Chapter 6 - Thirty-Seven Secrets
Claire called Emily.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Adrian ordered every exit from the city monitored.
Lucas watched quietly.
“You won't find her that way.”
Claire turned on him.
“Where is my sister?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why say that?”
“Because whoever took her wants Claire, not Emily.”
Mercer suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned.
“You're all still missing it.”
Adrian grabbed him by the collar.
“Talk.”
Mercer's smile disappeared.
“The ledger was never about money.”
Claire stepped forward.
“What was it about?”
“Names.”
“Thirty-seven names.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Mercer looked at Adrian.
“Your father knew someone was dismantling his organization from inside. He created thirty-seven separate trusts. Each person received one piece of evidence.”
Claire understood.
“No single person had enough to expose the conspiracy.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian released Mercer.
“And my father?”
“Lucas poisoned him.”
Lucas lunged.
Daniel intervened.
“You liar!”
Mercer shouted back.
“You put it in his drink!”
“I was trying to save him!”
Adrian roared, “Enough.”
Everyone froze.
He looked at Lucas.
“Tell me.”
Lucas's face collapsed.
“I knew Mercer was planning something. Father asked me to pretend I was involved.”
Adrian stared.
“You worked undercover against Mercer?”
“For months.”
“Then why disappear?”
“Because after Father died, Mercer threatened you.”
Lucas's voice cracked.
“He told me if I stayed, you'd be next.”
Adrian looked at Mercer.
The older man remained silent.
Claire suddenly saw the final pattern.
“M-17.”
Everyone looked at her.
“It isn't an authorization code.”
She grabbed the ledger.
“M isn't a tier. It's a letter.”
She counted.
“Seventeen.”
Adrian understood.
“Q.”
Claire shook her head.
“Not alphabetically. Page seventeen of the original master ledger.”
Mercer's expression changed.
Claire saw it.
“You know.”
He backed toward the wall.
Daniel restrained him.
Claire turned to page seventeen.
There was one account they had ignored because it contained no payment.
Only a name.
MARIAN BENNETT.
Claire's mother.
Beneath it:
CUSTODIAN.
Claire's hands trembled.
“My mother wasn't just an employee.”
Lucas nodded.
“She held the master evidence.”
“The safe-deposit box?”
“No.”
Claire looked at him.
“What we found was only the index.”
“Then where is the evidence?”
Lucas answered.
“With the thirty-seven.”
Suddenly everything made sense.
The reception.
Thirty-seven guests.
Someone had deliberately gathered every holder of the evidence in one room.
“Mercer arranged the party,” Claire whispered.
Adrian looked at him.
Mercer smiled.
“I needed everyone together.”
“For what?”
“To identify who still had their piece.”
Claire felt sick.
“And you used me.”
“You were remarkably useful.”
“You planted the fraudulent invoice.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I'd reject it.”
“I hoped.”
“You stole my ledger.”
“Yes.”
“And the message?”
“Not mine.”
Mercer's smile faded.
Claire stared.
“Then who took Emily?”
No one answered.
Adrian's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A distorted voice said:
“Bring Claire Bennett to the penthouse.”
Claire's heart stopped.
“Emily?” she demanded.
Her sister's voice came through.
“Claire!”
Then silence.
The distorted voice returned.
“Thirty minutes.”
The call ended.
Adrian immediately said, “No.”
Claire looked at him.
“You don't get to say no.”
“They'll kill you.”
“They might kill Emily.”
“I won't trade you.”
“She isn't yours to trade.”
The words hurt him.
Claire saw it.
She stepped closer.
“But I'm asking you to trust me.”
Adrian stared at her.
Then slowly nodded.
They returned to Vale Tower.
The ballroom remained exactly as it had been after the reception.
Empty glasses.
Abandoned tables.
City lights beyond the windows.
Claire entered alone.
Or appeared to.
Adrian and Daniel remained hidden nearby.
Lucas watched another entrance.
Mercer was restrained elsewhere.
Claire walked beneath the chandelier.
“I'm here.”
A figure emerged.
Victoria Crane.
Claire stared.
“You?”
Victoria smiled.
“Disappointed?”
“Where's Emily?”
“Safe.”
“Show me.”
Victoria turned a tablet.
Emily sat tied to a chair in another room.
Alive.
Claire exhaled.
“Why?”
“Because my father was one of the thirty-seven.”
“Crane Development.”
“Exactly.”
“And the invoice?”
“Mercer believed he was manipulating you.”
“He wasn't?”
Victoria laughed.
“I manipulated him.”
Claire finally understood.
Victoria had wanted the ledger opened.
She needed Claire to uncover the network.
“You humiliated me deliberately.”
“I needed Adrian to react.”
“The kiss.”
“I didn't expect that.”
Something bitter crossed Victoria's face.
“But it worked better than I imagined.”
“What do you want?”
“The thirty-seven pieces.”
“I don't have them.”
“No. But Adrian can get them.”
Victoria lifted a phone.
“Tell him.”
Claire remained still.
“Tell him what?”
“To bring every piece of evidence here.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
Victoria's expression hardened.
“You think he'll choose evidence over you?”
“No.”
Claire looked toward the dark glass where she knew Adrian was listening.
“I think he'll finally understand he doesn't have to choose alone.”
Victoria raised the phone.
A loud alarm suddenly sounded.
The ballroom lights died.
Claire dropped.
Adrian moved.
Daniel entered from the opposite side.
Lucas ran toward the room holding Emily.
Within seconds security flooded the ballroom.
Victoria tried to escape.
Claire blocked her path.
For one instant the two women stared at each other.
Then Victoria smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
She pressed something in her hand.
A timer appeared on every ballroom screen.
05:00.
04:59.
04:58.
Adrian reached Claire.
“What did she do?”
Victoria looked toward the thirty-seven empty seats.
“The evidence isn't the only thing hidden in this building.”
May you like
The timer reached 04:50.
And every elevator door locked.
