Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO HAD EVERYTHING TO LOSE
Rachel stepped away from me.
“My father was a judge.”
“Was?”
“He died three years ago.”
I stared at the ledger.
Jonathan Bennett had received six payments.
Total amount: $240,000.
“What were they for?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you know about this?”
“No.”
I wanted to believe her.
But six years of betrayal had changed something inside me.
Trust no longer came naturally.
Rachel surrendered the investigation voluntarily.
A federal prosecutor named Marcus Cole took over.
Rachel handed him the ledger.
Then she gave him her badge.
Before leaving, she looked at me.
“You should doubt me.”
I didn’t expect that.
She continued.
“After what happened to your family, you should doubt everybody.”
“Did your father know Reed?”
“Yes.”
The answer hurt.
“How?”
“He presided over corporate cases involving Hayes Medical.”
“Did he take bribes?”
Rachel’s eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know.”
Then she left.
The FBI copied the ledger and stored the original.
Reed called again.
“Bring it to the old Hayes warehouse.”
“How do I know Mom is alive?”
A video arrived.
Mom sat tied to a chair.
Bruised.
But alive.
Then Reed leaned into the frame.
“Midnight.”
I showed the FBI.
They planned a controlled exchange.
At 11:58 p.m., I entered the warehouse carrying a duplicate ledger.
Agents surrounded the property.
Reed stepped from the darkness.
He held a gun against Mom’s head.
She looked exhausted.
“Sophie, leave.”
Reed smiled.
“Motherhood.”
“Always inconvenient.”
I held up the ledger.
“Let her go.”
“Bring it here.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You think you’re negotiating?”
“I think if you kill her, you never know whether this is real.”
Reed smiled.
“You’re more like Daniel than Caroline.”
“Good.”
His smile disappeared.
I threw the ledger halfway between us.
Reed pushed Mom forward.
She stumbled.
I ran toward her.
Then gunfire exploded.
Federal agents stormed the building.
Reed grabbed Mom.
I tackled him.
The gun skidded away.
Mom kicked it beneath a crate.
Reed punched me.
I hit the concrete.
He grabbed my throat.
“You should have let her die.”
Then Mom struck him with the chain from her restraints.
Reed fell.
Agents surrounded him.
“DON’T MOVE!”
It was over.
At least I thought it was.
Then a shot rang out.
Reed jerked backward.
Blood spread across his chest.
Someone had shot him from outside the warehouse.
A sniper.
Agents rushed toward the windows.
Reed collapsed beside me.
I pressed my hands against his wound.
“Who?”
He coughed blood.
“Who else is involved?”
His eyes found mine.
He whispered:
“Your father knew.”
“Knew what?”
Reed smiled weakly.
“Victor wasn’t the head of it.”
“Who was?”
Reed’s eyes drifted toward Mom.
Then he whispered one final word.
May you like
“Caroline.”
And died.
