Chapter 11 - The Price of a BloodlineEverything happened at once.
Daniel shoved me aside.
The gun fired.
The bullet struck the stone wall.
Police rushed down the stairs.
Victor fired again.
Claire pulled Emma behind the altar.
Sophie grabbed Marcus.
The chapel erupted.
Victor ran.
Daniel chased him.
I followed.
Not because it was safe.
Because I finally understood something.
Victor wasn't afraid of me.
He wasn't afraid of Daniel.
He was afraid of what was inside that ledger.
We chased him through a tunnel beneath Ravenswood.
The passage opened into an old storage room.
Victor was gone.
But the door at the far end was swinging.
We followed.
We emerged inside the hotel lobby.
Victor stood beneath the chandelier.
Police surrounded him.
He smiled.
"Do you know what your father did, Hannah?"
"Tell me."
"He built an empire on stolen identities."
I looked at the ledger.
"Prove it."
Victor laughed.
"You think those records will save you?"
"They already have."
"No."
He looked at Daniel.
"Ask your husband what he signed."
I turned.
Daniel froze.
"What did you sign?"
Victor smiled.
"The ownership transfer."
My heart sank.
"Daniel?"
He said nothing.
Victor continued.
"Three days before your wedding, Daniel signed a document transferring control of the Mercer beneficial interests."
"To whom?"
Victor answered.
"Emma Whitmore."
I looked at Daniel.
"Did you?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I thought it would protect her."
Victor laughed.
"It did the opposite."
I looked at him.
"What happens now?"
"The transfer becomes permanent at midnight."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Because your marriage is valid."
I felt dizzy.
"Then why did my trust activate this morning?"
Victor's eyes gleamed.
"Because your father built two competing succession clauses."
"What?"
"One protects you."
"The other protects Emma."
"And the condition?"
"Only one can survive."
Silence.
Victor leaned closer.
"Your father believed you would eventually discover the network."
"And?"
"He wanted you to choose."
"Choose what?"
"Power."
I stared.
"Or family."
He smiled.
"Your mother chose power."
My mother.
I thought of her.
The woman who had pretended to love me.
The woman who had manipulated my marriage.
The woman who had hidden Sophie.
I looked at Claire.
"Where is she?"
Claire shook her head.
Victor laughed.
"Already gone."
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
My mother's voice.
"Hannah."
"Where are you?"
"With Emma."
My blood froze.
I looked toward Claire.
Emma was gone.
Claire screamed.
"No!"
Security rushed outside.
Every exit was locked.
She couldn't be gone.
Yet she was.
Victor smiled.
"I told you."
I grabbed him.
"Where is my daughter?"
He looked at me.
"Not yours."
I tightened my grip.
"Where is Emma?"
He laughed.
"Your mother took her."
Daniel went pale.
He ran toward the exit.
Police followed.
I stopped him.
"Wait."
He turned.
"What?"
I stared at Victor.
"You expected this."
Victor's smile faded.
I picked up the silver recorder.
Pressed play.
My father's voice filled the lobby.
And this time, we heard something beneath the recording.
A faint tone.
Three seconds.
Then another.
Then another.
Marcus looked at me.
"That's Morse code."
I listened.
Three short tones.
One long.
Then two.
Marcus's face changed.
"Coordinates."
I stared.
"Where?"
He read them from the notebook.
"Charleston harbor."
A second message appeared on my phone.
From my mother.
Come alone.
Then another.
Bring Daniel.
Then a final one.
Leave the police.
I looked at Victor.
He was smiling again.
"You're going."
"Yes."
"Why?"
I stared at him.
"Because my mother thinks she took everything from me."
I picked up the ledger.
"But she forgot one thing."
"What?"
May you like
I looked at Daniel.
"She taught me how to survive her."
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