Chapter 5 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Nathan froze.
The hand released him.
He turned.
Thomas Bell stood behind him.
Alive.
Nathan had seen his face only in photographs.
In person, Thomas looked older than fifty.
Scar along his jaw.
Gray at his temples.
Eyes that seemed permanently alert.
"You're Thomas."
"Quiet."
"My housekeeper thinks you're dead."
Pain crossed Thomas's face.
"I know."
"Then you have a lot of explaining to do."
"Later."
Thomas pointed toward Victoria and Richard.
"Listen."
Nathan turned back.
Victoria was speaking.
"You promised you'd take care of Elena."
Richard's expression remained unreadable.
"I promised nothing."
"She's dangerous."
"She's a housekeeper."
"She's Thomas's wife."
Nathan glanced at Thomas.
Thomas closed his eyes briefly.
Richard said, "Thomas is dead."
Victoria laughed.
"Are you sure?"
Nathan felt Thomas stiffen.
Victoria continued.
"Because somebody opened his safe-deposit box."
Richard stared at her.
"You've been watching the bank?"
"I watch everything."
Nathan thought of the tracker.
The hacked cameras.
His phone.
Victoria stepped closer to Richard.
"If Thomas is alive, find him."
"And then?"
Victoria smiled.
Nathan didn't like the smile.
Richard put the small bottle into his pocket.
"I'll handle it."
Victoria left.
Nathan whispered, "He's working for her."
Thomas shook his head.
"Richard is working for me."
Nathan stared.
"What?"
Richard walked directly toward them.
"She's gone."
Nathan stepped back.
"You two staged that?"
Richard handed Thomas the bottle.
"We needed her to believe I was still compromised."
Nathan looked between them.
"This is insane."
Thomas nodded.
"It became insane years ago."
Richard extended his hand.
"Nathan."
Nathan didn't take it.
"You sent me the photograph of Daniel."
"Yes."
"And told me not to trust him."
"I didn't know whether he was compromised."
"He isn't."
"Good."
Nathan turned to Thomas.
"Elena deserves to know you're alive."
"I agree."
"Then why doesn't she?"
Thomas looked away.
"Because the last time Victoria believed I was alive, Elena's brakes failed."
Nathan went still.
"When?"
"Five years ago."
Elena had once mentioned an accident.
She said she swerved to avoid a deer.
Thomas continued.
"That was when I disappeared."
"You abandoned your wife."
"I protected her."
"By letting her grieve you?"
Thomas's eyes hardened.
"By making Victoria believe she had nothing left to threaten."
Nathan wanted to argue.
He couldn't entirely.
Thomas pointed toward a metal office at the rear of the warehouse.
They went inside.
Files covered a table.
Photographs of Victoria under different names.
Claire Bennett.
Victoria Langley.
Monica Reed.
Rebecca Sloan.
Nathan stared.
"How many identities?"
"At least four," Thomas said.
"How many victims?"
"More than we can prove."
"What does she actually want?"
"Money."
Richard shook his head.
"Not only money."
Nathan looked at him.
Richard opened a file.
Inside was a photograph of Victoria with a man Nathan recognized from business news.
Sebastian Crane.
Founder of Crane Capital.
A billionaire.
Nathan had met him twice.
"What does Crane have to do with this?"
Thomas replied, "Victoria works for him."
Nathan laughed in disbelief.
"Sebastian Crane hired someone to marry me?"
"Essentially."
"Why?"
Richard spread documents across the table.
"Your company."
Nathan stared.
Whitmore Development controlled several strategic properties Crane had attempted unsuccessfully to acquire for years.
Nathan refused every offer.
Thomas pointed toward the marital proxy.
"If Victoria became your spouse and you were declared incapacitated, she could influence enough voting shares to force a merger."
Nathan finally saw the complete structure.
The forged trust amendment.
The wedding.
The sedation.
The transfer rights.
Victoria wasn't planning simply to steal millions.
She planned to hand control of Whitmore Development to a competitor.
"Why would she agree?"
Thomas's voice became bitter.
"Because Crane owns her."
"What does that mean?"
"Twenty years ago, Victoria's father owed Crane money. Crane recruited her when she was young."
"Recruited her to do what?"
"Manipulate people."
Nathan thought about the woman he had loved.
Was any part of her real?
Thomas seemed to understand the question.
"Don't make the mistake I did."
"What mistake?"
"Believing that because someone is capable of tenderness, they cannot also choose cruelty."
Nathan looked away.
That sentence hurt more than he expected.
Richard said, "Friday is the operation."
