Chapter 14 - EIGHTEEN MINUTES
Arthur stared at the number.
Sixty-three million dollars.
Not just his money.
Payroll.
Construction escrow.
Retirement contributions.
Vendor accounts.
Client deposits.
If the transfer executed, Vance Development could collapse before lunch.
“Cancel it,” Arthur said.
Warren handed him the phone.
“Password.”
Daniel laughed weakly from the floor.
Arthur turned.
Daniel was handcuffed, bleeding, but still conscious.
“Password.”
Daniel smiled.
“Go to hell.”
Arthur walked toward him.
Warren blocked his path.
“Don’t.”
Arthur looked at the timer.
16:51.
“Daniel.”
Nothing.
“Four hundred employees.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Not my problem.”
Arthur almost lost control.
Maria touched his good arm.
“Arthur.”
He looked at her.
She was thinking.
“Daniel likes control.”
Arthur stared.
“What?”
“He kept backups of everything. He never trusted Elena. He wouldn’t trust an automatic transfer he couldn’t stop.”
Warren understood.
“So he has an emergency code.”
Maria nodded.
Arthur looked at Daniel.
“He won’t give it.”
“No.”
Maria walked closer.
“But he might tell us without realizing it.”
Daniel laughed.
“You think you’re clever?”
Maria looked at his phone.
“Your password isn’t Noah’s birthday. Too obvious.”
No reaction.
“Not Elena’s.”
Small reaction.
“You hated her.”
Elena heard that from the stretcher.
She closed her eyes.
Maria continued.
“Not money. Not the company.”
Timer:
14:03.
Maria studied him.
“You always thought Arthur got everything you deserved.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“So the password is connected to Arthur.”
Arthur frowned.
Daniel looked away.
Maria saw it.
“What did you want from him most?”
Daniel said nothing.
“His company?”
Nothing.
“His house?”
Nothing.
“His wife?”
Daniel smirked.
Maria shook her head.
“No. Elena was never the prize.”
Elena flinched.
Maria looked at Arthur.
“His father.”
Arthur went still.
Daniel’s eyes changed.
There.
Maria saw it.
“You wanted Michael Vance’s respect.”
Daniel shouted, “Shut up.”
Arthur stared at him.
Years earlier, Arthur’s father had refused Daniel’s request for a larger ownership stake.
Michael had told Arthur privately:
Daniel is talented, but talent without loyalty is dangerous.
Arthur had defended Daniel.
He remembered the date.
October 16.
The final board meeting before Michael died.
Arthur grabbed the phone.
Wrong.
Timer:
11:42.
“Michael’s birthday,” Maria said.
Arthur entered 0324.
Wrong.
Daniel smiled.
“Nice try.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
What would Daniel use?
Not a date.
A sentence.
Something that had haunted him.
Then Arthur remembered that board meeting.
Daniel had stormed out.
Michael had stopped him at the door.
“Respect is earned, Daniel. It isn’t transferred like stock.”
Daniel had never forgotten it.
Arthur typed:
RESPECTISEARNED
Wrong.
Timer:
8:07.
Arthur cursed.
Maria whispered, “Maybe what he wanted your father to say.”
Arthur looked at Daniel.
Daniel’s face went blank.
Arthur understood.
He typed three words.
YOUWEREWORTHIT.
The phone unlocked.
Daniel’s smile disappeared.
Arthur opened the transfer command.
CANCEL.
Authentication required.
FACE ID.
Arthur held the phone toward Daniel.
Daniel turned his head.
“No.”
Warren grabbed him.
Daniel squeezed his eyes shut.
“Open them.”
“No!”
Timer:
5:21.
Arthur knelt.
“Daniel.”
Silence.
“You wanted to beat me your whole life.”
Daniel opened his eyes slightly.
Arthur smiled.
“And this is how it ends? You lying on a floor while Maria beats you with a password?”
Daniel’s eyes snapped open.
The phone scanned.
AUTHORIZED.
Arthur hit CANCEL.
Processing.
Timer:
00:42.
00:31.
00:19.
Then the screen changed.
TRANSFER CANCELED.
Arthur dropped his head.
Everyone exhaled at once.
Daniel started laughing.
Arthur looked at him.
“What’s funny?”
Daniel smiled through bloody teeth.
“You saved the company.”
“Yes.”
“You saved the trust.”
“Yes.”
“You saved the nanny.”
Arthur looked at Maria.
“Yes.”
Daniel’s smile widened.
“But you still haven’t saved your family.”
Arthur’s stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel looked toward Elena.
May you like
Then back at Arthur.
“Ask your wife who Noah’s biological father is.”
