Chapter 7 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Break
Emily woke in a warehouse.
Her wrists were tied.
Her head hurt.
But the first word out of her mouth was:
“Hope.”
“She’s safe.”
Emily turned.
A woman sat across from her.
Late forties.
Elegant.
Gray suit.
Perfect posture.
“Who are you?”
“Rebecca Lang.”
Victor’s wife.
Emily stared.
Rebecca smiled without warmth.
“You expected my husband.”
“I don’t know your husband.”
“You know his work.”
“Red Harbor.”
Rebecca’s smile disappeared.
“You really are Daniel’s daughter.”
“What do you want?”
“The drive.”
“You kidnapped me for a flash drive?”
“No.”
Rebecca leaned closer.
“I kidnapped you because Victor believes you have the drive.”
Emily studied her.
“And you don’t?”
“I know Cameron has it.”
“Then why am I here?”
“To keep Victor convinced I’m still useful.”
Emily said nothing.
Rebecca untied her.
Emily stared at her freed wrists.
“What is this?”
“Your father tried to expose my husband seven years ago.”
“You knew my father?”
“I helped him.”
Emily stopped breathing.
Rebecca continued.
“The anonymous envelope you received three weeks ago came from me.”
“You sent the hospital record?”
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
“Because Victor is moving Red Harbor again. Bigger this time.”
“Why help me?”
Rebecca looked down.
“My son discovered what his father was doing.”
Emily waited.
“He confronted Victor.”
“What happened?”
“He died three months later.”
Emily’s anger softened.
Rebecca’s eyes were dry.
The grief beneath them was not.
“Police called it an accident. I know better.”
“So you want revenge.”
“No.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“I want it to end.”
Meanwhile, Cameron was driving north with Nathan beside him.
Police had reached Maria.
She was alive.
Hope was safe.
But Emily was gone.
Nathan traced Rebecca’s vehicle through a security contact.
“She’s at an old Halcyon distribution warehouse.”
“Why would Rebecca take her?”
“I don’t know.”
Cameron drove faster.
Nathan gripped the door.
“You want to save her, try not to kill us first.”
Cameron ignored him.
“You love her.”
The words landed unexpectedly.
Cameron looked straight ahead.
“You’ve known her four days.”
“I know.”
“That’s insane.”
“I know.”
Nathan laughed softly.
“For seventeen years, I watched women throw themselves at you. Nothing. Then a woman collapses at an airport and suddenly you’re willing to burn down your company.”
“I’m not burning it down.”
“No?”
“No.”
Cameron’s eyes hardened.
“I’m cleaning it.”
At the warehouse, Rebecca gave Emily a phone.
“Call Cameron.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor’s men will be here in twenty minutes.”
Emily dialed.
Cameron answered before the first ring finished.
“Emily.”
Hearing his voice nearly broke her.
“I’m okay.”
“Where are you?”
“With Rebecca Lang.”
Silence.
“She says she’s helping us.”
Rebecca took the phone.
“Cameron, listen carefully. Victor believes Emily has the drive. He is coming here.”
“What do you want?”
“To give you what Daniel Carter died trying to give you.”
Rebecca looked at Emily.
“The rest of Red Harbor.”
She opened a metal case.
Inside were ledgers.
Hard drives.
Signed agreements.
Original documents.
Emily stared.
“This could destroy him.”
Rebecca nodded.
“And several dozen people with him.”
Headlights swept across the warehouse windows.
Rebecca went pale.
“Too late.”
Cameron heard it through the phone.
“Emily, get out.”
“There’s nowhere—”
Gunshots shattered the windows.
Emily dropped.
Rebecca screamed.
Cameron heard everything.
“Emily!”
The call disconnected.
Cameron’s car was less than a mile away.
He drove through the warehouse gate without braking.
The SUV smashed through the barrier.
Nathan shouted.
Cameron barely heard him.
Inside, Emily crawled behind a concrete support.
Rebecca had been hit in the shoulder.
Emily pressed fabric against the wound.
“Stay awake.”
“You should run.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
Footsteps approached.
Then another sound.
A vehicle crashed outside.
Emily knew.
Cameron.
He entered with two police officers Nathan had quietly alerted en route.
Everything happened quickly after that.
Shouting.
Commands.
Men surrendering.
One running.
Another arrested near the loading bay.
Then Cameron appeared.
Emily stood.
For several seconds they only stared.
He crossed the distance.
She met him halfway.
Cameron pulled her against him so hard her feet nearly left the floor.
“You promised Hope,” Emily whispered against his chest.
“I promised you too.”
“You never promised me anything.”
His hands framed her face.
“I am now.”
Then he kissed her.
Not carefully this time.
Not uncertainly.
Like a man who had spent the last hour imagining a world where he would never get another chance.
Nathan turned away.
Rebecca, pale from blood loss, managed a weak smile.
Then sirens approached.
But the victory lasted less than ten minutes.
One detective walked toward Cameron.
“Mr. West?”
“Yes?”
“We need you to come with us.”
Cameron frowned.
“Why?”
The detective held up his phone.
The news was already everywhere.
Federal agents had raided West Meridian.
Millions of dollars from Red Harbor had been traced through accounts carrying Cameron’s electronic authorization.
Nathan whispered, “That’s impossible.”
The detective looked at Cameron.
“You’re being investigated for conspiracy, fraud, and international money laundering.”
Emily stepped between them.
“He didn’t do it.”
The detective’s expression remained professional.
“Ma’am, please move.”
Cameron looked at Emily.
Then at the handcuffs.
And understood Nathan’s warning too late.
May you like
Victor Lang had prepared for this.
If Red Harbor fell, Cameron West was going to fall with it.