"What operation?"
"Victoria intends to give you a stronger sedative during your rehearsal dinner."
Nathan's stomach twisted.
"Then what?"
"A doctor on Crane's payroll will certify temporary incapacity."
"And the proxy activates."
"Exactly."
Nathan's voice hardened.
"Then we let her try."
Thomas stared.
"You want to become bait?"
"I already am."
They formed a plan.
Maya would coordinate with federal investigators.
Daniel would preserve financial evidence.
Richard would continue pretending to help Victoria.
Thomas would remain hidden until necessary.
Nathan would attend the rehearsal dinner.
He would drink from the glass Victoria prepared—but substitute the contents beforehand.
Once Victoria openly participated in the conspiracy, investigators would have what they needed.
There was one condition.
Elena needed protection.
Nathan insisted Thomas tell her the truth.
That evening, Nathan drove Thomas to Elena's apartment.
Thomas waited outside.
"I can't do it."
Nathan stared at him.
"You've hidden from this woman for five years. You can knock on a door."
Thomas looked more frightened than he had in the warehouse.
Nathan knocked himself.
Elena opened.
She saw Nathan.
Then Thomas.
Everything left her face.
The grocery bag in her hands hit the floor.
Thomas whispered:
"Elena."
She slapped him.
Hard.
Thomas didn't move.
Then she hit his chest with both hands.
"You let me bury you!"
"I know."
"You let me mourn you!"
"I know."
"You let me think I was alone!"
Thomas began crying.
"I know."
Elena struck him again.
Then collapsed against him.
He held her.
Nathan quietly stepped away.
For the first time since returning home early, something in him felt less broken.
Truth hurt.
But at least it was real.
The next two days moved quickly.
Victoria became sweeter.
More attentive.
She believed Nathan's apparent exhaustion meant the sedative was working.
Nathan pretended headaches.
Weakness.
Confusion.
The rehearsal dinner arrived Friday evening.
Forty guests gathered at Nathan's private estate outside the city.
Victoria wore ivory.
Nathan wore black.
Everyone called them perfect.
Maya was there.
Daniel.
Elena, officially working.
Richard remained outside.
Federal agents waited nearby.
Thomas monitored from a vehicle.
At 8:30, Victoria poured Nathan champagne.
Nathan watched the glass.
A tiny powder disappeared beneath the bubbles.
She handed it to him.
"To us."
Nathan smiled.
"To us."
He raised the glass.
Victoria watched.
Nathan drank.
Or appeared to.
The liquid traveled into a hidden reservoir built into the prop glass Richard had supplied.
Nathan waited.
Five minutes.
Ten.
He began swaying.
Victoria touched his arm.
"Nathan?"
"I don't feel..."
He collapsed.
Guests screamed.
Victoria knelt beside him.
"Someone call a doctor!"
A physician stepped forward almost immediately.
Dr. Harrison Cole.
Exactly as expected.
Too fast.
Too prepared.
He checked Nathan.
Then said:
"His pulse is unstable. We need privacy."
Daniel moved closer.
"I'll come."
Victoria blocked him.
"No."
Daniel stared.
"I'm his attorney."
"I'm his fiancée."
Dr. Cole looked around.
"He may be experiencing an acute neurological event."
Nathan remained still.
Victoria whispered:
"Can he sign anything?"
Cole looked at her.
Not enough people heard.
But Nathan's hidden microphone did.
"No."
"Then certify him."
Cole hesitated.
Victoria leaned close.
"Do it now."
There it was.
The words they needed.
Nathan almost opened his eyes.
Then Cole whispered:
"There's a problem."
Victoria frowned.
"What?"
"The dosage you gave him wasn't mine."
Her face changed.
"What are you talking about?"
Cole held up Nathan's champagne glass.
"This isn't the drug."
Victoria slowly looked toward Nathan.
Across the room, Maya's hand moved toward her phone.
Daniel stepped forward.
Then every light in the house went out.
Guests screamed.
Nathan opened his eyes.
Emergency lights flashed red.
Victoria was gone.
Daniel shouted her name.
Nathan stood.
A side door slammed.
He ran.
Outside, a black SUV tore away from the estate.
Richard's voice came through Nathan's earpiece.
"She's heading east."
Nathan sprinted toward his car.
Then Thomas's voice interrupted.
"Nathan, stop."
"What?"
"Don't follow her."
"Why?"
There was silence.
Then Thomas said:
"Because Victoria didn't run alone."
Nathan looked around.
"Who is with her?"
May you like
Thomas answered with two words.
"Elena is."
