Chapter 5 - The Man Running the Game
The chair stopped.
Marcus Vale sat in it.
Evelyn, now awake, stared at Nathan's phone.
“No.”
Nathan watched the video.
Marcus looked bruised.
His wrists were tied.
So was Claire.
Neither appeared to be controlling the recording.
“It's not them,” Evelyn whispered.
Nathan had reached the same conclusion.
A figure moved behind the camera.
Only a hand appeared.
Older male.
Gold signet ring.
Evelyn gasped.
Nathan looked at her.
“What?”
“That ring.”
“You recognize it?”
“My father had one exactly like it.”
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
“Who inherited it?”
Evelyn stared at the screen.
“My uncle.”
“Name?”
“Richard Sterling.”
Nathan knew it immediately.
Richard Sterling.
Charles Sterling's younger brother.
Former chief operating officer.
Retired three years before Charles's death.
Publicly estranged from the company.
Privately still receiving millions through trusts.
“Where is Richard?”
“Connecticut.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
Nathan called Reeves.
Within minutes, they learned Richard's Connecticut estate had been empty for months.
Utilities remained active.
Staff were paid.
But Richard had not been photographed there in almost a year.
The invisible man had never actually retired.
He had simply moved out of sight.
Nathan wanted Evelyn transferred.
She refused.
“If Richard is behind this, I want to know why.”
“Because he wants your company.”
“He could have had part of it legally.”
“Maybe part wasn't enough.”
Evelyn looked at the video.
“My father and Richard built Sterling Global together.”
“Yet your father ended up with control.”
“Because Richard nearly destroyed us.”
“How?”
“Gambling. Bad investments. He borrowed against company assets without permission.”
Nathan understood.
“Charles removed him.”
“Yes.”
“And Richard never forgave him.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“I was twenty-three. I thought it was family drama.”
“It wasn't.”
“No.”
Nathan's team traced the video.
It originated from Sterling Global headquarters.
A tactical operation was prepared.
Evelyn was ordered to remain in the hospital.
This time she didn't argue.
Before Nathan left, she touched his hand.
“Bring them back.”
“Claire too?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Even after the documents?”
“I need to hear why.”
Nathan nodded.
“And Marcus?”
Her eyes lowered.
“Bring him back alive. That's all I can promise.”
Nathan squeezed her hand.
Then left.
Sterling Global headquarters was nearly empty at 2:30 a.m.
Nathan entered through a service corridor he knew from his undercover work.
Reeves's team covered the exits.
Nathan moved toward the boardroom.
Door open.
Lights on.
Claire sat tied to a chair.
Marcus beside her.
No Richard.
Nathan entered carefully.
“Where is he?”
Claire looked terrified.
“Gone.”
Nathan cut Marcus free.
Marcus rubbed his wrists.
“You took your time.”
Nathan ignored him.
He freed Claire.
“Richard?”
Claire nodded.
“He made me prepare the shell companies.”
Evelyn's suspicion had been right.
“You participated.”
“I didn't know what they were for at first.”
“But you learned.”
“Yes.”
“And continued.”
Claire began crying.
“He threatened my daughter.”
Nathan's anger cooled slightly.
“Where is she?”
“Safe now. I moved her months ago.”
“Then why keep helping?”
Claire looked toward Marcus.
“Because Richard told me he'd already killed Charles.”
Silence.
Nathan's eyes hardened.
“How?”
“Medication.”
Marcus looked sick.
Claire continued.
“Cross altered Charles's treatment. Richard paid him.”
“And Evelyn?”
Claire shook her head.
“Evelyn's cancer was real.”
Nathan felt an unexpected wave of relief.
“But Richard exploited it,” Claire said. “When she became critically ill, he realized he could accelerate everything.”
“The fake nurse?”
Claire nodded.
“Richard.”
“Marcus's threat?”
“Yes.”
Nathan looked at Marcus.
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“I told you.”
“You still abandoned her.”
Marcus looked down.
“I know.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“Where is Richard?”
Claire whispered, “He said you would come here.”
“Where did he go?”
“He said he needed to collect something Charles hid.”
Evelyn's father's archive.
Nathan called her immediately.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
His stomach tightened.
“Hospital security.”
Reeves was already calling.
Nathan ran.
Twenty-two minutes later, he reached the hospital.
Evelyn's room was empty.
No signs of forced entry.
Her IV had been disconnected properly.
A wheelchair was missing.
On the pillow sat an envelope.
NATHAN.
He opened it.
The handwriting was Evelyn's.
Richard contacted me. He says he has proof about my father. I know you'll be furious. I'm sorry.
Nathan swore.
Reeves entered.
“Security footage.”
They watched Evelyn leave through a private elevator.
Alone.
Then a car arrived.
She entered.
Nathan enlarged the license plate.
Sterling vehicle.
Registered to Charles Sterling's old estate.
“Where?”
Evelyn's childhood home sat forty miles north.
Nathan headed there.
The estate had been abandoned since Charles's death.
He arrived before sunrise.
The front door stood open.
Nathan entered.
“Evelyn?”
No answer.
He moved through the dark hallway.
A light glowed beneath the study door.
Nathan opened it.
Evelyn sat in a wheelchair.
Alive.
Richard Sterling stood beside the fireplace.
Silver-haired.
Calm.
Elegant.
The gold ring gleamed on his hand.
“Nathan Cole,” Richard said.
“You made excellent time.”
Nathan looked at Evelyn.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Richard smiled.
“Touching.”
“Step away from her.”
Richard didn't move.
“You think this is about money.”
“Isn't it?”
“No.”
Richard pointed toward a safe embedded behind a painting.
“Charles hid something from all of us.”
Evelyn looked at Nathan.
“My father kept a second ledger.”
Richard nodded.
“A ledger containing every illegal transaction Sterling Global ever facilitated.”
Nathan understood.
“That could destroy the company.”
“It could destroy governments, contractors, executives.”
“Where is it?”
Richard smiled.
“Evelyn knows.”
She shook her head.
“I don't.”
“Yes, you do.”
Richard placed an old photograph on the desk.
Charles and Evelyn.
A diner.
Nathan looked closer.
Something was written on the back.
Evelyn read it.
Sunday mornings. Booth seven. Always our safest place.
Her face changed.
“The diner.”
Richard smiled.
“Exactly.”
Nathan realized the confrontation at the estate had never been the destination.
It was the clue.
Richard moved toward the door.
Nathan blocked him.
“You're not going anywhere.”
Richard smiled.
Then the lights went out.
A gunshot cracked through the room.
Evelyn screamed.
Nathan dropped beside her.
Emergency lights flickered on.
Richard was gone.
May you like
The exterior door stood open.
And on the floor, a trail of blood led toward the driveway...
