Chapter 6 - The Betrayal Inside the Family
Alexander caught Daniel before he reached the stairwell.
Not dramatically.
He simply stepped into the doorway.
Daniel stopped.
“You don't want to do this,” Alexander said.
Daniel looked behind him.
Emily was approaching.
The pain on her face seemed to destroy whatever fight remained.
He lowered his head.
“I'm sorry.”
Emily felt something inside her break.
“Don't.”
“Emily—”
“You don't get to say you're sorry yet.”
They returned to the conference room.
Robert sat opposite Daniel.
Neither man could look at the other.
Daniel had been Robert's best friend for thirty-two years.
Finally Emily asked, “How much?”
Daniel whispered, “Eight hundred thousand.”
Robert closed his eyes.
“For what?”
“My son.”
Emily's anger faltered.
Daniel's son, Lucas, had struggled with addiction for years.
“He owed people money,” Daniel said. “Serious people. Mason found out.”
Alexander leaned forward.
“So Mason paid the debt?”
Daniel nodded.
“In exchange for Northstar.”
“At first, just financial information. Then test schedules. Then specifications.”
Emily stared at him.
“You sabotaged the certification?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“Kessler. Mason paid him separately.”
“Did you know?”
Daniel's silence answered.
Robert stood.
“I trusted you with my family.”
Daniel began crying.
“I know.”
“You held Kate's hand in the hospital.”
“I know.”
“You promised her—”
“I know!”
Daniel's voice broke.
“I know what I did.”
Silence.
Emily wanted to hate him.
It would have been easier.
But life rarely offered clean villains.
Mason had exploited Daniel's weakest point.
Daniel had still made the choice.
Both things could be true.
Alexander asked, “Will you testify?”
Daniel looked terrified.
Emily answered for him.
“He gets to decide.”
Alexander glanced at her.
She held his gaze.
He nodded.
Daniel wiped his face.
“If I testify, I go to prison.”
“Possibly,” Alexander said.
“My son—”
Emily leaned forward.
“Your son still needs a father who eventually tells the truth.”
Daniel looked at her.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then he nodded.
“I'll testify.”
That decision changed everything.
Within forty-eight hours, federal investigators had Daniel's records, Vanessa's files, and Carter's original engineering documentation.
Mason's lawyers attacked.
The press followed.
Emily refused interviews.
She focused on the factory.
Then something unexpected happened.
Orders arrived.
Not from Alexander.
From companies whose executives had watched Emily speak to her workers.
A Chicago grocery distributor placed a small contract.
Then a hospital supply company.
Then a regional transportation firm.
None saved Carter Manufacturing.
Together, they bought time.
On Friday evening, Emily found Alexander in the factory cafeteria eating crackers from a vending machine.
She stopped.
“That's dinner?”
“The machine rejected my first dollar.”
She stared.
“You're a billionaire defeated by a vending machine?”
“It was an aggressive negotiation.”
Emily laughed.
She bought him a sandwich.
He looked offended.
“I can afford that.”
“Apparently not technologically.”
They ate at a plastic table.
No chandeliers.
No white roses.
No audience.
Emily realized she preferred this version of him.
“Tell me something,” she said.
“Anything.”
“Why aren't you married?”
Alexander paused.
“That sounds dangerous.”
“Answer.”
“I almost was.”
“What happened?”
“I prioritized work until she realized she was engaged to a calendar.”
Emily winced.
“Ouch.”
“She wasn't wrong.”
“Did you love her?”
“Yes.”
“Do you still?”
“No.”
He said it without hesitation.
Emily looked down at her sandwich.
“Did you love anyone after?”
Alexander's eyes settled on her.
The air changed.
Emily suddenly regretted asking.
“Not safely,” he said.
Her pulse stumbled.
Before she could respond, the cafeteria door opened.
Robert entered.
He looked alarmed.
“Emily.”
She stood.
“What happened?”
“Daniel disappeared.”
Alexander was instantly alert.
“When?”
“Federal agents were supposed to collect him twenty minutes ago. His house is empty.”
Emily's phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Mason?”
His voice came calmly.
“You always were smarter than people thought.”
“Where's Daniel?”
“Safe.”
“If you hurt him—”
“Come to the Whitmore estate.”
“No.”
“Then Daniel goes to jail without ever telling investigators where the original Northstar prototype is.”
Emily froze.
“What prototype?”
Mason laughed softly.
“You really don't know.”
Alexander held out his hand for the phone.
Emily refused.
“What do you want?”
“You.”
Alexander's expression hardened.
Mason continued.
“Come alone.”
Emily looked at Alexander.
“No.”
“Then I destroy the prototype.”
The call ended.
Alexander said, “You're not going.”
Emily picked up her coat.
“I'm absolutely going.”
“Emily—”
She faced him.
“You promised to ask what I want.”
His jaw tightened.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to trust me.”
Alexander stared at her.
Then reached into his pocket.
He placed his car keys in her hand.
Emily frowned.
“What?”
“My car is faster.”
May you like
Despite the fear twisting inside her, she smiled.
“Now you're learning.”
