Chapter 6 - Booth Seven
The blood wasn't Evelyn's.
Nathan checked her immediately.
No wound.
The bullet had struck Richard.
But not badly enough to stop him.
Police secured the estate while Nathan remained beside Evelyn.
“You left the hospital.”
“I know.”
“Alone.”
“I know.”
“With a man we suspected of murder.”
“I know.”
Nathan stared at her.
Evelyn raised an eyebrow.
“Are you finished?”
“No.”
She almost smiled.
Nathan knelt beside the wheelchair.
“You could have died.”
Her expression softened.
“I thought Richard had proof.”
“He had a gun.”
“I didn't know that.”
“That's usually why we don't meet suspected killers alone.”
“You sound angry.”
“I am angry.”
“Because I'm part of your investigation?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
They both noticed.
Nathan lowered his voice.
“Because I care whether you live.”
Silence.
Evelyn looked at him.
“You weren't supposed to say that.”
“I know.”
“Undercover officers aren't very good at following rules.”
“This one apparently isn't.”
She touched his cheek.
“I'm glad.”
Nathan closed his eyes briefly.
Then Reeves entered and ruined the moment.
“Sorry.”
“You don't look sorry,” Nathan said.
“I'm absolutely not.”
Evelyn laughed.
It was the first uncomplicated laugh Nathan had heard from her.
Then Reeves became serious.
“We need that ledger.”
Evelyn nodded.
The diner still existed.
Sterling's Diner wasn't actually owned by the Sterling family.
The coincidence had amused Charles.
Every Sunday when Evelyn was young, he had taken her there.
Booth seven.
Nathan insisted Evelyn return to secure medical care while his team searched.
She refused.
They compromised.
An ambulance accompanied them.
The diner opened at six.
Nathan arrived before dawn.
Booth seven sat against the far wall.
He searched underneath.
Nothing.
Evelyn watched from her wheelchair.
“My father wasn't obvious.”
Nathan looked at her.
“What did he order?”
“Coffee. Eggs. Toast.”
“Every Sunday?”
“Yes.”
“Did he do anything unusual?”
Evelyn thought.
“He always complained the table wobbled.”
Nathan froze.
He crouched.
One table leg had a removable metal foot.
He twisted it.
Inside was a small waterproof tube.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
Nathan removed a flash drive.
The second ledger.
Reeves immediately copied it.
The files were devastating.
Richard had used Sterling Global routes for years.
Fraud.
Bribery.
Unauthorized transfers.
Contract manipulation.
Dr. Cross had received payments before Charles's death.
Claire had created shell companies, though later documents showed her attempts to withdraw.
Marcus had discovered irregularities eight months earlier.
Then another file changed everything.
A recorded message from Charles.
Evelyn watched her father appear on the laptop.
Older.
Tired.
“Evelyn,” Charles said, “if you're watching this, then I failed to clean up the mess I helped create.”
She began crying.
Nathan stood behind her.
Charles continued.
“Your uncle believes Sterling Global belongs to him. Maybe part of his anger is justified. I pushed him out. But Richard crossed lines I could never accept.”
Charles explained the hidden network.
Then he said something Nathan hadn't expected.
“Marcus Vale helped me.”
Evelyn stared.
Marcus had worked with Charles before his death.
“He discovered Richard's first shell company. I asked him to remain inside Sterling Global and watch.”
Evelyn whispered, “Marcus knew.”
Charles continued.
“If Marcus is still there, don't judge him too quickly. He may make mistakes. He may even fail you. But he once risked his career to help me.”
The video ended.
Evelyn sat silently.
Nathan didn't defend Marcus.
Some betrayals could be explained without being erased.
Marcus had abandoned her.
Fear explained it.
It didn't undo it.
Evelyn seemed to understand that.
“I loved him,” she said.
Nathan remained quiet.
“Maybe part of me still does.”
“You don't owe me an explanation.”
She looked at him.
“I know.”
Nathan's phone rang.
Reeves.
“We've got Richard.”
“Where?”
“Airport.”
Nathan exhaled.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Relief.
Then Reeves continued.
“But there's a problem.”
“What?”
“He doesn't have the master access token.”
Nathan looked toward the flash drive.
“What token?”
“The ledger references a hardware authorization key. Whoever has it can move the remaining assets.”
“How much?”
Reeves paused.
“Over four hundred million.”
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
“Who has it?”
