Chapter 5 - The Bargain at the Lake House
Mark pulled Leo from the bed and led him toward the back stairs.
“Stay quiet.”
“Is Vanessa here?”
“Yes.”
Leo’s breathing accelerated.
Mark crouched in front of him.
“Look at me. You are not going back into that cage. Do you understand?”
Leo nodded.
Mark gave him the red satellite phone.
“Go through the kitchen and into the storage room. There’s a trapdoor beneath the rug. Take the tunnel to the boat shed.”
“Come with me.”
“I will.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
A crash came from downstairs.
Vanessa had broken a window.
Mark guided Leo toward the stairs.
“Call Evelyn.”
“What do I say?”
“Tell her we found Anna’s letter.”
Leo disappeared down the narrow staircase.
Mark returned to the attic and picked up an iron fireplace poker.
He had no gun at the lake house.
Vanessa did.
Footsteps moved through the ground floor.
“Mark,” Vanessa called. “We need to talk.”
He remained silent.
“I could have shot you through the window.”
“That sounds like a convincing argument for trust.”
Vanessa laughed softly.
“You always did hide fear behind sarcasm.”
Mark descended halfway down the attic stairs.
Vanessa stood in the entrance hall, rain covering her cream dress. Mud stained the hem. Her hair had fallen loose around her face, but the gun in her hand remained steady.
“Where is Leo?” she asked.
“Safe.”
“There is no safe place for him now.”
“Because of you?”
“Because of the truth.”
“You locked him in a kennel.”
“To frighten him.”
“He has marks on his wrists.”
“He fought me.”
“He is seven.”
“He took something that could destroy all of us.”
“The photograph?”
“The information attached to it.”
Mark held the poker tightly.
“What happened to Anna?”
Vanessa’s expression became unreadable.
“You won’t believe me.”
“Try.”
“She discovered Bellweather.”
“I know.”
For the first time, Vanessa looked surprised.
Mark continued.
“I know about Elise.”
The gun shifted slightly.
“Then you know why this cannot become public.”
“I know that I have a daughter.”
“You have a legal catastrophe.”
“She’s a child.”
“She is evidence of illegal genetic material use, medical fraud, kidnapping and financial conspiracy. If she appears, the Harrison companies will collapse under investigation.”
“I don’t care.”
“Thousands of employees will.”
“Do not pretend this was about protecting them.”
Vanessa’s voice sharpened.
“I married you to prevent the trust from being divided.”
“There it is.”
“I was protecting what you built.”
“What my father built through crimes.”
“What your father built through strength.”
Mark stared at her.
“You admired him.”
“He rescued me.”
“From what?”
Vanessa’s face tightened.
“From poverty. From a mother who sold me to Bellweather recruiters when I was seventeen.”
The confession changed the air between them.
Vanessa lowered the gun slightly.
“They promised education and money,” she said. “Instead, they drugged us, harvested eggs and used our bodies for wealthy clients. Your father discovered I was intelligent. He moved me into administration.”
“And you helped him continue.”
“I survived.”
“You became him.”
“I learned that the world only respects people who hold leverage.”
“So you married me.”
“I made you happy.”
“For a while.”
“I helped raise Leo.”
“You abused him.”
“He was becoming dangerous.”
“To whom?”
“To me.”
The answer came as a whisper.
Vanessa looked toward the hallway.
“Leo saw Gerald bringing someone into the cellar. He started asking questions. He searched my office. I needed him quiet until I could move him overseas.”
“You created false medical records.”
“They were convincing.”
“You would have imprisoned him for years.”
“He would have been comfortable.”
Mark’s grip tightened.
“Like the woman in the cellar?”
Vanessa’s confidence wavered.
“She was not my prisoner.”
“Who was she?”
“Give me Anna’s recordings, and I will tell you.”
“No.”
“I will tell you where Elise is.”
Mark froze.
“You know?”
“I’ve always known.”
“Where is she?”
“Give me the recorder.”
“First tell me where my daughter is.”
Vanessa raised the gun again.
“You are in no position to negotiate.”
A floorboard creaked behind her.
Vanessa turned.
Thomas Reed emerged from the kitchen holding a shotgun.
“Drop the weapon, Mrs. Harrison.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened.
Mark descended the remaining stairs.
“You followed us.”
Thomas kept the shotgun aimed at Vanessa.
“I put a tracker in the utility vehicle years ago for emergencies.”
“You told me it had no tracking.”
“I lied.”
Mark’s expression hardened.
Thomas glanced at him.
“You were right not to trust anyone.”
Vanessa laughed.
“You think Thomas is here to save you?”
Mark looked at the estate manager.
Vanessa continued.
“Ask him who drove the second car from the mansion.”
Thomas’s face became pale.
Mark took a slow step back.
“Thomas?”
“I can explain.”
“Were you the driver?”
“Yes.”
Vanessa smiled.
“He helped me escape.”
Thomas shifted the shotgun toward her.
“I helped because she told me Leo would die if I didn’t.”
“Why would you believe her?” Mark demanded.
“Because she showed me a live camera feed of someone holding a knife to a child’s throat.”
Mark felt cold.
“Which child?”
Thomas looked at him.
“A girl.”
Vanessa’s smile deepened.
“Elise.”
A small sound came from the kitchen.
Leo stood in the doorway.
He had not reached the tunnel.
The red phone was pressed to his ear.
“Daddy,” he whispered, “Evelyn says Vanessa is lying.”
Vanessa spun toward him.
Thomas fired.
The shotgun blast tore into the ceiling as Vanessa ducked and fired back.
Thomas collapsed near the stairs.
Mark rushed Vanessa.
The gun discharged again.
The bullet struck the wall beside Leo.
Mark slammed Vanessa against the floor, wrenching the weapon from her hand.
She clawed his face and screamed.
“You don’t understand! Evelyn is the one who took Anna!”
Mark pinned her arm behind her back.
“What did you say?”
Vanessa turned her head, breathing hard.
“Anna survived the crash.”
Leo stared at her.
May you like
Vanessa smiled through the pain.
“And Evelyn made sure she never came home.”
