Chapter 7 - Patricia’s HouseI woke in a bedroom I recognized.
Patricia’s.
My wrists were tied to the bedframe.
Sunlight streamed through the curtains.
For a moment, I thought I was dreaming.
Then I remembered the warehouse.
The gunshot.
Ryan.
The key.
Patricia.
The door opened.
Madison walked in carrying a tray of coffee.
She set it on the table.
“You really should stop fighting.”
“Untie me.”
“No.”
“You helped kidnap me.”
She shrugged.
“You were going to ruin everything.”
I stared at her.
“You were part of this?”
She laughed.
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“Because unlike you, I understand this family.”
“What does that mean?”
Madison sat in a chair.
“My father built everything.”
“Through fraud?”
“Through strategy.”
“People lost money.”
“People always lose money.”
I felt sick.
“And Ryan?”
Her expression hardened.
“Ryan was weak.”
“He loved me.”
“That was his problem.”
I stared at her.
She leaned closer.
“He was supposed to marry whoever Mother chose.”
“Why me?”
“Because your father’s shares had to transfer through bloodline control.”
“I’m not a corporation.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“You’re the key.”
A cold chill ran through me.
Madison stood.
“Your father’s thirty percent stake comes with a hidden voting clause.”
“What clause?”
“Any spouse becomes temporary trustee.”
I shook my head.
“That’s impossible.”
“Read the documents.”
She placed a folder on the bed.
My wrists were still tied.
“Untie me.”
She shook her head.
“Not yet.”
I stared at the folder.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because Mother plans to remove Ryan.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Once you sign, he’s useless.”
“Remove?”
Madison hesitated.
“You know what I mean.”
“No.”
I struggled against the ropes.
“What did she do to him?”
Madison’s face softened.
For the first time, I saw fear.
“She thinks he knows too much.”
The door suddenly slammed open.
Patricia stood there.
“Madison.”
“I’m coming.”
She turned toward me.
“One piece of advice.”
I waited.
“Whatever you do, don’t trust Ryan’s father.”
I frowned.
“Thomas is dead.”
Madison stared at me.
“No, he isn’t.”
Then she left.
I lay frozen.
Thomas Hawthorne.
The man my father had supposedly fought.
The man everyone said was dead.
The man Madison had just told me was alive.
Then I heard a noise beneath the floor.
Three knocks.
A pause.
Three more.
I looked down.
May you like
Someone was in the basement.
And they were trying to get my attention.