“We don't know.”
Evelyn suddenly spoke.
“Marcus.”
Nathan looked at her.
“My father gave Marcus a watch.”
“So?”
“He never took it off.”
She remembered something.
Marcus had once joked that Charles Sterling had given him “the most expensive useless watch in America.”
Nathan called Marcus.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Reeves tried tracing his phone.
It was moving.
Fast.
South toward Manhattan.
Then it stopped.
Sterling Global headquarters.
Nathan and Evelyn exchanged looks.
“Why would he go back?” she asked.
Nathan already knew.
“The money.”
They raced toward Manhattan.
By the time Nathan reached Sterling Global, Marcus's phone was on the top floor.
Nathan entered the executive elevator.
Evelyn remained downstairs with Reeves.
The doors opened.
Marcus stood inside Charles Sterling's old office.
He held the watch.
A laptop sat open.
“Don't,” Nathan said.
Marcus turned.
“You think I'm stealing it.”
“Aren't you?”
Marcus laughed.
“No.”
He pointed toward the screen.
“I came to stop someone.”
A transfer request showed $417 million.
Status:
PENDING SECOND AUTHORIZATION.
Nathan approached.
“Who initiated it?”
Marcus turned the laptop.
CLAIRE BENTON.
Nathan froze.
“No.”
“She told you Richard forced her.”
“She had evidence.”
“She had a story.”
Nathan immediately called Reeves.
No answer.
He called Evelyn.
No answer.
Marcus's face changed.
“Where is Evelyn?”
“Downstairs.”
They ran.
The lobby was chaos.
Reeves lay unconscious beside the security desk.
Alive.
Evelyn's wheelchair was empty.
Nathan found her phone on the floor.
A message appeared.
The sender:
CLAIRE.
COME TO THE ROOFTOP IF YOU WANT EVELYN ALIVE.
Nathan looked at Marcus.
Marcus removed the watch.
“The authorization key is inside this.”
“Give it to me.”
Marcus did.
No hesitation.
Nathan understood.
Marcus had failed Evelyn as a boyfriend.
But he wasn't the architect.
Nathan ran toward the stairs.
The rooftop door was open.
Wind swept across the concrete.
Claire stood near the edge.
Evelyn sat in her wheelchair several feet away.
Claire held a gun.
“Stop,” Claire said.
Nathan stopped.
“It's over.”
“No.”
“Richard is in custody.”
Claire smiled.
“You still think Richard was in charge.”
Nathan's expression changed.
Claire raised the gun.
“Richard was useful.”
Evelyn stared at her.
“Claire?”
Claire looked at the woman she'd known since childhood.
“You inherited everything.”
“My father trusted you.”
“Your father used me.”
“You tried to kill me.”
Claire's face hardened.
“I spent eleven years watching your family treat billions like birthright.”
Nathan kept her talking.
“You hired the nurse.”
“Yes.”
“Cross?”
“Richard handled Cross.”
“Charles?”
Claire smiled.
“Richard thought he killed Charles for revenge.”
Evelyn went pale.
Claire continued.
“I made sure he succeeded.”
Nathan slowly shifted position.
Claire noticed.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
She pointed the gun toward Evelyn.
“Give me the watch.”
Nathan reached into his pocket.
Marcus suddenly appeared behind the rooftop door.
Claire saw him.
Her finger tightened.
A gunshot exploded.
Evelyn screamed.
Nathan lunged.
Claire fell backward.
The gun skidded across the roof.
Marcus collapsed against the doorway.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
Nathan restrained Claire.
Reeves's agents flooded the rooftop moments later.
Claire was arrested.
Marcus was rushed downstairs.
Evelyn reached for Nathan.
He took her hand.
“It's over,” she whispered.
Nathan wanted to believe her.
Then his phone vibrated.
A final automated transfer notification appeared.
$417,000,000 TRANSFER AUTHORIZED.
Nathan stared at the screen.
Claire was in custody.
Marcus had surrendered the watch.
Richard was detained.
Yet someone had just completed the transaction.
He looked at Evelyn.
“There was another authorization key.”
Her face went pale.
“Who?”
Nathan opened the transaction record.
The approving identity appeared.
CHARLES STERLING.
Evelyn stopped breathing.
“My father is dead.”
Nathan stared at the screen.
May you like
The authorization had been issued less than sixty seconds ago.
And then the rooftop door opened behind them...
