Chapter 11 - THIRTY SECONDS
“Twenty-nine.”
Daniel’s mind raced.
Noah was shaking.
Lily sobbed behind the tape.
Eric whispered, “Sign.”
Daniel turned.
“What?”
“Sign the damn papers.”
“You know what that gives him.”
“I know what that laser gives Lily.”
“Twenty-four,” Marcus said.
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Marcus, stop.”
“Twenty-three.”
“You promised nobody would get hurt.”
Thomas laughed bitterly.
She turned on him.
“Not now!”
“Twenty.”
Daniel looked at the monitor.
Mia was still in the chapel.
Alive.
Rachel held her.
A man in black stood near the door.
Daniel could barely see him.
“Eighteen.”
Eric grabbed Daniel.
“SIGN IT!”
Daniel slammed him back.
“Where are the papers?”
A printer came alive in the corner.
Pages slid out.
Marcus said, “Good.”
Daniel walked toward them.
“Fifteen.”
Noah whispered, “Daniel…”
“I know.”
He picked up the papers.
Corporate transfer.
Voting shares.
Emergency proxy.
Prepared perfectly.
Marcus had planned every detail.
“Ten.”
Daniel found a pen.
Vanessa stared at him.
“Don’t.”
Daniel laughed once.
“You changed your mind?”
“If you sign, he kills us anyway.”
“Seven.”
Eric shouted, “DANIEL!”
Daniel lowered the pen.
Mia appeared larger on the monitor.
Rachel was moving her toward the side aisle.
Four.
Three.
Daniel signed.
Two.
He threw the papers onto the table.
“There.”
The red dot disappeared from Lily’s forehead.
Noah almost collapsed.
Marcus’s voice came softly.
“Excellent.”
Daniel looked up.
“Release her.”
A lock clicked.
Noah ran to Lily.
He pulled the tape from her mouth.
She gasped.
“Camera!”
Noah stopped.
“What?”
“Your camera!”
Daniel turned.
Lily pointed toward Noah’s shoulder bag.
“He made me watch the chapel feed.”
She was crying.
“I saw Mia.”
Daniel’s pulse spiked.
“What about Mia?”
“She put something inside your camera case before you left.”
Noah opened the bag.
Inside was a phone.
Mia’s phone.
Daniel grabbed it.
No service.
But there was a saved video.
Mia’s face appeared.
“Dad, I know you told me to stay out of this.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Of course.
“I copied Uncle Eric’s files onto my phone too.”
Eric muttered, “Unbelievable.”
Mia continued.
“And I sent them somewhere before the phones stopped working.”
Daniel looked up.
Sent them?
“To who?” Thomas whispered.
Mia smiled nervously on the video.
“To Mrs. Hall from Mom’s old office.”
Daniel’s eyes widened.
Karen Hall.
Claire’s former attorney.
Mia continued.
“Mom told me once that if something bad ever happened and Dad didn’t listen, call Mrs. Hall because she scares rich men.”
Even Daniel laughed.
Claire had definitely said that.
Mia finished.
“So I sent everything. And I called 911 before the signal disappeared.”
Daniel stared at the phone.
Marcus’s speaker went silent.
Eric smiled for the first time.
“Oh.”
Vanessa looked up.
“Marcus?”
Nothing.
Then alarms exploded throughout the warehouse.
Not fire alarms.
Security alarms.
Outside, faint but growing louder—
sirens.
Noah laughed.
“Mia.”
Daniel felt tears sting his eyes.
“My girl.”
Then Marcus’s voice returned.
No longer calm.
“You think this changes anything?”
Daniel looked at the ceiling.
“Yes.”
A gunshot cracked through the warehouse.
The light over Lily shattered.
Everyone dropped.
May you like
Marcus shouted through the speakers:
“It changes the ending.”
