated with it. Not much about that alias was online, apart from a discreet website with a tasteful and artistic picture of a woman's perfect body in the background and a contact form over it. When we hacked into that email's inbox, we found out Lola was a very selective and very pricey woman, who only sold her time and body to the richest men in New York. It seemed some of them even flew her to other parts of the world for a weekend away from their wife, like Dubai, Bali, and many other warm destinations.

The simplest way to contact her was through that contact form, rather than try to cheat our way in from another angle, so we sent her a request. Of course, we made sure to make it fairly simple and quite tempting, and thanks to the access we had to her inbox, we knew exactly what sort of offer she couldn't refuse. Who in their right mind would say no to one grand in exchange for a ten minutes phone call, after all?

She accepted the request within a couple of hours, along with the payment details. After we'd wired her the money, she sent us a phone number we could call, as well as her availability throughout the day. We agreed on 9 PM for her, 6 PM for us, and then prepared ourselves for the rest. How we would handle it would be crucial, and if she was our one shot at getting Truman Becker's head, we couldn't mess it up.

We had a few bullet points put together when the time came, and we'd discussed a few scenarios and possibilities. While Lex seemed relaxed and confident, I knew he was nervous about this as much as I was. This might be our only shot at keeping our lives. It had to go well.

Five minutes before the agreed-upon hour, we triple checked everything again, making sure the burner phone we had bought for the occasion would be rerouted as intended, its location bouncing all over the States so we'd never be suspected.

"It'll be fine, freckles," Lex promised, trying to reassure me.

"What if she has nothing for us?"

"Then we'll keep looking."

"What if we never—"

"Andrea, relax. There's no need to worry about this now. We'll talk with Lola, see what she has for us, and then we'll assess the situation."

Swallowing the nervous lump clogging my throat, I nodded, before taking in a deep breath. If Lola wasn't our solution, then we'd look for another one. Even if she didn't tell us anything, all hope wasn't lost. Not yet.

At exactly six, Lex dialed her number, which we'd already saved on the contacts list. We each had an earplug settled in our ear, and Lex had the mic on his side. It rang a full tone, then another one, and then a third. For one thousand dollars, one would imagine she'd pick up faster... When she did, I still wasn't ready for it, and a rush of adrenaline coursed through my veins.

"Hey, big boy..." she greeted us with a very breathy, very sensual voice. Wow, I hadn't expected her to dive right in. A little disapproving, I sent Lex a bothered glance.

"Good evening, Lola," he answered.

"Oh, you sound sexy as hell. This is going to be fun. Tell me, big boy, are you very lonely, or did I really catch your eye."

That 'big boy' thing was going to grow real annoying, real fast.

"Aren't you used to that sort of thing?" Lex asked, playing along. We'd agreed that charming her would be better for our end goal. "I thought a woman like you would be used to this."

"Only from my very best clients, never from a brand new one. Tell me, big boy, do you plan on becoming one of my best clients?" she asked with a seductive giggle that made my eyes roll so hard I glimpsed at my brain.

"I think I have the bank account for it. What would ten thousand get me?"

"Oh, baby, for ten thousand, you can have me an entire night. I'll show you things you've never imagined before. Even in your wildest fantasies."

Even though I tried to remind myself she was only doing her job, and tremendously at that, I couldn't help the annoyance that gained me. I was literally sitting right fucking here while a woman was heavily flirting with my man. Thankfully, he was entirely unaffected by her, completely focused on the mission, unfazed by her seductive ways. Good. Many brownie points for him.

"What would you do to me if we had the whole night, big boy?" she asked, a little breathless and throaty. Ugh, was she touching herself while talking to him? Dear God, I hoped not.

"I'm not sure. Maybe you could give me a few ideas," Lex replied, making my eyes widen. The hell?! "What did Becker do to you?"

Oh, nice transition.

"Excuse me?" She sounded quite shocked, and not about to orgasm at all anymore.

"You went back home with him four days ago and left looking upset. I'd like to know what he did to you."

"Who are you? A reporter? I don't know what game you think you're playing, but I'm not divulging any information regarding my clients."

"I think you'll want to make an exception for me."

"Go fuck yourself, you sick—"

"I have a list here of all you clients, Lola," Lex interrupted her. "So you see, either you answer my questions and get ten grand for it, or that list will be sent to the top ten news outlets in the country." Neither of us liked this part of the plan. Blackmailing this woman didn't feel right, but we didn't have much of a choice. We wouldn't send that list out regardless of her telling us what we wanted or not, but she couldn't know that.

"You're bluffing," she tried, sounding desperate.

"I'm really not. You need better security for your inbox. Just to prove to you I'm telling the truth, I can tell you I've spotted four senators in there, an ex Vice-President, as well as many names from the Fortune 500. You've been a busy woman, Lola Madsen."

"You— You can't do this! You'll ruin my life, my reputation. These men... they'll come after me!"

"All you have to do is tell me what I want to know. I promise this will be the last you'll hear of me. Everything you'll say will stay between us," he added, glimpsing at me.

