Chapter 12 - The Night Hollow Falls BurnedThe explosion threw me against the boathouse wall.

For several seconds, there was no sound except the ringing inside my skull. Wooden beams collapsed through the roof, showering sparks across the floor.

Vincent dragged me toward the side exit.

"Move!"

I stumbled after him, coughing through smoke.

Anthony had disappeared.

I found him outside, lying beside the frozen shoreline. Blood streaked his forehead, and one of his legs was trapped beneath a fallen beam.

I dropped beside him.

"Dad!"

His eyes opened.

"You're late."

I almost laughed.

Then I saw the men moving between the trees.

Adrian's security teams had surrounded the lake house.

Vincent fired twice, forcing them behind a line of parked vehicles. I pulled my father free while the flames spread through the boathouse.

"Can you walk?"

"Not gracefully."

"That's a family trait."

I helped him toward the tree line.

We reached the road just as a second explosion rocked the property.

The black sedan was gone.

Adrian had escaped.

But he'd left something behind.

A disposable phone lay in the snow beside a dead guard. Its screen displayed a message.

NOAH MERCER WILL BE DELIVERED TO US BY MIDNIGHT.

I stared at it.

"Where's Noah?"

Vincent pulled out his own phone.

He called the security team escorting Samuel and Noah.

No answer.

He tried again.

Nothing.

My father gripped my wrist.

"Who is Noah?"

I looked at him.

"Rachel Mercer's grandson."

Anthony's face drained of color.

"No."

"What?"

"Adrian believes the boy heard the conversation Rachel recorded. If he gets his hands on Noah, he'll destroy every remaining piece of evidence."

"He's already trying."

My father tried to stand, grimacing as pain shot through his leg.

"Then we have to move."

We reached the vehicle hidden near the forest.

Vincent drove while I called every contact I trusted. Most were frightened. Some refused to answer. Two offered assistance, then demanded to know which side Adrian would eventually win.

I hung up on both.

At 11:18 p.m., a call finally came through.

It was the leader of our security detail.

His voice was ragged.

"Boss, we were ambushed near the southern bridge. They took Mr. Mercer."

"And Noah?"

A pause.

"He's missing."

My fingers tightened around the phone.

"What do you mean, missing?"

"The attackers pulled them from the vehicle. Goliath broke through the back window and chased one of the men into the woods. We recovered Samuel, but Noah wasn't there."

"Is Samuel alive?"

"Yes. He's injured. We're taking him to the clinic."

"Put him on the phone."

A moment later, Samuel's voice emerged.

"Luca?"

"Where's Noah?"

The old man struggled to breathe.

"They had a van. One of the men grabbed him. Goliath went after them, but I couldn't follow."

"Did you recognize anyone?"

"I saw a tattoo. A black crown with a line through it."

The symbol belonged to Adrian's private security division.

I closed my eyes.

"When?"

"About forty minutes ago."

I looked at the clock.

11:21 p.m.

We had thirty-nine minutes.

"Samuel, listen carefully. We're going to find him."

The old man began to cry.

"He's all I have left."

"I know."

"You don't know anything about losing a child."

I looked at my father, unconscious in the back seat.

For the first time, I answered honestly.

"You're right. I don't."

Samuel made a broken sound.

"Please bring him home."

The call ended.

I turned to Vincent.

"Find Adrian."

"We're trying."

"Then stop trying through the channels he controls."

Vincent looked at me.

I pulled my father's ledger from my coat.

"Whoever has the original evidence can help us. The prosecutor my father contacted, the officials Rachel knew, every person Adrian has spent years bribing. Find them."

"And Noah?"

I stared through the windshield at the dark road.

"We find him first."

At 11:34 p.m., a message arrived on my phone.

A photograph showed Noah sitting in a chair inside a concrete room. His wrists were tied, and blood streaked his cheek. Goliath's collar lay on the floor beside him.

The message contained one sentence.

COME ALONE, OR THE BOY DIES.

A second image arrived before I could respond.

Samuel stood beside Adrian, his face swollen and bruised.

Behind them hung a clock.

12:00.

Then my phone rang.

Adrian's voice sounded almost cheerful.

"Luca, you've spent your entire life teaching people what happens when they hurt your family."

"Touch the boy and I'll kill you."

"No. You won't."

My brother paused.

"Because if you kill me, the evidence disappears. The business goes to the syndicate. Father dies, and Noah becomes another forgotten tragedy."

I stared at the photograph.

"What do you want?"

"Everything Father hid. The original ledger, the offshore accounts, and the names of the prosecutors who have been asking questions."

"You know I don't have all of that."

"Then find it."

He hung up.

Vincent pulled the vehicle onto the shoulder.

"Boss, it's a trap."

"I know."

"He's expecting you to surrender."

I looked at my father's ledger.

Then I looked at the road leading toward Hollow Falls.

"No," I said. "He's expecting the Reaper."

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I opened the door.

"Tonight, he meets Luca Vale."