Chapter 10 - The Toast Conrad Wrote
They escaped the western wing through a service tunnel Eleanor had discovered behind the library fireplace.
By the time Conrad and Admiral Sloan entered the room, the suitcase was gone.
But Eleanor deliberately left the communication terminal behind.
On its screen, she had written one sentence.
SEE YOU AT THE WEDDING.
For the first time in years, she wanted Conrad to know she was no longer afraid.
The group relocated to a secure Navy guest facility arranged by Daniel.
There, they made a decision none of them liked.
The wedding would continue.
Canceling it would scatter the witnesses, move the evidence, and warn Sloan that his identity had been discovered.
Continuing meant walking into a ballroom controlled by Conrad.
“We cannot trust the venue staff,” Daniel said.
“We cannot trust Olivia’s military detail,” Elise added.
“We may not even be able to trust the federal investigators assigned to Vale.”
Noah looked at the wedding schedule.
“Then we change nothing.”
Olivia stared at him.
“My father may be inside that venue.”
“And canceling could get him moved again.”
Noah turned to Elise.
“What do you need me to do?”
Elise studied him for a moment.
Thomas’s recording had said to trust the man who chose Olivia over his name.
Noah had not yet made that choice completely.
He would have to make it in front of Conrad.
“Conrad expects you to protect the family reputation,” Elise said. “You will let him believe you are doing exactly that.”
For the next two weeks, they prepared in silence.
Noah returned to his father and apologized for entering the museum.
He claimed Olivia had become emotional after learning about Thomas and that Elise was manipulating her.
Conrad accepted the lie because it confirmed what he wanted to believe.
Olivia continued attending wedding rehearsals.
She smiled for photographs beside Sloan.
She allowed him to review the security plan.
Elise disappeared from public view.
Rumors spread that she had declined the invitation.
Meanwhile, Daniel copied Sections One and Two to multiple secure locations.
Eleanor met with an independent physician who documented the medication Conrad’s staff had given her.
Noah quietly transferred control of his architecture company away from all Vale-connected accounts.
Three days before the wedding, Conrad invited Noah to his office.
A speech had been printed and placed on the desk.
“You will read this after Olivia’s toast,” Conrad said.
Noah picked it up.
The speech announced that Commander Thomas Mercer had been responsible for falsifying inspection documents and stealing military property.
It also praised Conrad for protecting national security by remaining silent for fifteen years.
“You want me to accuse my wife’s father at my own wedding?”
“I want you to defend the family she is joining.”
Noah placed the pages down.
“She will never forgive me.”
“She will eventually understand that marriage requires sacrifice.”
“Whose sacrifice?”
Conrad’s expression hardened.
“Do not become sentimental now.”
Noah forced himself to remain calm.
“What happens to Elise?”
“She will attend.”
“I thought she declined.”
“She will come because Olivia will ask her.”
“And then?”
Conrad walked toward the window.
“She will be given an opportunity to admit that she ordered Thomas to steal the records.”
“She will never do that.”
“Then the evidence against Thomas will be released before midnight.”
Noah understood.
Conrad was not merely planning to humiliate Elise.
He wanted to force her into a public confession in front of military officials.
The wedding was a courtroom where Conrad controlled the charges, the witnesses, and the microphones.
“What is Admiral Sloan’s role?” Noah asked casually.
Conrad turned.
The pause was brief, but revealing.
“Sloan is a guest.”
“Nothing more?”
“Do not ask questions that create problems for you.”
Noah folded the speech and placed it inside his jacket.
“I’ll read it.”
Conrad smiled.
“I knew you would choose correctly.”
Noah left the office and drove directly to the rehearsal dinner.
He gave the speech to Olivia beneath the table.
She read it without changing expression.
Then she reached for his hand.
“Are you ready to lose everything with me?” she whispered.
Noah looked across the room at his father.
“No.”
Olivia’s face fell.
Noah tightened his grip on her hand.
“But I’m ready to discover what remains after we do.”
At the far end of the room, Sloan raised a glass toward them.
May you like
He was smiling.
On his wrist was a watch engraved with a lantern surrounded by thirteen stars.
