Chapter 16 - Thanksgiving EveWe escaped through the basement.
Police surrounded the house within minutes.
Someone had called them before the gunfire.
Mara.
She had known.
Dad led us through a tunnel beneath the property.
I didn't even know it existed.
"Where are we going?"
"To the lodge."
"Why?"
"Because Victor thinks we're still hiding the list."
"We found the real one."
Dad stopped.
"No."
He looked at me.
"You found the financial record."
"What is the list?"
He pointed toward my coat.
I reached inside.
Nothing.
Then I remembered the key.
The microfilm.
The paper.
Everything suddenly fit.
The list wasn't names.
It was evidence.
Names were everywhere.
The list was the chain connecting them.
Victor.
Robert.
Mom.
Amanda.
My uncle.
And dozens of people outside the family.
Judges.
Bankers.
Police officers.
Corporate executives.
My blood ran cold.
"This could destroy half the state."
Dad nodded.
"That's why they want it."
"What about Mom?"
"She wanted to bury it."
"Why?"
"To save you."
"And Amanda?"
"She wanted to survive."
"Robert?"
"He wanted money."
"And Victor?"
Dad's face hardened.
"He wants control."
We reached the lodge before dawn.
Daniel had turned off every exterior light.
Inside, the house was silent.
Dad opened the basement safe again.
"Put the microfilm here."
I did.
He inserted it into a reader.
Pages appeared.
Names.
Payments.
Orders.
One section was highlighted.
THURSDAY. 11:00 A.M.
Underneath:
CLAIRE CARTER.
Then:
TRANSFER.
Then:
TERMINATE.
I couldn't breathe.
Dad stared at the document.
"I was right."
"About what?"
"Victor never intended to let you leave after signing."
I looked at Amanda.
She was crying.
"So what do we do?"
Dad shut the reader.
"We let him think you're still alone."
I understood.
"You want me to go to Thanksgiving."
"Yes."
"And sign."
"No."
"Then what?"
"You're going to pretend."
"While you hide?"
"No."
Dad smiled.
"I'm going to walk in beside you."
Mom had arrived.
She looked at him.
For the first time in eight years, my parents stood in the same room.
Mom whispered:
"I'm sorry."
Dad didn't answer.
Amanda stepped forward.
"Victor knows."
Everyone froze.
"How?"
She held up her phone.
A live location signal.
He had been tracking her.
"He knows we're here."
The lodge lights suddenly went out.
Daniel locked the doors.
Then every phone in the room buzzed at once.
One message appeared on every screen.
Happy Thanksgiving, Claire.
Then a second.
Bring the list to the dining room.
And a final one.
Come alone.
Dad looked at me.
"This is it."
I heard footsteps upstairs.
Many footsteps.
May you like
Thanksgiving had arrived early.
And the family had already entered the house.
