Chapter 7 - MidnightWe had four hours.
Four hours before Gregory moved forty million dollars out of the trust.
Ethan called every contact he had.
Lawyers.
Bank executives.
Federal investigators.
Nobody could freeze the account.
The legal owner was me.
The transfer appeared authorized.
My signature was valid.
My fingerprints were embedded in the account file.
I stared at the screen.
“This is impossible.”
“No,” Ethan said.
“It’s engineered.”
“What if Gregory gets the money?”
“We lose the trail.”
“And my son?”
“He becomes leverage.”
I looked at Noah sleeping on the couch.
Something inside me hardened.
“No.”
Ethan looked at me.
“I’m ending this.”
He nodded.
We drove to Gregory’s last known address.
Empty.
His phone was dead.
His car was abandoned.
The only clue was a parking receipt.
Pier 17.
We arrived before midnight.
The warehouse was lit.
Gregory stood inside.
Two armed men beside him.
And behind him was a massive screen.
It showed my bank account.
“Welcome, Mara.”
I stepped forward.
“Where is my father?”
Gregory smiled.
“Alive.”
“Bring him out.”
“First, we settle the transfer.”
Ethan walked beside me.
“You won’t survive this.”
Gregory laughed.
“You think I’m afraid of you?”
“Yes.”
Gregory’s smile disappeared.
He pressed a button.
A video appeared.
Daniel Hayes.
Alive.
Younger.
Sitting in a chair.
Recording a confession.
“If this reaches Ethan, I’ve failed.”
Ethan froze.
The recording continued.
“The person behind the network isn’t who we think.”
Daniel looked directly at the camera.
“It’s someone inside my family.”
Ethan’s face tightened.
Gregory looked delighted.
“Keep watching.”
Daniel continued.
“The Architect has access to every account.”
He paused.
“And he has one weakness.”
The recording flickered.
Daniel leaned closer.
“He needs Mara Bennett alive.”
I stared at the screen.
“Why?”
Daniel’s voice became urgent.
“Because she is the only person who can unlock the original trust.”
The video stopped.
Gregory smiled.
“You see?”
“You need me alive.”
“Yes.”
“So you won’t kill me.”
“Not yet.”
“Then let my father go.”
Gregory shook his head.
“You don’t understand.”
“What?”
“The Architect doesn’t want the money.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Then what does he want?”
Gregory looked at him.
“Revenge.”
The lights went out.
A gunshot exploded.
People screamed.
Ethan grabbed me.
We hit the floor.
When the emergency lights came on, Gregory was gone.
My father was gone.
The men were gone.
Only one thing remained.
A bloodstained envelope on the floor.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Daniel Hayes.
On the back:
THE MAN WHO KILLED HIM IS STANDING BESIDE YOU.
I looked up.
Ethan was standing there.
His suit sleeve was covered in blood.
Not his blood.
I stared at him.
“What happened?”
He looked at the stain.
“I don’t know.”
Then a second photograph slid from the envelope.
It showed Ethan standing over Daniel’s body.
May you like
Holding a gun.
End of Chapter 7.
