Chapter 7 - the man who pulled mara from the car)
Nathan Cole looked nothing like Mara remembered.
In her broken memories, he had been a voice.
Stay awake.
Look at me.
Don't move.
Help is coming.
Now he stood inside Arthur Mercer's study wearing faded jeans and a gray jacket, his hair longer than before, a scar crossing one eyebrow.
Mara stared at him.
"You disappeared."
Nathan nodded.
"I know."
"You never responded to my attorney."
"I know."
"Police said they couldn't locate you."
"I know."
Mara's anger rose.
"Then stop saying you know."
Nathan lowered his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Grant stood across the room with his arms folded.
"This man has no reason to be here."
Nathan looked at him.
"Actually, you're the reason."
Arthur closed the study doors.
Claire remained beside Mara.
Vanessa paced near the fireplace.
Lily was now with Claire's mother in a nearby sitting room, guarded by two trusted staff members Arthur had personally chosen.
Mara hated letting her out of sight.
But she hated more the idea of Lily hearing what came next.
Arthur faced Nathan.
"Start from the beginning."
Nathan looked at Mara.
"I was first on scene."
"I know."
"The driver was outside the vehicle when I arrived."
Mara's heart began pounding.
"Who?"
Nathan's eyes moved toward Grant.
"Him."
Claire inhaled sharply.
Arthur did not move.
Grant laughed.
"This is insane."
Nathan continued.
"Mr. Mercer was standing on the passenger side."
Grant stepped forward.
"Because I climbed out."
"No."
Nathan looked at him.
"You were standing at the driver's door when my ambulance came around the bend."
Grant shook his head.
"Three years later, suddenly you remember?"
"I remembered that night."
"Then why didn't you say it?"
Nathan's face tightened.
"I did."
Mara stared.
"What?"
"I told the responding officer."
"What officer?"
"Lieutenant Harris."
Mara remembered the name.
The officer who later wrote the official report.
The report saying Mara had lost control while driving in heavy rain.
Nathan continued.
"I told Harris there were two people in the car and that the male passenger appeared to have been driving."
Grant laughed again.
"Appeared."
Nathan reached into his jacket.
He removed an old phone sealed in a plastic evidence pouch.
"I took photographs."
Grant's smile disappeared.
Nathan held up the phone.
"When we arrive at major wrecks, we document the scene when possible. I photographed the tire position, airbags, windshield, driver-side blood, passenger side, everything."
Mara's mouth went dry.
Nathan looked at her.
"The driver's airbag had blood on it."
"Whose?"
"I didn't know at the time."
Grant spoke.
"Exactly."
Nathan continued.
"But your face had no impact injury."
Mara touched the faint scar near her temple.
Grant's face had been cut that night.
She remembered seeing bandages.
Nathan looked at him.
"His did."
Claire whispered, "Oh my God."
Grant's voice rose.
"You were a paramedic, not a forensic investigator."
"No. But I know where somebody was sitting when an airbag explodes into their face."
Arthur looked at Nathan.
"Why did you disappear?"
Nathan hesitated.
"Two days after the crash, a man came to my apartment."
"What man?"
"I never got his name."
"Describe him."
"Sixties. Expensive suit. Gray hair."
Arthur's face darkened.
"That could describe half the executives I know."
Nathan nodded.
"He offered me two hundred thousand dollars."
Mara felt sick.
"For what?"
"To forget where Grant was standing."
Vanessa turned away.
Mara saw it.
"Did you take it?"
Nathan swallowed.
"Yes."
Silence.
Mara's face hardened.
"You took money."
"I was twenty-six. My mother had cancer. I owed more than I could ever repay."
"So you sold the truth."
"Yes."
Mara stepped toward him.
"Because of you, everyone believed I caused that crash."
"I know."
"I lost my leg."
"I know."
"I lost my marriage."
Nathan looked at Grant.
"That might have saved your life."
Grant lunged.
Arthur and one of the staff members grabbed him.
"Get him out!" Grant shouted. "He's extorting us!"
Nathan did not react.
"I came because whoever paid me contacted me again last week."
Arthur froze.
"What?"
Nathan removed a folded photograph.
"He sent this."
Mara took it.
The image showed Nathan's house.
His wife standing outside.
Their six-year-old son riding a bicycle.
Written across the back were five words.
Do not attend the wedding.
Claire whispered, "Someone knew you were coming."
Nathan nodded.
"I hadn't told anyone."
Mara looked at him.
"Why were you coming?"
Nathan reached into his jacket again.
This time he removed a small black object.
A portable hard drive.
"Because four months ago, Lieutenant Harris died."
Arthur's expression sharpened.
Nathan continued.
"His daughter found a box in his garage."
Mara almost stopped breathing.
"What kind of box?"
Nathan looked at Arthur.
"Black leather. Silver lock."
Arthur gripped the edge of the desk.
"The foundation records."
Nathan nodded.
"Harris had been keeping it for three years."
Vanessa suddenly moved for the door.
Claire blocked her.
"Where are you going?"
"Get out of my way."
"No."
Vanessa's voice rose.
"This is not your family."
Claire stared at her.
"Neither is Mara, apparently. That didn't stop you from using her name."
Vanessa's face twisted.
Arthur looked at Nathan.
"Where is the box?"
Nathan's answer changed everything.
"I don't have it."
Grant smiled.
Arthur said, "Who does?"
Nathan looked at Mara.
"Harris's daughter."
"Where is she?"
"On her way here."
Grant's smile vanished.
Nathan checked the time.
"She should have arrived ten minutes ago."
Mara immediately thought of the anonymous warning.
Do not let Grant find the key.
Her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
She opened the message.
A photograph appeared.
A young woman sitting inside a car.
Her hands were tied.
Her mouth covered.
May you like
Across the image were six words.
Give us the key or she dies.
