NOW YOU’LL DIE WITH HER

Daniel knew she was hiding something.

He waited until they returned home before confronting her.

“What did my mother say after she showed you the video?”

“Nothing important.”

“She crossed the city to wait beside your car, but said nothing important?”

“She wanted the memory card.”

“And?”

“I told her I didn’t have it.”

Daniel stood in the center of the living room, studying her.

Emma had never been a convincing liar. She disliked the loss of control that followed dishonesty. Daniel knew every sign: the stillness of her hands, the careful rhythm of her breathing and the way she avoided unnecessary words.

“What did she threaten?” he asked.

“Daniel.”

“Was it me?”

Emma looked away.

He crossed the room and took her hands.

“You told me we would do this together.”

“We are.”

“No, you are deciding which dangers I’m allowed to know about.”

“She wants me at the villa tomorrow.”

Daniel released her.

“Absolutely not.”

“She threatened Marcus’s daughter and Evelyn’s grandchildren.”

“And you.”

Emma did not answer.

Daniel’s voice lowered.

“What did she say about you?”

“She mentioned that you have a wife carrying your child.”

Daniel walked toward the window and turned away from her.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then he struck the wall with the flat of his palm, not hard enough to damage it but hard enough to release the anger he had been containing.

“I’m calling the police.”

“We don’t have a recording.”

“We have enough to request protection.”

“She has people inside the company, the courts and possibly law enforcement. If she suspects Marcus still has the card, she will destroy the evidence or hurt someone.”

“So your plan is to meet her alone?”

“My plan is to make her believe I’m meeting her alone.”

Daniel looked back.

Emma explained carefully.

Marcus controlled the villa’s security systems. If they could alert him without Margaret intercepting the message, he could record the meeting and contact investigators.

Daniel shook his head.

“No.”

“We need her to speak openly.”

“No evidence is worth putting you in the same room with her.”

“She will not stop because we stay home.”

“We can leave the country until she is arrested.”

“And Marcus’s daughter? Evelyn’s grandchildren? The employees whose retirement accounts she emptied?”

“That is not your responsibility.”

Emma placed a hand on her stomach.

“This is exactly why Richard trusted me.”

“I don’t care why my father trusted you.”

The words hurt, but Daniel continued before she could react.

“I care that you survive. I care that our baby survives. I care that I don’t spend the rest of my life knowing I allowed you to walk into a trap because it might help the company.”

“This isn’t about the company.”

“It always becomes about the company with my family.”

“It is about proving what she did to your father.”

“He is already dead.”

“And that means she gets to rewrite his life?”

Daniel’s anger collapsed.

He sat down.

Emma joined him.

For a while, neither spoke.

Then Daniel said, “I spent a year believing he was confused. Every time I remembered him warning me about her, I dismissed it. I thought I was protecting the family.”

“You were grieving.”

“I was obedient.”

“You were manipulated.”

“What is the difference if the result is the same?”

Emma took his hand and placed it over the movement beneath her dress.

The baby shifted beneath his palm.

“This is the difference,” she said. “We know the truth now. We decide what happens next.”

Daniel’s eyes filled, though he did not cry.

“If we do this,” he said, “you are never alone.”

“Agreed.”

“We inform Evelyn and the investigators.”

“Agreed.”

“You wear a tracking device.”

“Yes.”

“And the moment anything changes, we leave.”

Emma hesitated.

Daniel saw it.

“The moment anything changes.”

“I promise.”

They spent the night creating the plan.

Emma would arrive at Bellweather Villa at three. Daniel would remain nearby with federal investigators. Marcus would disable Margaret’s private signal jammer and activate every security camera around the pool and terrace.

Emma scheduled an emergency alert on her phone.

If she did not cancel it by 3:15, the phone would send her location and a warning to Marcus, Daniel, Evelyn and the police.

At 2:40 the next afternoon, Daniel’s car stopped half a mile from the villa.

Two unmarked vehicles waited behind them.

Emma checked the microphone concealed beneath the collar of her dress.

Daniel held her hand.

“Say the word and we leave.”

“She threatened people because she thinks fear makes her powerful.”

“It usually does.”

“Only until someone refuses to obey.”

Daniel leaned his forehead against hers.

“I love you.”