There was a long silence, but at least she didn't hang up. We could practically hear her mind run through her options, trying to figure out what to do. Given her field of study, something told me Lola was a brilliant woman. She also happened to have been graced with an amazing body and the nerve to bank on it. So she used it to her advantage, and made a hundred times more money than any working student out there, in just a few nights or weekends per month. I wasn't one to judge the profession she'd decided on, and was a little admirative of her, even. Her clients, though, those rich assholes ready to pay a fortune to have her, so eager to cheat on their wives, played a far less appreciable role in my eyes.

"All I need to do is tell you about my evening with Truman?" she asked after a moment, her voice much less confident than it had been when she'd first picked up.

"Yes. You tell me how that evening with him went, as well as any other detail about him that might be relevant, and then we'll call it even. After we're done, I'll wire you the money and delete the list I have."

"How can I be sure you're not lying?"

"Would you feel better if I gave you half now, and half after?" Lex suggested.

"It can't hurt."

He gave me a nod, and I brought the laptop closer to me to take care of sending five thousand dollars to her. The transfer went through, and after a few seconds, he spoke to her again. "Did you get it?"

"Yes, just now. I... I don't really know what to tell you. The first time he hired me was at some private event he was attending a little over two months ago. He hired me to escort him, and I spent the evening by his side. He was charming throughout, and he even insisted on dropping me at my place. We didn't have sex that first time, but he gave me a kiss when we parted. The second time was a month ago, more or less, and he invited me to dine with him. It was a very fine restaurant, but it must have been some sort of underground, extremely elitist one. None of my clients had ever taken me there before, and I've tried all the restaurants worth mentioning in New York. This time, he brought me to a hotel after, and we had sex. He was... rougher than I'd imagined. He'd warned me, though, and he was even paying extra to make up for it. I had a few bruises afterward, and I had to use concealer to mask them. It was... around my neck, on my arms, and between my legs."

"What about four days ago?" Lex asked.

She took a moment to reply this time, and we audibly heard her take in a long and trembling breath. "You promise all of this will stay between us?" she hesitantly asked.

"I do. No one else will hear about this."

She took a few more seconds to decide whether she should trust him, and eventually gave in.

"We agreed to meet at this lounge bar near his place. Per usual, he was extremely charming, to the point where I almost thought I'd imagined the rough sex. We had a couple of drinks, and then he took me to his penthouse. After he helped me with my coat, he brought me upstairs, told me to undress, and then made me an offer. He said he wanted to be really rough with me, but I could opt out of it at any point. But if I didn't use the safe word at all, he'd double my fee for the night. I think he was used to doing such things; he was very prepared and even insisted that I used a specific safe word – chrysalis."

My jaw dropped, shocked by her words. What the actual fuck was wrong with this man? Was he a hardcore masochist? A Wish version of Christian Grey? Lex and I exchanged a conflicted look before he resumed his questioning.

"Did you accept his offer?"

"I did. Double the money for the same amount of time was a bargain. And I really thought it would just be like the last time, but just a little rougher. All I had to do was clench my teeth and take it. I didn't think he'd be that twisted, though. In the end, I lost money on this, since I had to cancel two weeks of appointments so I can recuperate from what he did. My clients don't like to be reminded that they share me with others. Seeing the marks another man has left recently ruins the fantasy. I'm still all blue and purple, but I can hide it with clothes, at least."

I grimaced, sorry she'd had to go through this. We'd always suspected Becker to have a twisted side to him, but that was worse than we'd thought. Maybe, after all, Lola would be our way out of this nightmare.

"Ask her for details," I signed, knowing we needed more.

"Can you tell me what he did to you?" Lex asked, his voice softer.

"Why? Does that get you off?"

"Not in the slightest, no."

"Yeah, sure... Anyhow, you have my clients list, so I don't really have a choice, do I? So if you want to know, he tied my wrists and ankles to the bed, so I was spread eagle on my stomach, took out an arsenal of crops, whips, flogs, and paddles. Then, he proceeded to hurt me with them, alternating with the shapes, strength of the blows, and positions on me. At first, I could just take it, it hurt, but it was bearable. Then, at some point, I considered using the safe word, but it meant that everything would have been for nothing. So I hung on, telling myself it was almost over. There was no way I'd let him pay me the normal price after all this."

She took a break, as if the pain and trauma she'd experienced not even a week ago were resurfacing at once. "If you want my two cents on this, I think he enjoyed the fact that I wasn't into it. He can easily find a masochist who'd actually be into this sort of thing, but he purposefully picked me because it wasn't my thing. I also think he tried to push me too far, so I'd utter the safe word. That way, he's still having his fun while it lasts, and never paying extra."

Lex and I were looking at each other the whole time, and I could see how affected he was by this. This man was a protector of people, and hearing that she'd had to endure all this was painful. Becker was a fucking bastard.

"Anyhow, I found some inner strength I didn't even know I possessed, and I let him do whatever he wanted. By the time he became tired of it, my lower back, ass, and thighs were throbbing with burning pain, bleeding in some places. He proceeded to fuck me, keeping me tied up, and came on my bloodied ass. Never knew sperm on a wound stung that much."

