Chapter 9 - The King Behind the Black CircleRichard Vance's private estate stood on a hill overlooking the Connecticut coastline.
Silas arrived with Jonah, Eleanor, and a team of trusted men.
Mallory insisted on coming.
This time, Silas didn't argue.
She had spent three years being treated as though she had no right to make decisions about her own life.
He would not repeat that mistake.
The estate was heavily guarded.
But Richard had already invited them inside.
He waited in a library lined with antique books.
He was in his late sixties, with silver hair and a face that looked remarkably like Mallory's.
“Hello, daughter.”
Mallory stared at him.
“You're alive.”
“Obviously.”
“You let me believe my mother was dead.”
“Your mother made her choices.”
“And you let Adrian kidnap me.”
Richard poured himself a drink.
“Adrian was ambitious. He understood the importance of family assets.”
“I'm not an asset.”
Richard smiled.
“Everyone is an asset to someone.”
Silas stepped forward.
“Not in my family.”
Richard finally looked at him.
“Silas Keene. The man who refused to stay dead.”
“Disappointed?”
“Surprised.”
Richard gestured toward the chairs.
“You've caused considerable inconvenience.”
Silas remained standing.
“You kidnapped my wife.”
“I protected an investment.”
“You stole three years from my family.”
Richard's expression hardened.
“Your family was never supposed to exist outside my control.”
Mallory stepped forward.
“You're my father.”
Richard nodded.
“And you were supposed to inherit everything.”
“I don't want anything from you.”
“Then you are a fool.”
Mallory looked directly into his eyes.
“No. I was a child who wanted her father to love her. You turned that into a weakness.”
For the first time, Richard seemed uncomfortable.
Silas placed the ledger on the desk.
“We have your financial records. Every transfer. Every payment. Every official you bribed.”
Richard looked at the documents.
Then he laughed.
“You think paper can destroy me?”
“No,” Silas replied. “But the people whose names appear on it might.”
Richard pressed a button beneath the desk.
Armed men entered from both sides.
Jonah immediately reached for his weapon.
But Richard raised one hand.
“Don't be dramatic. Nobody needs to die.”
He looked at Silas.
“Give me the ledger, and I'll let your wife leave.”
Mallory laughed bitterly.
“You still think you can bargain with my life?”
Richard ignored her.
Then he turned toward Eleanor.
“Tell him what you told me.”
Eleanor's face drained of color.
Silas looked at her.
“What?”
Richard smiled.
“Ask your wife why she was carrying a second identity when she disappeared.”
Mallory turned toward Silas.
Her breathing changed.
Richard continued.
“She wasn't simply pregnant. She had already discovered the existence of the Black Circle's offshore accounts.”
Silas looked at Mallory.
“Is that true?”
Mallory nodded slowly.
“I found the documents in your study. I was going to tell you that night.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because Adrian called me first.”
She wiped her tears.
“He told me that you had ordered a hit on me.”
Silas stared at her.
“He told me you wanted me dead.”
Richard smiled.
“Your marriage was always a convenient weakness.”
Silas stepped toward him.
“You made one mistake.”
Richard raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“You thought I needed to destroy you personally.”
Silas pulled out his phone.
Jonah smiled.
“The files have already been delivered.”
Richard's face changed.
“To whom?”
“Federal investigators. Financial regulators. Three international news organizations.”
For the first time, Richard Vance looked afraid.
Then a gunshot echoed outside.
Everyone turned.
The lights went out.
And a familiar voice came through the darkness.
“Sorry I'm late.”
Adrian.
May you like
He stepped into the room holding a gun.
And pointed it directly at Mallory.
