CHAPTER 6 : The Lawyer’s Second Face
Marcus kept the gun low.
“Put down the phone.”
Claire did not move.
“Was that Daniel?”
“There is no way to prove who was speaking.”
“He warned me about you.”
Marcus’s expression remained calm.
“I have protected you since the day Daniel disappeared.”
“You hid this room.”
“I hid it from Victoria.”
Samuel stepped between them, but Marcus aimed the weapon toward him.
“Do not make this worse.”
Claire placed the phone down.
“What do you want?”
“The Ashford voting certificate.”
“It is in a secure location.”
“I know. But you can authorize its transfer.”
Claire understood.
The fifty-one percent had never been the final goal.
Someone wanted legal ownership moved before the hidden records became public.
“You arranged the delivery of Daniel’s video.”
“Yes.”
“The man at Noah’s school?”
“No.”
“The woman who gave us the key?”
“I had never seen her before tonight.”
Claire studied him.
Marcus was betraying her, but he was also afraid.
“Who are you working for?”
Before he could answer, the lights went out.
A struggle broke out in the darkness.
Claire heard Samuel shout, then a gunshot struck metal.
Emergency lights flickered on.
Marcus lay unconscious beside the desk.
The gun was gone.
The hidden door stood open.
Someone else had entered the archive.
Claire and Samuel ran upstairs.
By the time they reached the ballroom, the hotel’s exterior doors had been unlocked. Guests were leaving in panic.
The two guards assigned to Noah were unconscious.
Noah was missing.
Claire’s scream stopped everyone near her.
Security immediately closed the exits again, but dozens of people had already reached the street.
Adrian approached holding Noah’s jacket.
It had been found inside an elevator.
Claire grabbed him.
“Where is my son?”
“I don’t know.”
“You told me not to bring him upstairs.”
“Because I knew someone was watching him.”
“Who?”
Adrian looked toward the cameras.
“My mother has paid a private team to follow Noah since Daniel disappeared.”
Claire released him in disbelief.
“Victoria?”
“She believed Daniel left something with the boy.”
“What?”
“She never told me.”
A message arrived on Claire’s phone.
A live video showed Noah sitting in the back seat of a moving vehicle. He looked frightened but unharmed.
A distorted voice spoke.
“Transfer control of the company before midnight.”
The camera turned toward the driver.
Claire saw only a gloved hand and part of a gold sleeve.
The same shade of gold Victoria had worn to the gala.
Then Noah looked toward someone outside the frame.
His fear disappeared.
May you like
“Grandma?”
The video ended.
