Chapter 6 - THE TRAP CLOSES
Amelia stared at Raymond.
“You planned this.”
“Of course.”
“You attacked me through Derek.”
Raymond smiled.
“Derek was useful.”
Vincent tightened his grip.
“Where is the rest of your team?”
Raymond laughed.
“You still think this is about muscle.”
He pointed toward the documents.
“It has always been about information.”
Amelia stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
Raymond looked at her.
“What your father hid.”
“You already have the files.”
“Not all of them.”
“What am I missing?”
Raymond's expression changed.
“The original account.”
Vincent understood.
“The master ledger.”
Raymond nodded.
“Your father left it somewhere only Amelia can access.”
Amelia shook her head.
“I don't know where it is.”
“You will.”
“No.”
Raymond pulled out a photograph.
Lily.
Amelia's younger sister.
Her face went white.
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“Let me see her.”
“Give me the ledger.”
“I don't have it.”
Raymond smiled.
“Then perhaps we should discuss your sister.”
Vincent moved forward.
Raymond raised a gun.
“Stop.”
Vincent froze.
Raymond stepped backward.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Where?”
“I'll call.”
He disappeared through the doorway.
Vincent immediately ran after him.
By the time he reached the street, Raymond was gone.
Amelia stood behind him.
“Lily.”
Vincent turned.
“Who is she?”
“My sister.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“Call her.”
Amelia pulled out her phone.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Her hands began shaking.
Then a message arrived.
DON'T CALL AGAIN.
A second message followed.
SHE'S SAFE FOR NOW.
Amelia nearly dropped the phone.
Vincent caught it.
“We'll find her.”
“How?”
“I have people.”
She stared at him.
“You have people?”
He looked at her.
“I told you I own more than a diner.”
“How much more?”
Vincent didn't answer.
Instead, he called Paul.
“Find Lily Hayes.”
“Anything else?”
“Everything.”
Paul understood.
Three hours later, they found Lily.
She had been taken from school but released near a subway station.
She was terrified.
Amelia held her for nearly ten minutes without speaking.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did he say anything?”
Lily shook her head.
“He said you knew where something was.”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“I don't.”
Lily looked at Vincent.
“Is he your boyfriend?”
Amelia nearly choked.
“No.”
Vincent smiled.
“Not yet.”
Amelia glared at him.
Lily laughed for the first time.
The tension eased.
But only for a moment.
A police vehicle stopped outside.
Detective Reed approached.
“We have a warrant for Vincent Calder.”
Amelia stood.
“For what?”
“Money laundering.”
Vincent's face became unreadable.
Reed continued.
“We found evidence connecting Calder Maritime Holdings to Blackwater Security.”
Vincent looked at Amelia.
Someone had framed him.
But the evidence looked real.
Bank transfers.
Shell companies.
Payments.
Everything.
Reed placed handcuffs on Vincent.
Amelia stepped forward.
“Wait.”
Vincent looked at her.
“Don't.”
“What?”
“Don't defend me without knowing the facts.”
“But—”
“I'll be fine.”
He was taken away.
Amelia watched the police car disappear.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
Raymond.
“You're alone now.”
“No.”
“You don't have Vincent.”
“I'll get him back.”
Raymond laughed.
“Then find the ledger.”
“Where is Lily?”
“She is safe.”
“Prove it.”
A video arrived.
Lily sleeping.
Alive.
Then Raymond spoke.
“You have twenty-four hours.”
“For what?”
“To choose between Vincent and the truth.”
The line ended.
Amelia stared at the phone.
Then something clicked.
The photograph of her father.
The key.
The vault.
The account.
The diner.
She remembered something her father had said years ago.
If they ever try to take the money, look where people come to eat.
Amelia's eyes widened.
Calder's Diner.
She ran.
She entered the diner after midnight.
Everything was dark.
She walked to booth six.
The same booth where Derek had attacked her.
She examined the floor.
Black-and-white tiles.
One tile was slightly different.
She knelt.
Pulled it up.
Beneath it was a small metal box.
Her hands shook.
Inside was a ledger.
The original.
She opened it.
The first page contained one sentence.
THE MONEY BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE THEY STOLE IT FROM.
The second page listed every victim.
The third revealed the true controller.
Amelia stopped breathing.
The name was not Raymond.
Not Vincent.
Not Arthur.
Not Vincent's mother.
It was someone Amelia knew.
Someone who had helped her after she escaped Raymond.
Someone she trusted.
Angela Brooks.
The diner waitress.
Amelia stared in disbelief.
“No.”
A voice came from behind her.
“You finally found it.”
Amelia turned.
May you like
Angela stood near the door.
Holding a gun.
