Chapter 9 - Lake Ashcroft)
Noah refused to stay behind.
Eleanor refused to let him go alone.
Vanessa insisted on coming because of Richard.
Margaret called it madness.
They went anyway.
Lake Ashcroft lay three hours north.
Winter had turned the road white.
Two security vehicles followed Eleanor's SUV.
The old boathouse stood beyond a line of trees.
Noah recognized it from Marcus's description.
They entered carefully.
Dust covered the floor.
Old tools hung on walls.
A rusted boat engine sat near the rear door.
Nothing looked disturbed.
Then Vanessa noticed the smell.
"Gasoline."
Eleanor ordered everyone outside.
Noah ignored her.
He saw marks on the floor.
Fresh scratches.
A hidden trapdoor beneath a workbench.
Security opened it.
Concrete stairs descended underground.
Noah went first.
"Absolutely not," Eleanor said.
"It's my mother's clue."
"And you're fifteen."
"So was she supposed to die because adults made mistakes?"
Eleanor had no answer.
The underground room contained filing cabinets.
Burned documents.
Old photographs.
A metal desk.
And a wall covered with newspaper clippings about Vale International.
Noah slowly approached.
Grace had been there.
Her handwriting covered several pages pinned to the wall.
Transaction numbers.
Names.
Dates.
Victor.
Richard Carlisle.
Marcus Shaw.
Adrian's mother.
And one name Noah did not recognize.
Samuel Price.
Eleanor recognized it.
"Our former chief financial officer."
"Where is he?"
"Dead."
"How?"
"Heart attack."
Noah looked at her.
"Of course."
Vanessa opened a drawer.
Inside was a cassette recorder.
She pressed play.
Grace's voice filled the room.
"December fourteenth. If I'm recording this, then Richard agreed to meet. Marcus believes Victor is the center of everything. He's wrong. Victor is stealing, yes, but someone is letting him steal because it hides larger transfers."
Noah stood frozen.
Grace continued.
"Richard knows who. I can see it in his face. He's terrified."
Vanessa began crying silently.
The recording continued.
"If Eleanor finds this, I'm sorry. I should have trusted you sooner. But I still don't know whether the person behind this is someone you love."
The tape clicked.
Then Grace spoke again.
"And if Noah ever hears this, baby, I'm sorry I brought you into a family where love and power learned to wear the same face."
The recording ended.
Noah wiped his eyes.
Eleanor turned away.
Vanessa opened another drawer.
A ledger sat inside.
Dozens of payments.
One column caught Noah's attention.
Project Winter.
"What is that?"
Eleanor shook her head.
Vanessa pointed lower.
"Look."
A payment dated two days after Grace disappeared.
Recipient:
R. Carlisle.
Amount:
Five million dollars.
Vanessa stared.
"My father was paid."
Noah said nothing.
She stepped backward.
"He knew."
A sudden noise came from upstairs.
Security shouted.
Then came the unmistakable sound of breaking glass.
"Out," Eleanor ordered.
Smoke began pouring down the stairwell.
Someone had set the boathouse on fire.
The gasoline ignited fast.
Noah grabbed the ledger.
Vanessa took the recorder.
They moved toward a narrow rear tunnel.
A security guard kicked open a rusted door.
Cold air rushed inside.
They escaped seconds before flames consumed the roof.
Outside, Eleanor's guards chased a figure through the woods.
Noah saw the person disappear between trees.
Tall.
Gray jacket.
Marcus?
He ran after him.
"Noah!"
Eleanor shouted.
Noah ignored her.
He reached a frozen clearing.
The figure was gone.
Something lay in the snow.
A photograph.
Grace holding baby Noah.
On the back:
I TOLD YOU NOT TO TRUST THE ONE WHO BROUGHT YOU HOME.
Noah turned.
Behind him stood Eleanor's driver.
The man who had driven him from Claire's apartment to the mansion.
The driver slowly reached inside his coat.
Noah stepped backward.
Then the man collapsed.
A gunshot echoed from the trees.
Eleanor's guards rushed forward.
The driver lay bleeding from the shoulder.
Noah looked toward the forest.
A distant figure lowered a weapon.
May you like
Marcus Shaw.
Then Marcus disappeared again.
