Chapter 9 - THE TRAP
Marcus wanted me nowhere near Richard.
I disagreed.
“He asked for me.”
“That doesn’t mean you go.”
“If we don’t, what happens to Chloe?”
“We handle it.”
“How?”
“We track his phone.”
“He’s not stupid.”
Marcus stared at me.
“What are you suggesting?”
I looked at Sarah.
“Give him what he wants.”
She understood.
“Fake documents.”
Marcus frowned.
“This isn’t a movie.”
“No.”
I pointed toward Richard’s text.
“It’s my family.”
Thirty minutes later, Sarah produced copies of the Carter trust documents.
Real appearance.
Fake authority.
They looked convincing.
Marcus placed a tiny transmitter inside my watch.
“You follow instructions.”
“I will.”
“You don’t improvise.”
“I won’t.”
“You see Brooke and Chloe, you don’t run toward them.”
I nodded.
He didn’t believe me.
Neither did I.
Richard sent an address.
An abandoned warehouse near the old shipyard.
Of course.
The kind of place where bad decisions became tragedies.
I arrived alone.
At least Richard believed I did.
Police tactical units waited several blocks away.
I entered carrying the folder.
“Richard?”
Lights clicked on.
He stood near the center of the warehouse.
Vivian was beside him.
Brooke sat bound to a chair.
Chloe was crying in her arms.
“You actually came,” Richard said.
“You have a baby hostage.”
“She isn’t a hostage.”
Brooke shouted, “He has a gun!”
Richard slapped her.
I moved forward.
“Don’t touch her.”
He pointed the gun toward me.
“Stop.”
I stopped.
Vivian looked surprisingly calm.
“Give us the papers.”
“First release Brooke and Chloe.”
Richard laughed.
“You don’t negotiate.”
“I own the documents.”
“For now.”
I lifted the folder.
“If anything happens to me, Sarah Mitchell files an injunction freezing every Carter asset.”
Vivian’s confidence flickered.
“You’re lying.”
“Try me.”
Richard walked closer.
“You always thought you were smarter than me.”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“I thought you loved my son.”
His face hardened.
“Your son was a means to an end.”
Brooke started crying harder.
Vivian hissed, “Richard.”
He ignored her.
“I spent four years pretending to be his father.”
My throat tightened.
“You tucked him into bed.”
“So?”
“You taught him how to ride a bike.”
“I needed you to trust me.”
“You held him when he was sick.”
“Because you were watching.”
Every word cut deeper.
I heard Marcus’s voice faintly through my hidden earpiece.
Stay calm.
I swallowed.
“What about Daniel?”
Richard smiled.
“What about him?”
“You knew he was alive.”
Vivian snapped, “Enough.”
Richard looked at her.
“No.”
Then he looked back at me.
“You deserve to know.”
My heart pounded.
“Know what?”
He leaned closer.
“I’m the reason Daniel disappeared.”
Behind him, Brooke suddenly stood.
May you like
Her hands were free.
And she was holding a piece of broken metal against Vivian’s throat.
