Chapter 7 - THE PROMISE MADE BESIDE A DYING MAN
Nathan took Charlotte to an empty conference room.
Mara joined them.
No assistants.
No security.
Nathan closed the blinds.
Then he removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeve.
A pale scar crossed the inside of his forearm.
Charlotte looked at it.
“What happened?”
“The night your father died.”
Charlotte said nothing.
Nathan sat.
“William called me at 1:03 a.m. He told me to come to his apartment alone.”
Charlotte remembered.
Her father had been found unconscious shortly before dawn.
Nathan continued.
“When I arrived, the front door was open. He was sitting on the floor near the kitchen.”
Charlotte’s throat tightened.
“He was alive?”
“Yes.”
“Why wasn’t that in the police report?”
“Because I lied.”
Charlotte stared.
Nathan looked ashamed.
“I told them I found him unconscious.”
“You found my father alive and lied?”
“He told me to.”
“What did he say?”
Nathan looked at the table.
“That I was not to trust the hospital.”
Charlotte’s chair scraped backward.
“What?”
“Sit down.”
“Don’t tell me to sit down.”
“Charlotte.”
“What happened to him?”
Nathan looked at her.
“He had already injected his medication.”
Mara leaned forward.
“Did you see the vial?”
“Yes.”
“Was anyone else there?”
“No.”
Nathan continued.
“William said the vial had been replaced. He said someone had finally made their move.”
Charlotte struggled to breathe evenly.
“Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”
“I did.”
“You said he didn’t trust the hospital.”
“He still needed medical help.”
“What did he ask you to do?”
Nathan closed his eyes briefly.
“He gave me a list of names.”
“Who?”
“I destroyed it.”
Charlotte nearly lunged across the table.
“You what?”
“At his request.”
“Why?”
“Because if he died, whoever killed him would search everything.”
“So you destroyed the only evidence?”
“No.”
Nathan looked at Mara.
“William had copies.”
Mara’s expression changed.
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Charlotte felt fury building.
“What else?”
“He told me Charlotte could never know the truth unless she came back to the Solmere willingly.”
“Why?”
Nathan gave a sad smile.
“Because he knew you.”
Charlotte said nothing.
“He said if anyone simply told you to stay away, you would spend the rest of your life wondering. But if you came back and saw the corruption yourself, you would not stop until you understood it.”
Despite everything, Charlotte almost smiled.
That sounded exactly like her father.
Nathan continued.
“He made me promise to delay you.”
“So your lies were protection?”
“Some.”
“And the stolen money?”
Nathan looked away.
“Some of those payments were authorized by William.”
Mara frowned.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
Nathan met her eyes.
“He used Vale Legacy Management to move money.”
“For what?”
“To people who needed to disappear.”
Charlotte stared.
“Disappear?”
“Witnesses. Former employees. A contractor who discovered the private floor. Two women who attended meetings in Room 417. A driver who heard something he shouldn’t have.”
Mara leaned back.
“So William built the shell company.”
“He took control of one that already existed.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mara asked.
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“Because William didn’t trust you completely either.”
Mara went still.
Charlotte looked between them.
Nathan continued.
“Some of the money was theft. Some was protection. The accounts were intentionally mixed so nobody could tell which was which.”
“Who was stealing?” Charlotte asked.
Nathan shook his head.
“That is what your father never proved.”
“What is Room 417?”
Nathan’s expression changed.
“A private facility hidden between the fourth and fifth floors.”
“That makes no architectural sense.”
“The ballroom wing has double-height ceilings. There is unused structural space.”
“How do you enter?”
Nathan looked at the brass key.
“Service elevator B.”
“And the second door?”
“You need Mara.”
Charlotte turned to her.
Mara looked confused.
“I don’t know what he means.”
Nathan frowned.
“You don’t?”
“No.”
“William specifically said Quinn controls the second access.”
Mara’s face became unreadable.
Charlotte studied her.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Mara opened her mouth.
A siren suddenly sounded.
Not the fire alarm.
A security alert.
Nathan stood.
His phone rang immediately.
“Yes?”
He listened.
His face changed.
“When?”
Another pause.
“Lock the floor.”
He disconnected.
Charlotte stood.
“What happened?”
Nathan looked directly at her.
“They found Derek Mills.”
The guard from the lobby.
“Where?”
“In a service elevator.”
“Is he alive?”
Nathan did not answer.
Charlotte knew.
Mara whispered:
“Oh God.”
Nathan grabbed his jacket.
“He was carrying something.”
“What?”
Nathan hesitated.
“A photograph.”
Charlotte’s skin went cold.
May you like
“Of what?”
“Your father.”
