Chapter 10 - THE NIGHT EVERYTHING BURNED
I stared at Eleanor.
Hannah stood beside my bed.
Two armed guards had been outside the room only minutes earlier.
Now neither of them was visible.
Eleanor closed the door.
“End the call.”
Julian’s voice came through the phone.
“Audrey, who is there?”
Eleanor raised the gun.
I disconnected.
Hannah moved slightly toward the emergency button.
“Do not.”
Eleanor’s voice was calm.
“You will not reach it.”
“What did you do to the guards?” I asked.
“They are sleeping.”
“You drugged them.”
“I paid someone else to do it.”
She stepped closer.
“Where is the ledger?”
I kept my face still.
“I do not know what you are talking about.”
Eleanor smiled.
“You were never a convincing liar.”
Hannah looked at me.
“Audrey?”
Eleanor glanced at her.
“She never told you?”
“Told me what?”
“That she has been holding evidence worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”
“I am not holding anything.”
Eleanor pointed the gun toward my stomach.
“Do not waste my time.”
My entire body went cold.
“You said you never intended to hurt the babies.”
“I did not.”
“You sent Grant.”
“I sent Grant to frighten you.”
“He became careless.”
“Then stop him.”
“I cannot.”
“Why?”
“Because Grant is no longer working for me.”
I stared at her.
“He took the money.”
“Yes.”
“He plans to disappear.”
“And he believes the ledger can expose him.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because I need it before he gets it.”
Hannah slowly moved her hand toward the bed controls.
Eleanor noticed.
She fired into the wall beside her.
The sound exploded through the room.
Hannah froze.
The monitor beside me began alarming.
Eleanor’s expression tightened.
“Do not make this difficult.”
“You came into a hospital with a gun.”
“It became difficult before you arrived.”
She stepped closer.
“Tell me where it is.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You still think Julian can save you.”
“This is not about Julian.”
“It has always been about Julian.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“It is about two little boys you see as voting shares.”
For the first time, anger broke through Eleanor’s control.
“You know nothing about what I sacrificed for that family.”
“You destroyed your husband.”
“I protected the company.”
“You manipulated your son.”
“I made him successful.”
“You tried to steal my children.”
“I tried to preserve their future.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You do not even hear yourself.”
She raised the gun higher.
“Last chance.”
“Where is the ledger?”
Before I could answer, the hospital fire alarm began ringing again.
Red lights flashed.
Eleanor looked toward the door.
Smoke drifted beneath it.
Hannah whispered.
“Not again.”
Eleanor’s face changed.
“I did not do this.”
The hallway erupted in shouting.
Then a man’s voice came through the door.
“Eleanor.”
Grant Holloway.
Eleanor stepped backward.
The door handle moved.
She pointed the gun toward it.
“Stay away.”
Grant laughed from the hallway.
“You have something I need.”
“I do not have the ledger.”
“But she does.”
The door burst open.
Grant entered wearing a dark coat.
Blood stained one sleeve.
He held a pistol.
Eleanor fired first.
The bullet struck the doorframe.
Grant fired back.
Eleanor cried out and fell against the wall.
The gun slid from her hand.
Hannah grabbed it.
Grant pointed his weapon at her.
“Put it down.”
She hesitated.
“Now.”
Hannah lowered the gun.
Grant looked at me.
“Where is the ledger?”
“You will never find it.”
He smiled.
“I do not need to.”
“I only need you.”
He moved toward the bed.
The contractions returned instantly.
The monitor alarm became faster.
Grant disconnected the bed from the wall.
“What are you doing?”
“Moving you.”
“You will kill the babies.”
“That depends on how cooperative you are.”
He pushed the bed toward the door.
Hannah tried to stop him.
Grant struck her across the face with the gun.
She fell.
I screamed.
“Leave her alone!”
Eleanor lay against the wall holding her bleeding shoulder.
She looked at Grant.
“You were supposed to protect this family.”
“I protected myself.”
He pushed my bed into the smoke-filled hallway.
Sprinklers activated overhead.
Patients and staff rushed toward the exits.
Grant kept one hand on the bed and the other on his gun.
We reached the service elevator.
The doors opened.
Julian stood inside.
His clothes were soaked from the sprinklers.
The detective stood beside him with a weapon raised.
Everything stopped.
Grant pulled me against him.
He pressed the gun beneath my chin.
“Lower your weapons.”
Julian’s face became deadly still.
“Let her go.”
“Tell your men to back away.”
The detective lowered his weapon slightly.
Julian did not move.
Grant smiled.
“You always were too emotional where she was concerned.”
Julian’s voice was quiet.
“You tried to kill my children.”
“I tried to secure my future.”
“You have no future.”
Grant pressed the gun harder against me.
“Then neither does she.”
I looked at Julian.
His eyes met mine.
He was terrified.
But beneath the fear, I saw calculation.
He was watching Grant’s hand.
The elevator doors began closing.
Julian stepped forward.
“Wait.”
Grant looked at him.
“The ledger is not with Audrey.”
I stared at Julian.
Grant’s grip tightened.
“Where is it?”
Julian reached inside his jacket.
He removed a small black notebook.
My breath stopped.
It looked exactly like Charles’s ledger.
“I found it at the estate.”
Grant’s eyes widened.
“Give it to me.”
“Let Audrey go first.”
“No.”
“Then you never get it.”
Julian held the notebook over a flaming trash bin beside the wall.
Grant looked between the fire and the ledger.
His attention shifted for one second.
That was enough.
I slammed my head backward into his face.
The gun fired.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
Julian lunged forward.
He grabbed Grant’s wrist.
The detective pulled me away.
Grant and Julian crashed against the elevator doors.
The notebook fell into the fire.
Grant screamed.
“No!”
He shoved Julian aside and reached for it.
Eleanor appeared behind him.
She had picked up Hannah’s dropped gun.
Her face was pale from blood loss.
Grant turned.
Eleanor fired once.
The bullet struck him in the chest.
He fell backward into the elevator.
The doors closed.
The elevator descended.
No one moved.
Julian rushed to me.
“Are you hurt?”
“I do not know.”
Blood soaked the sheet beneath me.
The doctor came running through the smoke.
“We need an operating room now.”
Julian grabbed my hand as they pushed me away.
“Stay with me.”
“I am trying.”
The contractions were coming too quickly.
The doctor looked at the monitor.
“We may have to deliver.”
“No.”
My voice broke.
“They are too small.”
“We will do everything we can.”
Julian ran beside the bed.
I looked at him through tears.
“The ledger.”
“What?”
“The real ledger.”
His face changed.
“The notebook was fake?”
“Yes.”
“Where is the real one?”
I pulled him closer.
“It is hidden inside the anniversary card.”
He stared at me.
“The card I left in your office.”
“The paper has two layers.”
“The financial records are printed between them.”
Julian stopped moving.
For four years, the evidence had been inside the card he kept locked in his private safe.
The card that read:
To another five years... and all the years after.
The operating room doors opened.
They pulled me inside.
Julian was left standing in the hallway.
Then my scream came through the doors.
A nurse rushed out seconds later.
“Mr. Foster?”
Julian turned.
May you like
Her expression was grave.
“We are losing one of the twins.”
