Chapter 11 - Nathan’s War
Alistair survived the shot.
The bullet passed beneath his collarbone, missing his heart by less than an inch. Sebastian’s wound was also survivable. Both men were airlifted from Rook Island under guard, one as a victim and one as a suspect.
The shooter escaped.
At sunrise, investigators recovered a shell casing engraved with the number one.
Nathan Rook had announced himself.
Eleanor returned to Maya at the secure residence. The child slept on a couch beside Claire, still wearing the blue dress from the gala. Eleanor lifted her gently and carried her to bed.
Maya woke enough to whisper, “Did Grandpa come home?”
“He is in the hospital, but he is going to be all right.”
“Did Daddy come home?”
Eleanor hesitated.
“Daddy is also in the hospital.”
“Is he bad?”
“He made very bad choices.”
“Can bad people become good?”
Eleanor brushed hair from her daughter’s face. “Sometimes people change. But we do not stand close enough to be hurt while they decide.”
Maya considered that and fell asleep.
By afternoon, the city knew part of the story. News reports announced fraud investigations into Vance Meridian Holdings, the arrest of Victoria Vance and Dr. Simon Vale, and the temporary suspension of Julian’s executive authority. The assault on Maya leaked through a guest’s video. Public outrage erupted.
Blackwood Global’s board requested an emergency meeting.
Eleanor attended by secure video from the hospital, where Alistair recovered after surgery. Several directors questioned whether she was prepared to act as interim chair.
One elderly director, Charles Dunne, spoke with careful disrespect.
“Mrs. Vance has endured significant personal stress. Perhaps leadership should pass temporarily to someone less involved.”
Eleanor looked at the men and women who had risen in the ballroom when her father entered.
They had stood for power. She needed to know whether they would stand for truth.
“My personal involvement is the reason I will lead,” she said. “Nine hundred million dollars was borrowed using my identity. Company assets were exposed because our governance treated family trust as a substitute for verification. Children were manipulated to influence succession. We will disclose the loans, cooperate with regulators, freeze every connected entity, and establish an independent committee.”
Dunne frowned. “Such disclosure could destroy market confidence.”
“Concealment will destroy the company.”
“The share price may collapse.”
“Then it collapses on the truth and rebuilds on something stronger.”
Naomi smiled faintly.
The board voted eleven to three to appoint Eleanor interim chair.
Her first act was to suspend Charles Dunne pending review. Her second was to release a public statement accepting responsibility for the company’s governance failures without exposing Maya’s private medical history.
Her third was to visit Julian.
He lay handcuffed to a hospital bed under federal guard. His wound had been repaired. His arrogance had not.
“You look like your father now,” he said.
“That is no longer an insult to me.”
“You think the board chose you. They chose your name.”
“I know. I intend to earn the rest.”
Julian watched her closely. “Did Sebastian tell you about Nathan?”
“He said Nathan is alive.”
“Alive is not the same as sane.”
“What did you do to him?”
“I did nothing. Sebastian trained him before us. Nathan was supposed to become the Rook heir placed inside Blackwood. He refused. He helped Evelyn escape, and Vale punished him.”
“How?”
Julian looked toward the guard.
Eleanor leaned closer.
“He erased Nathan,” Julian whispered. “Drugs. isolation. new names. He was moved through foster homes and institutions until no record connected him to Rook. When Nathan returned fifteen years later, he wanted every person involved dead.”
“Why did he shoot Alistair?”
“Because he believes Alistair knew.”
“Did he?”
“I do not know.”
“You always know more than you admit.”
Julian’s expression hardened. “And your father always admits less than he knows.”
Eleanor turned to leave.
“Wait,” he said. “Nathan will come for Maya.”
She stopped.
“Why?”
“The joint trust recognizes the oldest surviving Rook claimant unless a younger direct heir is publicly acknowledged. Maya displaced him.”
“So he wants to kill her.”
“No. Killing her could freeze the trust for twenty-one years. He wants her to renounce the claim.”
“She is five.”
“He only needs her guardian’s signature.”
“You are no longer her guardian.”
“Legally, I am until a court rules otherwise.”
Eleanor faced him. “Then sign away your rights.”
Julian laughed once, without humor. “That is the only reason they are keeping me alive.”
A nurse entered with medication. Eleanor noticed the woman’s badge was turned backward.
The nurse reached for Julian’s IV.
Eleanor grabbed her wrist.
A syringe fell to the floor.
The nurse struck Eleanor and ran. Guards chased her into the corridor.
Julian stared at the syringe.
“That was Nathan,” he said.
Eleanor looked at the open hospital window.
On the glass, someone had drawn the number one in blood.
That evening, a package arrived at Blackwood Tower addressed to Interim Chair Eleanor Blackwood.
Inside was a child’s music box.
When opened, it played the song Gabriel remembered from the darkness.
May you like
Beneath the mechanism was a message.
ASK ALISTAIR WHAT HE DID TO MY MOTHER.
