Chapter 9 - The Lawyer Who Knew Too Much
Alexander released Lucian.
The attorney stumbled backward.
Emily moved toward the fireplace.
She pulled one half-burned page from the edge.
A photograph was attached to it.
Renato Moretti stood outside a private clinic.
Victoria Harrington was beside him.
Dr. Adrian Cole stood between them.
The photograph had been taken one week before Eleanor’s attack.
On the back, Nora Carter had written four words.
THEY ARE DRUGGING MARCO TOO.
Alexander stared at the photograph.
“You had this.”
Lucian nodded.
“For how long?”
“Three years.”
Alexander’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“You knew my father may have been poisoned.”
“I suspected.”
“You said nothing.”
“I was protecting my daughter.”
Emily looked at him.
“What happened to her?”
Lucian removed his glasses.
“Renato had photographs.”
“Of what?”
“My daughter leaving a rehabilitation center.”
“She was addicted to pain medication after an accident.”
“He threatened to expose her.”
Alexander’s expression showed no sympathy.
“You traded my father’s life for your reputation.”
“No.”
“I traded my silence for my daughter’s life.”
“Do not pretend those are the same.”
Lucian looked toward Emily.
“Your mother came to me after Thomas died.”
“She showed me the ledger.”
“She asked me to give it to federal investigators if anything happened to her.”
Emily held the notebook tighter.
“She died eighteen months later.”
“I know.”
“What did you do with the ledger?”
“I divided it.”
“You let us believe our father was a murderer.”
“I was afraid.”
Emily stepped close enough that Lucian had to look at her.
“So was he.”
“He still ran into the rain.”
Lucian lowered his eyes.
Alexander pointed toward the fire.
“What were you burning?”
“Copies of forged trust documents.”
“Why?”
“Because Renato knows you found the locker.”
“How?”
Lucian looked toward the ceiling.
“He has been listening.”
Everyone became silent.
Lucian slowly turned toward Eleanor’s empty wheelchair near the window.
“The chair.”
Emily approached it.
“This is the replacement wheelchair.”
Lucian nodded.
“Donated through the Harrington Medical Initiative.”
Luca turned the chair onto its side.
He removed the panel beneath the seat.
A small transmitter was attached to the battery compartment.
A microphone wire ran through the frame.
Alexander’s eyes hardened.
“They heard everything.”
Lucian nodded.
“Every conversation held near Eleanor.”
“Every argument.”
“Every name.”
Emily looked toward the hallway.
“Where is Eleanor?”
Alexander turned.
She had been taken to her bedroom after they returned.
Luca ran from the room.
They followed.
Eleanor’s bed was empty.
The bathroom was empty.
A window stood open.
Rain blew across the carpet.
Alexander grabbed the radio from a guard.
“Where is my mother?”
The guard’s voice shook.
“She was sleeping ten minutes ago.”
Alexander pressed him against the wall.
“Who entered?”
“Only Dr. Shaw.”
Miriam appeared at the end of the hallway.
“I have not been in this room for an hour.”
Luca checked the camera feed.
The screen showed an empty corridor.
The timestamp repeated the same fifteen seconds.
“The footage is looping.”
Emily rushed toward the window.
Wheel marks crossed the wet grass below.
They led toward the lake.
Alexander ran downstairs.
Emily followed.
A wheelchair stood abandoned near the dock.
Eleanor was nowhere in sight.
“Mother!”
Alexander’s shout carried across the water.
No answer returned.
Luca searched the ground.
“Tire marks.”
“A van left through the service gate.”
Alexander turned toward him.
“How?”
“Someone used Renato’s access code.”
Emily looked back at the mansion.
Renato appeared on the terrace.
He wore a robe over his clothes.
“What happened?”
Alexander walked toward him.
“Where is she?”
Renato’s face showed confusion.
“Who?”
Alexander struck him.
Renato fell against the stone railing.
Every guard froze.
Renato touched his bleeding lip.
“You have lost your mind.”
“My mother was taken with your code.”
“Then someone stole it.”
Alexander grabbed him again.
Emily placed herself between them.
“Stop.”
Alexander looked at her.
“Move.”
“Killing the wrong man will not bring her back.”
Renato wiped his mouth.
“For once, listen to the waitress.”
Emily turned toward him.
“I did not say you were innocent.”
A phone began ringing.
The sound came from Eleanor’s abandoned wheelchair.
Luca removed a second device hidden inside the armrest.
Alexander answered.
Victoria’s voice filled the air.
“Good morning, Alexander.”
“Where is my mother?”
“She is alive.”
“You have one opportunity to keep her that way.”
Victoria sounded almost cheerful.
“Bring me the blue ledger.”
“Where?”
“You will receive instructions.”
“If she is harmed—”
“She has already been harmed.”
Victoria’s voice sharpened.
“Four years ago, to be precise.”
The call ended.
Alexander turned toward Emily.
She opened the blue notebook.
Five pages remained.
“It is not the entire ledger.”
“They may not know that,” Lucian said.
Alexander looked at him.
“You are coming.”
Lucian shook his head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You do not understand.”
“What?”
Lucian’s face went pale.
“Victoria did not take Eleanor.”
“Then who did?”
Lucian looked toward the Moretti mansion.
“The person who cut the brakes.”
Before he could say another word, his body stiffened.
The glass in his hand fell.
It shattered on the terrace.
Lucian grabbed his throat.
Emily caught him as he collapsed.
Miriam ran forward.
“What did he drink?”
“Water,” Alexander said.
Miriam smelled the glass.
“Not only water.”
Lucian’s lips turned blue.
Emily searched his pockets.
She found a small envelope.
May you like
One sentence was written inside.
IF I DIE, ASK ELEANOR WHY SHE PRETENDED NOT TO WALK.
