Chapter 5 - THE HAWTHORNE HOTELThe Hawthorne Hotel stood on the edge of Beacon Hill.
It was where Flynn and I had first met.
At the time, I thought it was an accident.
He had spilled wine on my dress.
I had yelled at him.
He had laughed.
Then he bought me another glass.
Two years later, we were married.
Now, twelve years after that first meeting, I stood outside the same hotel with a gun in my purse and my daughter's life hanging in the balance.
Richard met us in the lobby.
"You're late."
"We had to make sure we weren't followed."
Flynn looked at him.
"Are the tunnels clear?"
I turned.
"What tunnels?"
Richard sighed.
"Your father owned the hotel."
"What?"
"Technically, the company owns it."
He led us toward an old service elevator.
We descended.
The walls were concrete.
Cold.
Unfinished.
At the bottom was a steel door.
Richard inserted the key from my father's folder.
The lock clicked.
Inside was a room filled with shelves.
Files.
Hard drives.
Photographs.
Bank records.
Video tapes.
A secret archive.
My father's voice played from an old recording.
"If you're hearing this, Mabel, then the protection failed."
I stepped closer.
"Your father recorded messages at different locations," Richard explained.
"Why?"
"Because he knew he might not live long enough to tell you himself."
The recording continued.
"Flynn will tell you many things."
I looked at Flynn.
"Some will be true."
Flynn closed his eyes.
"Some will be lies."
I looked at Richard.
"Which one is he?"
The recording answered.
"But remember this. The most dangerous lie is the one that contains nine truths."
The audio stopped.
Another file began automatically.
My father appeared on a screen.
Older.
Tired.
He looked directly into the camera.
"Mabel, there is something you must know about your husband."
Flynn stepped forward.
"Turn it off."
I didn't.
My father's voice continued.
"I didn't choose Flynn because he was trustworthy."
Flynn froze.
"I chose him because he was already inside the organization that wanted you dead."
My heart stopped.
"What organization?"
My father looked down.
"The Black Ledger."
Richard whispered:
"Dear God."
I looked at him.
"What is the Black Ledger?"
My father continued.
"It isn't a company."
"It isn't a criminal gang."
"It is a network of wealthy families, investors, politicians, and corporate executives who control assets worth trillions."
The room seemed colder.
"They recruit people inside legitimate companies. They erase competitors. They manipulate markets. They buy judges, politicians, regulators."
My father's expression hardened.
"And twelve years ago, they selected Mabel as their next target."
The screen changed.
Photographs appeared.
Me.
At twenty-two.
University.
My first internship.
My graduation.
My first job.
My father had been monitoring me.
For years.
The recording continued.
"They discovered Mabel had inherited something they wanted."
I frowned.
"What?"
My father's face changed.
"The Hart Protocol."
Flynn whispered:
"No."
"What is the Hart Protocol?"
My father didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he said:
"Don't trust anyone who tells you the company is the prize."
The recording ended.
The lights went out.
A gunshot exploded somewhere in the building.
Richard fell.
I screamed.
Flynn pulled me behind a concrete pillar.
Another shot.
Then another.
Someone was coming down the corridor.
Flynn whispered:
"Stay here."
I grabbed his arm.
"Where are you going?"
"To find Clara."
Then the emergency lights came on.
And standing at the end of the corridor was Selina.
Blood covered her white blouse.
She raised both hands.
"Don't shoot."
I stared at her.
She looked terrified.
May you like
Then she said:
"I know where they took Clara."
