Chapter 6 - The Lawyer's Price.
Elias knew a second exit beneath the memorial wall, but it opened onto the riverbank without cover.
Jonah's drill punched through the outer lock as Claire, Helena, Mara, and Elias crawled into the narrow shaft.
They emerged behind a retaining wall while armed guards flooded the mausoleum above them.
Mara drove toward the textile mill with the ledger case on her lap and the metal drive in her pocket.
"We do not hand Adrian anything until Eleanor is physically safe."
Helena watched the dashboard clock change to eleven forty-two.
"He will not wait."
"He has waited eight years to own the company," Claire said.
"He will wait eighteen minutes if he thinks he can win."
They parked behind the mill, where broken windows reflected the orange glow of the city.
The main floor smelled of rust, machine oil, and wet concrete.
A single candle burned on a worktable beneath the old assembly crane.
Eleanor was nowhere in sight.
Adrian appeared on the steel walkway above them and applauded slowly.
"Three generations of Vale women, and not one of you knows when to surrender."
Mara placed the waterproof case on the floor.
"Show us Eleanor."
A projector clicked on against the far wall.
The image showed Eleanor inside a moving vehicle while Rook sat beside her.
"She is five miles away, and the route changes every three minutes," Adrian said.
"Give me the drive and Mother's signature."
Helena stepped forward, but Claire caught her arm.
"If you sign, he kills her anyway."
Mara suddenly drew the pistol Elias had given her and aimed it at Claire.
"Let Helena decide."
Claire stared at the attorney who had connected her to Eleanor.
"You built Echo with us."
"I built a way to survive whichever Vale wins."
Mara took the drive from her pocket and tossed it up to Adrian.
He caught it with a laugh.
Helena's expression filled with disgust.
"Your father would be ashamed of you."
"My father died paying your family to keep him respectable," Mara replied.
Adrian inserted the drive into a laptop beside the railing.
The screen flashed once and turned crimson.
Every light in the mill came on at the same time.
Mara lowered the weapon and smiled at Claire.
"Now."
The drive was not the archive.
It was a locator that transmitted Adrian's laptop, network, and live microphone to investigators waiting outside the county.
Adrian ripped it free, but the upload had already begun.
He kicked the laptop over the railing and drew a compact handgun.
Before he could aim, sprinklers erupted from the ceiling and drowned the electrical system.
Darkness swallowed the mill.
Claire heard Mara tackle someone, Helena shout Eleanor's name, and Adrian run across the walkway.
Elias pulled Claire behind a machine as two shots struck metal above them.
Police sirens rose in the distance, then stopped abruptly.
Jonah's guards had blocked the access road with a company truck.
Claire climbed the side stairs while Adrian fled through an office at the end of the walkway.
She found the laptop broken but its drive bay empty.
On the desk lay Helena's voting proxy and a fountain pen.
Helena entered behind her, breathing hard.
"There is another way to force him into the open," she said.
Before Claire could stop her, Helena signed the proxy and photographed it with Claire's phone.
The message went to every member of the Vale Meridian board.
Adrian's reply appeared seconds later.
Thank you, Mother.
May you like
At midnight, Claire's screen announced that Adrian Vale had become chief executive officer.
THE CALL AT BLACKTHORNE HOUSE
