Chapter 9 - Family Dinner
Bellamy Tower had been empty for ten years.
The forty-story headquarters was a monument to an earlier era of the family empire, abandoned after Richard moved operations to the harbor. At midnight, only the top floor was illuminated.
They entered through the underground garage.
Marcus kept Arthur handcuffed. Richard came despite his wound, supported by Sienna. Brooke walked beside Eleanor, close enough that their shoulders touched but not close enough to feel natural. Eleven months apart had created a distance neither knew how to cross.
The elevator rose without requiring a key.
At the top, the doors opened onto a dining room prepared for six people. Candles burned in silver holders. Plates of untouched food steamed beneath chandeliers. At the head of the table sat a woman in black.
Helena.
Older, thinner, but unmistakable.
Eleanor stopped breathing.
Brooke made a sound that was almost a sob.
Their mother stood.
"My daughters."
Eleanor crossed the room and slapped her.
Helena accepted the blow without moving.
"You let us bury you."
"I needed the network to believe I was gone."
"We believed it."
"That was necessary."
Brooke's face crumpled, then hardened. "Everything is necessary to you."
Helena looked at Richard. "You were supposed to protect them."
Richard lowered his gaze. "I tried."
"No. You compromised."
Sienna stepped forward. "You arranged my marriage."
Helena studied her with a strange tenderness. "I arranged Arthur's access to you. I hoped you would see him clearly before the transfer."
"You used my wedding as an experiment?"
"I used it as a clock."
Arthur laughed. "There she is."
Helena's expression became ice. "Sit down."
He did.
They took their places around the table. Marcus remained standing near the elevator.
Helena placed the original marriage certificate in front of her. "This document carries the master index to the custodial trust. Brooke's biometric signature activates one layer. Eleanor's activates another."
Eleanor said, "Then we are both connected."
"Yes."
"Which one of us is your biological daughter?"
Helena looked between them.
"Both."
Silence.
Richard whispered, "That is impossible."
"No. The hospital records were not merged because of two infants. They were merged because of three."
Helena explained that she had given birth to twins. During the Saint Orison fire, one infant was believed dead. A protected witness's child was placed beside the surviving twin. Later, Helena discovered that the supposedly dead infant had been removed by the network.
"So Brooke and I may not be twins," Eleanor said.
"You are twins," Helena replied. "The third child became the decoy."
"Who?"
Helena looked toward Sienna.
Richard rose too quickly and tore his wound open.
"No."
Sienna stared at him. "What is she saying?"
Helena's voice softened. "Your mother did not die giving birth to you, Sienna. She was never pregnant."
Sienna backed away from the table.
Richard said, "I raised her. She is my daughter."
"But not by blood," Helena said. "She is the witness child placed at Saint Orison."
Arthur watched them with open satisfaction.
Eleanor understood. The network had hidden Sienna inside the Bellamy family while Helena took the twins. Three children, three identities, one trust designed to protect all of them.
Helena placed three rings on the table.
"Together, you control the dormant shares."
Brooke looked at the rings but did not touch hers. "Why did Arthur marry me?"
"Because he needed one heir under spousal control. Then he planned to marry Sienna and gain access to the second. Eleanor was meant to remain unaware."
Arthur leaned back. "A beautiful design."
Helena turned to him. "Who gave you the design?"
For the first time, Arthur hesitated.
The tower lights went out.
Emergency red lamps illuminated the room.
A shot cracked.
Helena fell.
Marcus fired toward the balcony as glass shattered. A figure disappeared into the darkness outside.
Eleanor dropped beside her mother. Blood spread across Helena's black dress.
Brooke pressed both hands over the wound.
"Stay with us."
Helena gripped Eleanor's wrist.
"The black boxes," she whispered. "I did not send them."
Eleanor leaned closer.
"Then who did?"
Helena's eyes moved toward Arthur.
But Arthur was no longer in his chair.
His handcuffs lay open on the floor.
May you like
The elevator doors closed behind him.
On the table, Sienna's ring was missing.
