Chapter 9 - Nathan couldn't breathe.Emma.
Alive.
The photograph was recent.
Her face was older.
Thinner.
But unmistakable.
His first wife.
The woman he had buried four years ago.
He stared at the image.
“She's alive.”
Ethan nodded.
“She never died.”
Nathan looked at him.
“Why didn't she come back?”
“Because she believed you would be killed.”
“By who?”
“Everyone.”
Nathan's jaw tightened.
“Then we find her.”
They drove toward the cemetery.
Nathan didn't trust the message.
But he had no choice.
His son's life was at risk.
The cemetery was empty.
Fog covered the graves.
Nathan stood before his father's headstone.
A voice spoke behind him.
“You came.”
Victoria emerged from the fog.
She wasn't holding a weapon.
Noah was beside her.
Nathan immediately moved forward.
“Let him go.”
Victoria shook her head.
“He's safe.”
“Where is Emma?”
Victoria looked toward the cemetery.
“She'll come.”
“Now.”
“She needs to know whether you remember.”
Nathan frowned.
“Remember what?”
Victoria stepped closer.
“The night your father shot Ethan.”
Nathan froze.
“I remember.”
Victoria smiled through tears.
“Then you're ready.”
Footsteps sounded behind them.
Nathan turned.
Emma emerged from the fog.
His knees nearly gave out.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
She looked at him.
Older.
Broken.
Alive.
Nathan's voice came out as a whisper.
“Emma.”
She nodded.
“Hello, Nathan.”
He rushed toward her.
Then stopped.
Four years of grief.
Four years of anger.
Four years of wondering why he wasn't enough to save her.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked at Noah.
“Because I had to keep him alive.”
Nathan pointed toward Victoria.
“You made her lie to me.”
Emma's expression softened.
“I asked her to.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I know.”
“You let me bury an empty coffin.”
Emma looked down.
“I watched from a distance.”
Nathan's face twisted with pain.
“Why didn't you come home?”
“Because your father wasn't the worst of it.”
Nathan froze.
“What does that mean?”
Emma looked toward Ethan.
“He was.”
Nathan turned.
Ethan lowered his eyes.
Emma continued:
“Ethan was the one who created the ledger.”
Nathan stared.
“You said he was trying to protect you.”
“He was.”
“Then what happened?”
“He made a deal.”
“With whom?”
“The people who wanted your father's empire.”
Nathan looked confused.
Emma whispered:
“He promised them Noah.”
Nathan stared at Ethan.
Ethan said nothing.
Emma's voice broke.
“I had to hide our son.”
Nathan felt anger rising.
“You trusted him?”
“I loved him.”
Nathan flinched.
Emma looked at him.
“But Ethan made one mistake.”
“What?”
“He believed he could control the people he sold information to.”
Ethan shook his head.
“I never sold Noah.”
Emma looked at him.
“You gave them the location.”
“I was trying to save you.”
“And they found me.”
Nathan stepped between them.
“Enough.”
He looked at Emma.
“Who is behind this?”
She answered:
“Your father had a partner.”
“Who?”
Emma said one word.
“Victoria.”
Nathan froze.
Victoria's face went white.
“What?”
Emma continued:
“Victoria wasn't just my friend.”
Nathan looked at his wife.
“She worked for your father.”
Victoria whispered:
“I was seventeen.”
Emma nodded.
“She was recruited.”
Nathan stared.
“You knew all along?”
Victoria began crying.
“I was trapped.”
Emma's voice softened.
“I know.”
Nathan couldn't understand.
“Then why did you marry me?”
Victoria looked at him.
“Because I loved you.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You were working for my father.”
“I was.”
“And now?”
“Now I regret everything.”
Emma stepped forward.
“Victoria saved me.”
Nathan turned.
“What?”
“She helped me escape.”
“Then why lie?”
“Because the people watching us were inside the police.”
Nathan stared.
Emma continued:
“Every time I tried to return, someone died.”
“Who?”
“My parents.”
Nathan's blood ran cold.
Emma looked at Victoria.
“Your father killed everyone who knew.”
Nathan whispered:
“And you?”
“I survived.”
“Why now?”
Emma looked toward Noah.
“Because they found him.”
A gunshot cracked through the cemetery.
Emma fell.
Nathan caught her.
Blood spread across her coat.
“No!”
Ethan fired toward the trees.
Victoria grabbed Noah.
Nathan held Emma.
She whispered:
“Don't let them take the ledger.”
“Where is it?”
Emma smiled faintly.
“You've had it all along.”
Nathan stared at her.
“What?”
She reached into his coat pocket.
Pulled out his wallet.
And pointed to an old photograph.
The picture of Nathan, Emma, and Lily.
Emma whispered:
“Look behind Lily.”
Nathan turned the photograph over.
There was another image hidden behind it.
A tiny strip of paper.
Coordinates.
And one final sentence.
THE LEDGER IS BURIED WITH THE WRONG MAN.
Emma's eyes closed.
Nathan shouted:
“Emma!”
But she wasn't dead.
Her fingers were still moving.
May you like
She whispered:
“Your father isn't the man in that grave.”
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