Chapter 9 - Victor’s Offer
The chapel doors locked automatically.
Metal shutters dropped over the windows.
Victor’s voice continued through the speaker.
“Rachel, I apologize for the dramatic method of communication. Thomas has made ordinary conversation impossible.”
Thomas rushed toward the organ.
“Do not touch it,” Jonah warned. “It may be wired.”
Victor laughed softly.
“You always were cautious, Jonah. Not cautious enough to avoid the warehouse, but cautious.”
Mara looked for another exit.
The tunnel door behind them had locked as well.
Rachel stood in the center aisle.
“You framed a seven-year-old child.”
“I arranged a temporary accusation. No charges would have been filed.”
“You put a tracker in her clothes.”
“To protect her.”
“You sent gunmen to the monastery.”
A pause.
“I did not.”
Thomas looked at the ceiling.
“Then who did?”
“Someone less patient than I am.”
Victor’s voice lost its amusement.
“Listen carefully. The people Thomas intends to expose will not distinguish between guilty adults and innocent children. Give me the flash drive and the photograph. In return, I will guarantee Emily’s safety.”
Rachel almost laughed.
“You are the reason she is in danger.”
“No. Her father created that danger when he stole what belonged to this family.”
“Daniel was your brother.”
Silence followed.
When Victor spoke again, his voice had changed.
“So Thomas told you.”
“Is it true?”
“Daniel was Leonard’s mistake.”
Emily pressed closer to Rachel.
“Do not speak about him that way.”
“Laura Carter was paid generously to disappear. She broke the agreement when she allowed Daniel to return.”
“Daniel did not know who you were.”
“He learned.”
“And you killed him.”
“I did not order Daniel’s death.”
Thomas shouted toward the speaker.
“You ordered Marcus to stop him.”
“I ordered Marcus to recover stolen documents. Marcus chose his methods.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
Victor was doing what powerful men always did.
He turned murder into administrative distance.
“I want the truth about the crash,” she said.
“Then come back to Bennett Hall.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel left something for you.”
Thomas shook his head urgently.
Victor continued.
“There is a private vault beneath the exhibition gallery. It can only be opened with the Bennett Rose and the blood of Leonard’s direct descendant.”
Rachel looked at Emily.
“You were going to use her.”
“I was going to confirm her identity.”
“By framing her?”
“By removing her from the ballroom without alerting the Circle.”
The explanation was monstrous enough to sound plausible.
Thomas moved closer to Rachel.
“He is manipulating you.”
Victor heard him.
“Thomas has lied to you for six years. Ask him why he arrived at Bennett Hall tonight. Ask who told him Emily would be there.”
Rachel looked at Thomas.
“You knew?”
Thomas said nothing.
Victor pressed on.
“Rachel was hired only yesterday. The babysitter canceled three hours before the event. Yet Thomas crossed two states and entered the estate at exactly the moment the brooch was discovered.”
“How?” Rachel asked.
Thomas’s expression revealed the answer before he spoke.
“I received a message.”
“From whom?”
“Daniel.”
The chapel seemed to fall away beneath Rachel’s feet.
Emily whispered, “Daddy?”
Thomas removed his phone.
“At four twelve this afternoon, an encrypted account Daniel created years ago became active. It sent one sentence.”
He showed Rachel the screen.
EMILY WILL BE ACCUSED AT 8:45. BRING THE KEY.
Rachel read it twice.
“The key was the flash drive?”
“Yes.”
“Who sent the message?”
“I do not know.”
Victor’s voice returned.
“I do.”
Thomas stared at the speaker.
“Then say it.”
“Bring Emily to the estate, and I will.”
Rachel shook her head.
“You will not get near her.”
Victor sighed.
“The chapel doors will open in thirty seconds. A car is waiting outside. You may come voluntarily, or you may take your chances with the people who attacked the monastery.”
“What about Jonah and the others?”
“They remain.”
“As hostages.”
“As insurance.”
The locks clicked.
The chapel doors opened.
Outside, a black limousine waited in the rain.
No guards were visible.
Thomas caught Rachel’s arm.
“You cannot believe him.”
“I believe he has something he wants.”
“That does not make him honest.”
“No. It makes him predictable.”
She turned to Mrs. Bell.
“Stay with Emily.”
Emily grabbed her coat.
“No.”
Rachel knelt.
“I need to go back.”
“Then I’m coming.”
“Absolutely not.”
Victor’s voice came through the speaker one last time.
“The vault requires both of you.”
Emily looked at Rachel.
“If I don’t go, will they hurt Mrs. Bell?”
Rachel hated that her daughter understood so much.
Adrian approached.
“I will go with you.”
Victor’s voice sharpened.
“No.”
Adrian smiled without humor.
“That sounded frightened.”
He stepped outside.
No shot came.
Rachel, Emily, Adrian, and Thomas entered the limousine together.
Victor had demanded two passengers.
He received four.
As the vehicle pulled away, Jonah called after them.
“Rachel!”
She looked back.
He struggled out of Mara’s grip.
“The vault does not contain a will.”
“What does it contain?”
Jonah’s answer was lost as the doors closed.
May you like
But Rachel read his lips.
A body.
