Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE WAR
The room became silent.
I stared at Marcus.
“My mother is dead.”
Marcus shook his head.
“She was alive the last time I saw her.”
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
My knees weakened.
Vincent caught my arm.
I pulled away.
“Where?”
Marcus hesitated.
“She doesn't want to be found.”
“Why?”
“Because she's afraid of what will happen if she comes back.”
I looked at Vincent.
“You knew she was alive?”
“No.”
“You knew she worked for your family.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my father protected her.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
Vincent lowered his eyes.
“I thought protecting you meant keeping you away from all of this.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You hired me to clean your floors.”
“I didn't know who you were.”
“You knew my father.”
“I knew his name.”
“That isn't enough.”
Vincent accepted the accusation without defending himself.
Marcus finally spoke.
“Your mother wasn't behind the poisoning.”
I looked at him.
“Then why did you say she was?”
“Because someone wants us to believe she is.”
He explained that Cross had been building a false trail around my mother for years.
Medical records.
Financial transfers.
Photographs.
Old correspondence.
Everything designed to make her appear to be the mastermind.
“Why?”
Marcus looked at Vincent.
“Because she knows the real mastermind.”
Vincent's expression hardened.
“Who?”
Marcus reached into his coat and removed a small photograph.
It showed five men standing together.
Nathaniel Cross was one.
Dr. Gable was another.
The third was a hospital administrator.
The fourth was a man I didn't recognize.
The fifth stood partially turned away.
But I recognized the coat.
I had seen it downstairs.
I looked at Marcus.
“Who is the fifth man?”
Marcus said nothing.
Vincent took the photograph.
His fingers tightened.
“That's impossible.”
“Who?”
Vincent's voice was barely audible.
“Leo.”
Everyone turned.
Leo Ross was standing in the doorway.
His face was unreadable.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Leo said quietly,
“I wondered when you'd find that.”
I stared at him.
“You're in the photograph.”
“Yes.”
Vincent looked at him.
“When was this taken?”
“Six years ago.”
“Why were you meeting Cross?”
Leo didn't answer.
Vincent raised his weapon.
Leo didn't reach for his.
“I never betrayed you.”
“Then explain.”
Leo looked at me.
“Your father came to me.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“He knew someone was trying to kill Vincent.”
“Then why didn't you tell him?”
“Because your father asked me not to.”
Vincent looked furious.
“Why would he?”
“Because he believed the traitor was inside your inner circle.”
Leo pointed toward Vincent.
“And he was right.”
Vincent lowered his gun slightly.
“Who?”
Leo looked at Marcus.
“Not Cross.”
Marcus nodded.
“The man behind the operation is someone Vincent trusts.”
Leo reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small envelope.
Inside was a copy of a bank transfer.
The recipient was listed under a false company.
But the authorization code belonged to Vincent's private medical account.
I looked at the signature.
It was Vincent's.
Except the signature had been copied.
Then I saw the date.
The payment had been made eight days ago.
The day of the car bombing.
I looked at Vincent.
“Someone used your identity to authorize everything.”
He nodded.
“And they needed you alive long enough to sign something.”
“What?”
Marcus answered.
“The succession agreement.”
The peace agreement.
The document Vincent had planned to sign before the bombing.
If he died afterward, his death could be blamed on the conflict.
If he survived but became medically incapacitated, the agreement could still be activated.
I understood.
“The whole attack was designed around the agreement.”
Vincent nodded.
“Exactly.”
Then Leo's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at Vincent.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“They found Cross.”
“Where?”
Leo swallowed.
“At the hospital.”
My blood ran cold.
“Why?”
“He surrendered.”
Vincent stared at him.
“That isn't like Cross.”
“No.”
Leo paused.
“He asked for her.”
He pointed at me.
My stomach dropped.
“Me?”
Leo nodded.
“He said he would only speak if Daniel Mercer's daughter was in the room.”
Vincent immediately said, “No.”
I looked at him.
“I need answers.”
“You're not going.”
“I am.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“You don't know what you're walking into.”
“I've spent two years cleaning up the consequences of a lie I didn't create.”
I held his gaze.
“If Cross knows my father, I'm going.”
Vincent looked at me for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
“I'll go with you.”
Marcus stopped him.
“You can't.”
Vincent turned.
“Why?”
Marcus's face was grim.
“Because Cross isn't the prisoner.”
He pointed toward the photograph.
“He's the bait.”
Before anyone could respond, the mansion's alarm sounded.
Leo's men shouted from downstairs.
Then the lights went out again.
A second later, every locked door in the house clicked open simultaneously.
May you like
Marcus whispered,
“They're inside.”
