Chapter 8 - The Betrayal Closest to Home
Miles Carter disappeared before sunrise.
His apartment was empty.
His car remained in the garage.
His phone had been switched off.
For the first time since Claire had known him, Dominic Vale looked genuinely wounded.
Not angry.
Not dangerous.
Wounded.
Miles had been beside him for fifteen years.
He had saved Dominic's life twice.
He had carried Margaret Vale's coffin.
He had stood beside Dominic when Richard Vale died and the entire organization threatened to collapse.
If Miles was involved in the Northstar fire, Dominic's entire past had been built on a lie.
Evelyn arrived with Detective Ellis.
"Before you do anything reckless," Ellis said, "you need to hear what we found."
Dominic stood beside the window.
"Talk."
"The note at Harrow's office wasn't written by Harrow."
Claire looked up.
"How do you know?"
"Handwriting comparison. Also, preliminary evidence suggests he was killed before the note was placed."
Dominic turned.
"So someone wanted me to suspect Miles."
"Possibly."
Evelyn opened a folder.
"We also found something about the missing cargo containers."
She spread several documents across the table.
"The containers weren't carrying ordinary merchandise."
Dominic frowned.
"What were they carrying?"
"Archived financial records. Hard drives. Paper ledgers."
Claire leaned forward.
"From Northstar?"
Evelyn nodded.
"Someone has been quietly moving evidence for years."
Dominic looked at the documents.
"Who authorized the shipments?"
Evelyn hesitated.
"Your father."
"He's dead."
"The instructions were established before his death. The shipments continued automatically through a holding company."
Claire stared.
"Someone has been protecting the evidence."
"Or controlling it," Evelyn replied.
Detective Ellis placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Miles entering a storage facility three nights earlier.
Beside him stood an older man.
Thin.
Gray-haired.
Wearing a dark coat.
Claire covered her mouth.
"Dad."
Dominic studied the image.
Daniel Bennett.
Alive.
Standing beside Miles Carter.
Ellis nodded.
"We believe Miles has been helping him."
Claire's voice shook.
"Then why didn't he tell us?"
Dominic looked at the photograph.
"Because he was afraid of something."
Evelyn's phone buzzed.
She answered, listened, and went pale.
"What happened?" Dominic asked.
Evelyn ended the call.
"Grant Keller has agreed to speak."
Claire stiffened.
"Where is he?"
"In police custody. He was arrested on an outstanding warrant after the club incident."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"What does he want?"
"Protection."
"From whom?"
Evelyn looked at Claire.
"Rebecca Shaw."
An hour later, Grant sat across from Detective Ellis in an interview room.
His face was bruised from the confrontation at the club.
He looked smaller without the music, the bouncers, and the protection of Harrow's territory.
Dominic watched through a one-way window.
Claire stood beside him.
Grant began speaking.
"Rebecca hired me. She told me Claire had stolen a device containing company secrets."
Ellis leaned forward.
"Why did you threaten her?"
"Because Rebecca said she'd destroy my family if I didn't get it."
Claire's fingers curled.
Dominic said nothing.
Grant continued.
"I was supposed to scare her into calling Dominic."
Ellis paused.
"Why?"
"Because Rebecca needed him away from Vale Maritime."
Dominic looked sharply at Evelyn.
The basement meeting.
The missing cargo.
The records room.
Thomas Reed's murder.
It had all happened while Dominic was rescuing Claire.
Ellis asked, "Who killed Thomas Reed?"
Grant shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Who is Rebecca working for?"
Grant stared at the table.
Then he whispered, "The person who owns everything."
"Who?"
Grant swallowed.
"I never saw their face."
Ellis waited.
"But I heard Rebecca call them something."
"What?"
"The Architect."
Dominic felt Evelyn shift beside him.
He turned.
Her expression had changed.
"Evelyn?"
She didn't answer.
He stepped closer.
"You know that name."
Evelyn looked at him.
"Your father used it once."
"When?"
"The night before he died."
Dominic's pulse quickened.
"What did he say?"
Evelyn's voice dropped.
"He said the Architect had finally come home."
Before Dominic could respond, the interview-room door opened.
A uniformed officer entered and whispered something to Ellis.
She stood abruptly.
Grant looked frightened.
"What's happening?"
Ellis turned toward the observation window.
"Dominic, we need to evacuate the building."
An alarm began sounding.
Then the lights went out.
May you like
In the darkness, Claire heard someone whisper directly behind her.
"Your father says hello."