There was a long silence, and Lex wasn't sure what to say. What words could be enough to express how sorry he was for this? Yes, she could have made it stop with a simple word, but it didn't mean she'd deserved to suffer through all of this.

"I'm never going back to him," she let out, her voice slightly trembling. "It's not worth it. It still hurts when I sit, and it looks like I'll have some scars that'll never go away. I was fucking stupid for agreeing to his deal in the first place. I'm not that kind of escort. My clients hire me because I'm smart and knowledgeable. BDSM isn't my scene, and it'll never be."

"I'm sorry he did this to you, Lola. I knew Becker was a bastard, but I hadn't realized to which extent."

"Yeah, he's really good at hiding it. I still can't believe he was so gentle and attentive during our outings, and then this fucking monster in private. Anyhow, what are you going to do with this information?"

"Let's just say I have my reasons to despise the man, and I'm gathering knowledge to take him down."

"Well, you'll have to look elsewhere, then. Everything he did to me was consensual. I hated all of it, but it was a choice I made after weighing the pros and cons. My calculations were just off."

"Are you considering pressing charges for what he did?"

"I can't. He filmed the negotiation part. He taped the whole thing, actually. Even threw in an extra grand for it. But the point is, he has a very clear and very valid video of me agreeing to his terms, repeating his stupid safe word to confirm I had it, and then never using it. Being kinky isn't a crime, even this fucking twisted. It would never hold in court, since all his lawyers would have the proof they need to get the case dismissed in five seconds. I'm pretty sure Truman's aware of that, because the first thing he did after he untied me was to save the video on his laptop."

She kept talking about how she had trapped herself in this situation, but I couldn't hear her.

Lex and I had swept all of Becker's computers. All eleven computers in his penthouse had been thoroughly analyzed by both of us. Becker's, his wife's, his daughter's, and even the three that were used by the staff. And in all that, we had found nothing like this, no troubling sex tapes, not even a scandalous picture.

"Are you sure he saved it on a computer?" I impulsively asked, bringing myself closer to the mic.

"Who the fuck is that?!" she panicked, realizing there was a third person on the call. Ah, shit...

"Uh... If he's 'big boy,' then I guess I'm big girl?" I tried, wincing at Lex who was giving me a disapproving look.

"You asshole! You promised it would stay between the two of us!" she hissed, addressing him.

"To be fair, I said it would remain between us, no mention of a number. But you have nothing to worry about, Lola. I meant what I said; you're not in any danger from us."

"Well, I would have liked to know someone else was listening!"

"I'm really sorry. We thought you'd be more comfortable if you believed it was just the one," I apologized.

"Well, I was!"

"I get that. I'm so sorry. But please, just answer this last question. Are you sure he saved it on a computer?"

"Yeah, it was a laptop. A Dell, I think. Or maybe it was an HP; I don't remember well. I was busy getting dressed and getting the fuck out of his place."

"And you're certain it wasn't a Mac?"

"Yeah, a hundred percent. I even found it odd, which is why I noticed."

Lex and I met each other's eyes again, having the same realization simultaneously. In all our research, we'd never come across a computer that wasn't a Mac. Becker seemed to favor the costly brand, and everything, from laptops, to phones, to tablets, to desktop computers, had been Apple products.

But now, we had proof of the existence of another device entirely. A secret computer that had never shown up on his penthouse network. An offline laptop, where he was keeping his dirty secrets. Like him flogging a twenty-one years old escort to a pulp.

We had found some compromising things on the other computers, mostly regarding fraudulent money activities or associations with shady people. So if Becker had been fine with these being out there, then just how bad would the data on that secret computer be? It would probably be a goldmine for us, full of scandals after scandals after scandals.

"Okay, if you two assholes are done with your interrogation, I'd like the rest of my money now," Lola demanded. "I don't know anything else about Truman that could be relevant."

"Oh, yes. Sure," I agreed, getting onto the laptop again. I input the amount we'd wire her and showed it to Lex, waiting for his approval. Unsurprisingly, he nodded with no hesitation, and I pressed the Send button.

A few seconds passed as we waited for it to go through. Lola's gasp told us it had, and she stumbled on her words for a moment. "Wait, this is fifteen grand. That's ten too many."

"Consider this a token of our gratitude," Lex explained.

"Also, we trust this is enough to ensure you won't tell Becker anything about this call?"

"I'm never getting even near that man ever again. If you two are going after him, you have my blessing. A man like him deserves to rot in prison."

"We're working on it," Lex promised.

"Thank you so much for your time, Lola."

"Thanks for the money. It'll make up a little for the loss of profit this month."

After we hung up, Lex and I removed our respective earplug and remained in silence for a moment, staring at the disconnected phone. Holy shit... While this wasn't exactly what we'd expected, we'd gotten a lot more than we'd bargained for. Becker was a confirmed sick fuck, and there was proof of it somewhere out there. All we needed to do now was to put our hands on it.

"We had to get what's on this laptop," I declared.

"Yes, we do. My guess is he's had the