Chapter 5 - The Woman Blackwood Was About to Marry
The man descending the stairs wasn't Everett.
It was Marcus’s younger brother, Thomas Reed, a former Blackwood security technician.
Marcus stared.
“Tom?”
Thomas looked ashamed.
“I didn't have a choice.”
He placed the metal box on the table.
Marcus moved toward him.
Thomas raised a gun.
“Don't.”
Adrian stepped between us.
“You're pumping gas into this room.”
“It's not poison.”
“What is it?”
“Sedative.”
That wasn't comforting.
Thomas pointed toward the document.
“She signs. We leave.”
I looked at the paper.
“No.”
Thomas’s hand trembled.
“Please.”
“Why are you helping Everett?”
“Because he has my daughter.”
Marcus went white.
“You told me Sophie was in Europe.”
“She was.”
Thomas’s eyes filled.
“Everett took her three weeks ago.”
Suddenly he wasn't an enemy.
He was another hostage.
Adrian understood immediately.
“Put the gun down.”
“I can't.”
“Yes, you can.”
“He'll kill her.”
“Not if we stop him.”
Thomas laughed bitterly.
“You don't know your father.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“I’m starting to.”
I looked at the vents.
My head was already becoming light.
“We don't have time.”
Thomas looked at me.
Then at the camera in the corner.
He made a decision.
He fired.
Not at us.
At the camera.
Marcus rushed forward.
Thomas handed him the gun.
“The ventilation control is behind the kitchen panel.”
Adrian ran.
Seconds later, the gas stopped.
Thomas opened the metal box.
Inside were files, tapes, and an old digital recorder.
My father’s evidence.
Marcus found the recording labeled E.B./D.H.
We played it.
Everett’s voice.
My father’s voice.
Daniel accused Everett of stealing millions.
Everett threatened my family.
Then came the words that changed everything.
“If you don't stop digging, Daniel, your next drive home will be your last.”
My knees weakened.
Adrian steadied me.
It wasn't proof Everett personally caused the crash.
But combined with other evidence, it was enough to reopen the investigation.
Then Thomas said something worse.
“Everett isn't the only person involved.”
“Who?” Adrian asked.
Thomas looked at him.
“Vanessa’s father.”
Crowe Capital.
The connection went deeper.
Vanessa had been raised inside the conspiracy.
Her father had worked with Everett for decades.
Maybe she had never had a chance to be anything else.
That didn't excuse what she did to me.
But it explained the fear behind her cruelty.
We left the lodge.
Police recovered Evelyn from another property using information Thomas provided.
Sophie was rescued too.
Everett escaped.
For the first time, however, he had lost control.
The evidence became public.
News networks exploded.
Blackwood Holdings suspended executives connected to the fraudulent companies.
Federal investigators opened cases.
Vanessa Crowe was arrested for assault.
She did not resist.
Before entering the police car, she looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
I answered simply.
“Tell the truth.”
She nodded.
“I will.”
She did.
Vanessa surrendered the remaining messages.
She admitted the forged documents.
She admitted spying on Adrian.
She admitted arranging my employment.
And she admitted something no one expected.
Everett planned Adrian’s death for the night after the wedding.
A staged car accident.
Just like my father.
That confession changed the case.
The wedding had not been a romance corrupted by greed.
It had been part of a murder plot.
Adrian sat alone in the library after learning it.
I found him there.
“You okay?”
“No.”
I appreciated the answer.
He looked at me.
“I almost married someone who knew my father wanted me dead.”
“She also gave investigators the evidence.”
“That doesn't erase what she did.”
“No.”
He glanced toward my healing back.
“I know.”
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then Adrian said:
“I owe you more than an apology.”
“You don't owe me for what Vanessa did.”
“I brought her into this house.”
“You didn't put the crop in her hand.”
He looked at me.
“That sounds like something your father would say.”
I smiled faintly.
“Maybe.”
Adrian offered me money.
I refused.
He offered me another position.
I refused that too.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Truth.”
He nodded.
“Then we'll get it.”
The investigation lasted weeks.
Everett remained missing.
Then one morning, a package arrived.
No return address.
Inside was a photograph of Vanessa leaving the courthouse.
A red circle had been drawn around her face.
On the back:
TRAITORS DON'T TESTIFY TWICE.
Vanessa was scheduled to appear before a federal grand jury the next morning.
Adrian immediately contacted authorities.
They moved her to protective custody.
That night, however, the transport vehicle disappeared.
No radio.
No GPS.
No Vanessa.
Adrian received a message.
ONE WEDDING STILL NEEDS A BRIDE.
Attached was an address.
The old Blackwood chapel.
The same chapel where Adrian’s parents had married.
We arrived with law enforcement surrounding the property.
The chapel doors were closed.
Inside, music was playing.
Wedding music.
Adrian entered first.
I followed.
Vanessa stood at the altar.
Wearing white.
Her hands tied.
Everett stood behind her.
He held a gun.
Evelyn was beside him.
Also restrained.
Everett smiled at his son.
“Welcome.”
Adrian stopped.
“This ends tonight.”
Everett shook his head.
“No.”
He looked toward me.
“It ends when she gives me what belongs to me.”
“The trust?”
“My name.”
I finally understood.
This was never only money.
Everett could not tolerate losing control of the Blackwood legacy.
Adrian had rejected him.
Evelyn had escaped him.
My mother’s bloodline had survived him.
My father had exposed him.
Everything Everett had tried to erase had returned.
“You already lost,” I said.
His eyes moved to me.
“You sound like Daniel.”
“Good.”
He raised the gun slightly.
Adrian stepped forward.
“Put it down.”
Everett smiled.
“You always were your mother’s son.”
“And I'm proud of that.”
Everett's smile vanished.
Then the chapel lights went out.
May you like
Someone screamed.
A gunshot exploded through the darkness.
