Chapter 5 - SOMEONE INSIDE THE FAMILY
The man in the photograph was named Victor Hale.
Claire knew him because he had once worked for her grandmother.
But he had disappeared eight years earlier.
“He was the family's financial adviser,” Claire explained.
“What happened?”
“My grandmother accused him of stealing.”
“Did he?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel entered the room.
“We found his current location.”
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
I looked at Claire.
She immediately shook her head.
“You can't go.”
“I have to.”
“No.”
“They tried to shoot you.”
“They'll expect you to chase them.”
She was right.
So I sent Daniel.
He returned twenty-four hours later.
Victor Hale was dead.
Killed in his apartment.
No forced entry.
No fingerprints.
But beside his body was a note.
The wrong man is asking the questions.
Daniel placed the note on my desk.
“This isn't random.”
“No.”
“Someone is watching us.”
I looked at the security footage.
Then I noticed something.
One of our guards had left his position for exactly ninety seconds.
“Who is that?”
Daniel checked.
“Thomas Avery.”
“Where is he?”
“Gone.”
I stood.
“Find him.”
Thomas was one of my most trusted security officers.
He had protected my family for four years.
He knew our routines.
He knew where the cameras were.
He knew when Claire would be alone.
He knew everything.
That made him dangerous.
We found him at a train station.
He didn't resist.
He simply looked exhausted.
“I didn't hurt your wife.”
“Then tell me who did.”
He shook his head.
“You don't understand.”
“Make me understand.”
“They have my daughter.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She's nineteen.”
He began crying.
“They took her two months ago.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why help them?”
“Because every time I refused, they sent me a photograph.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket.
The photographs showed his daughter being watched.
No injuries.
No blood.
Just proof that someone had her.
“They made me disable the cameras.”
“For how long?”
“Twenty-five minutes.”
The exact window.
“Did you know what they were going to do?”
“No.”
“Who gave you the order?”
Thomas swallowed.
“Vanessa.”
I stared at him.
He nodded.
“She was the one communicating with them.”
“Who?”
“I never saw their faces.”
“Where did Vanessa meet you?”
“Parking garage beneath the hospital.”
I immediately understood.
Vanessa had been involved.
But she wasn't necessarily the person controlling everything.
She was a link.
A useful link.
I returned home.
Claire was sitting beside the nursery.
She looked exhausted.
I sat beside her.
“I found someone.”
“Who?”
“Thomas.”
She looked worried.
“He said Vanessa ordered him to disable the cameras.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“I knew it.”
“What?”
“I always knew something was wrong with her.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because she saved my life once.”
I frowned.
“When?”
“After my mother died.”
Claire told me Vanessa had supported her through the funeral.
She had slept on Claire's couch.
She had helped her through depression.
She had become family.
Which made the betrayal worse.
“I trusted her.”
I took Claire's hand.
“So did I.”
She looked at me.
“Mason?”
“Yes?”
“What if she isn't doing this for money?”
I frowned.
“What else would she want?”
Claire looked toward the nursery.
“Revenge.”
That word stayed with me.
Because suddenly, I remembered something Vanessa had said years earlier.
Some families deserve to lose everything.
At the time, I thought it was bitterness.
Now I wondered.
Whose family was she talking about?
That night, I confronted Vanessa.
She came willingly.
She sat across from me.
“You know.”
“Yes.”
She smiled sadly.
“I was wondering how long it would take.”
“Did you poison Claire?”
“No.”
“Did you order someone to?”
“No.”
“Did you disable the cameras?”
“No.”
“Did you meet Victor Hale?”
Her eyes changed.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To warn him.”
“About what?”
She leaned forward.
“About the person you're protecting.”
I stared at her.
“Who?”
May you like
Vanessa whispered:
“Your father.”
