Chapter 9 - BLOOD ISN’T LOYALTY
Raymond Blackwell looked exactly as he always did.
Perfect suit.
White hair.
Calm eyes.
A gold watch my father gave him thirty years ago.
Only now he was standing beside two kidnapped children.
“Uncle.”
“Daniel.”
June stared at him.
“You took my babies?”
Raymond looked almost offended.
“I did not authorize children.”
Tomas glanced at him.
Raymond’s eyes sharpened.
“I said pressure the mother.”
Tomas shrugged.
“This worked faster.”
June lunged.
I caught her.
“Let me go!”
Tomas raised the gun.
“Lady, try that again.”
I moved between them.
“Put the gun down.”
Raymond sighed.
“This is exactly what Evelyn used to do.”
“What?”
“Turn everything into morality.”
“She found you.”
“She found a system.”
“A system that steals from maids.”
“A system that funds half the things keeping your empire standing.”
“My empire?”
Raymond laughed.
“You think hotels built this family? You think trucking contracts built it?”
He stepped closer.
“Your father made deals. I made deals. Judges. Inspectors. Union men. Aldermen. Police commanders. We paid everybody.”
“With stolen wages?”
“With money nobody tracks.”
June stared at him with disgust.
“My kids went hungry.”
Raymond barely looked at her.
“That was not the intention.”
She laughed.
A sharp, broken sound.
“You took the money.”
“Administrative structures can have unintended consequences.”
June looked at me.
“Did he really just say that?”
“Yes.”
“I hate rich people.”
“Fair.”
Raymond’s face hardened.
“This is not funny.”
“No,” I said. “It isn’t.”
I looked at the children.
“Let them go.”
“The ledger first.”
“I don’t have it.”
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know.”
He studied me.
Then smiled.
“You’re lying better.”
“Learned from family.”
His smile vanished.
I continued.
“Evelyn knew you were involved.”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill her?”
June went still.
Raymond’s eyes shifted.
That was enough to tear something open inside me.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Did Victor?”
Raymond said nothing.
I stepped forward.
Tomas pointed the gun at my chest.
“Answer me!”
Raymond’s voice stayed low.
“Evelyn was becoming dangerous.”
“To who?”
“To everyone.”
“She was my wife.”
“She was going to federal prosecutors.”
I felt the room tilt.
“She had evidence of bribery, fraud, extortion, illegal contributions. She would have put dozens of people in prison.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Victor?”
“Yes.”
“Me?”
Raymond looked at me.
“Probably.”
June whispered, “You knew.”
I looked at her.
“I didn’t.”
“No. But you knew enough.”
That hurt because it was true.
Raymond continued.
“We tried to talk to her.”
My fists clenched.
“Who is we?”
“Victor and me.”
“Then what?”
“She refused.”
“And then?”
Raymond looked away.
“What happened to the car?”
Silence.
I moved.
Tomas hit me with the gun.
My knees buckled.
June screamed.
I tasted blood.
Raymond shouted, “Enough!”
Tomas backed off.
I looked up.
“What happened to Evelyn’s car?”
Raymond closed his eyes.
“Victor said he would scare her.”
The room went silent.
“He said he’d create a mechanical problem. Force her to stop. Make her understand we could reach her.”
My voice barely worked.
“But?”
“Her steering failed at speed.”
I stood slowly.
“You knew.”
“Not until later.”
“And you protected him.”
“I protected the family.”
“My wife was family.”
Raymond’s face cracked.
Just for a second.
“I know.”
“No. You don’t.”
Behind him, Micah started crying.
“Mom.”
June’s face changed.
She stopped being afraid.
“Tomas.”
He looked at her.
“My son needs his inhaler.”
“He’ll live.”
“He has asthma.”
Tomas glanced at Raymond.
Raymond snapped, “Give it to him.”
One of the men bent to search a backpack.
June moved fast.
She kicked his knee.
He fell.
I slammed Tomas into the forklift.
The gun fired into the ceiling.
Lila screamed.
Chaos exploded.
June grabbed the dropped weapon.
Raymond shouted.
I drove my shoulder into Tomas.
He punched me hard.
I hit him back.
The second man charged June.
She pointed the gun at him with both hands shaking.
“Don’t!”
He stopped.
Aaron burst through the side door with two private security officers.
“Everybody down!”
Tomas ran.
One guard tackled him.
I reached the children and ripped the restraints loose.
June dropped the gun and pulled both kids against her.
Lila sobbed into her chest.
Micah clung to her neck.
Raymond stood against the wall.
Defeated.
Then my phone rang.
Victor.
I answered.
He spoke before I could.
“You got the kids?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“You killed Evelyn.”
A pause.
Then Victor laughed quietly.
“No, Daniel.”
My stomach tightened.
“You’re going to want to hear the recording before you decide who killed your wife.”
The line went dead.
Seconds later, a file arrived on my phone.
Audio.
Dated the night before Evelyn’s crash.
The first voice was Victor’s.
The second was Raymond’s.
May you like
Then I heard a third voice.
Mine.
