Chapter 11 - For a second, I thought Vincent had found me.Then the man smiled.
It wasn't Vincent's smile.
It was colder.
Older.
I stepped backward.
“Where's my mom?”
The man crouched.
“You're Rory.”
I nodded.
“My mom?”
“She is safe.”
“You're lying.”
His smile disappeared.
“You sound like Daniel.”
“Who are you?”
He stood.
“Vincent Kane's father.”
My stomach twisted.
“He's dead.”
The man laughed softly.
“That's what my son believed.”
I looked around.
The room was small.
Concrete walls.
A single light.
A camera in the corner.
The man walked toward me.
“Your mother doesn't know what you are.”
“What am I?”
“The key.”
“To what?”
He smiled.
“The Northstar account.”
I shook my head.
“I don't know.”
“But you do.”
“No.”
He pointed toward the camera.
“Your body has already opened it.”
I didn't understand.
Then the door opened.
David Sterling entered.
His suit was torn.
He looked exhausted.
He saw me.
“She's here.”
Vincent's father nodded.
David looked uncomfortable.
“I didn't want this.”
“Yet you did it.”
“I needed the money.”
“For eleven weeks?”
“For the transfer.”
“What about the girl?”
David looked at me.
“She wasn't supposed to be involved.”
Vincent's father frowned.
“Everything went exactly as planned.”
David shook his head.
“No.”
He looked toward me.
“She walked straight to Vincent.”
Vincent's father smiled.
“That was the purpose.”
David's face hardened.
“You don't know what she can do.”
“I know exactly.”
David left.
I stared at the older man.
“Why did you make my mom not get paid?”
He looked almost amused.
“Because desperation makes people predictable.”
I thought about the refrigerator.
The empty shelves.
Mom crying.
My chest hurt.
“You hurt my mom.”
“Yes.”
I shook my head.
“I don't like you.”
He smiled.
“That won't matter.”
He placed a small tablet on the table.
“Touch the screen.”
I refused.
“Why?”
“Because it belongs to you.”
“No.”
“Do it.”
I stared at the screen.
There was a picture of Mom.
Then Daniel.
Then me.
The image changed.
A digital lock appeared.
A fingerprint symbol.
I touched the screen.
It unlocked.
The man smiled.
“Perfect.”
Numbers began scrolling.
Accounts.
Transactions.
Names.
Seventy-seven million dollars.
The number appeared:
$77,000,000.00
The man looked pleased.
“Now transfer it.”
“No.”
His expression hardened.
“Transfer the money.”
“No.”
For the first time, he looked surprised.
Then angry.
“You don't understand.”
“My mom said don't give strangers money.”
He stared at me.
Then laughed.
A loud alarm suddenly sounded.
His face changed.
“What?”
The tablet flashed red.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED.
Another message appeared.
GUARDIAN PROTOCOL ACTIVE.
The man froze.
A speaker in the ceiling came alive.
Daniel's voice.
“Hello, Father.”
The older man's face went white.
“You.”
Daniel continued.
“I told you never to touch my daughter.”
The lights exploded.
Smoke filled the room.
Guards rushed in.
A door burst open.
Vincent appeared.
He grabbed me.
“Rory!”
I clung to him.
“Mom!”
“She is safe.”
I looked back.
Vincent's father had disappeared.
David was gone too.
Vincent looked toward the tablet.
“What did you open?”
“I don't know.”
He checked the screen.
The entire Northstar account was still visible.
Then one message appeared.
GUARDIAN TRANSFER COMPLETE.
Vincent frowned.
“Transfer to where?”
The account balance dropped.
$77,000,000.
Then:
$0.00
Vincent stared.
“Where did it go?”
The final line appeared.
TO RORY CARTER'S TRUST.
I didn't understand.
Vincent did.
His face changed completely.
“Daniel just made your daughter worth seventy-seven million dollars.”
Mom appeared behind him.
She was crying.
Vincent turned toward her.
“Mrs. Carter.”
She looked at the screen.
“What happened?”
May you like
Vincent answered:
“Your daughter just inherited the entire war.”
Related Stories
