Chapter 14 - The Last Dinner.
Daniel’s face was bruised and blood streaked his security shirt.
But the gun in his hand was steady.
Marcus stared at him.
“You said Victor attacked you.”
Daniel smiled weakly.
“He did.”
Victor shouted from the floor.
“You idiot!”
Daniel aimed at Lorenzo.
“He attacked me because he planned to leave without paying me.”
Lorenzo understood.
Daniel had not been a victim.
He had been a partner who had become inconvenient.
The deputy on the floor groaned and reached for his shoulder.
He was wounded but conscious.
The second deputy kept his weapon trained on Victor while Marcus faced Daniel.
“Put it down,” Marcus said.
Daniel shook his head.
“I want the vault drive and the transfer documents.”
“They are worthless now.”
“Not to the right buyer.”
Adrian laughed bitterly from beside the overturned chair.
“You were going to sell us twice?”
Daniel looked at him.
“You sold your own brother first.”
Adrian had no answer.
Daniel motioned toward the doorway.
“Lorenzo, you’re coming with me.”
“No.”
Daniel raised the pistol.
“Then I find the little girl.”
The temperature in Lorenzo’s expression changed instantly.
Victor noticed and looked away.
Marcus shifted his stance.
Daniel saw it.
“Don’t.”
Lorenzo stepped forward.
“You want leverage?”
“Yes.”
“Then you want me alive.”
“For now.”
“So stop talking about my daughter.”
Daniel motioned again.
Lorenzo began walking toward him.
Celeste grabbed Lorenzo’s sleeve.
He looked down at her.
She whispered, “The floor.”
A large pool of spilled red wine and melted ice spread across the polished marble between Daniel and the table.
Daniel was standing partly inside it.
Celeste’s eyes moved toward the fallen chandelier cord.
One damaged wire sparked faintly near the baseboard.
Lorenzo understood her warning.
He did not try to use it.
The risk to everyone was too great.
Instead, he kicked the fallen silver serving tray across the marble.
It struck Daniel’s ankle.
Daniel lost balance for half a second.
Marcus moved.
He hit Daniel’s gun arm from the side.
The weapon fired harmlessly into the ceiling.
Lorenzo drove Daniel backward onto the table.
The crystal glass shattered beneath him.
The deputy secured the gun.
Within moments, Daniel was handcuffed beside Victor.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Only the chandelier crystals continued to fall in tiny sparkling pieces.
Adrian sat down slowly on the floor.
Lorenzo looked at him.
“Were you involved in Isabelle’s death?”
Adrian’s eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
“Were you involved in stealing from the company?”
“Yes.”
“Did you help Victor gain access to the estate?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know Celeste would drug me tonight?”
Adrian hesitated.
That hesitation answered everything.
Lorenzo looked away from his brother.
The betrayal hurt more than anger could express.
Then Evelyn rushed into the dining room from the secure wing.
Her face was pale.
“Mia is gone.”
Lorenzo spun toward her.
“What?”
“The secure room was locked.”
“The officers were outside.”
“But when we opened the connecting bathroom door, she wasn’t there.”
Lorenzo’s blood turned cold.
May you like
Victor began laughing from the floor.
“You still haven’t found the third person.”
