Chapter 10 - THE SWITCH
Claire screamed.
Adrian looked at the child in his arms.
The girl wore Emma’s blue dress and satin bow, but her face was different. The resemblance had fooled him in the chaos.
Daniel collapsed against the wall.
“Evelyn switched them,” he said.
“How?” Adrian demanded.
“She had someone inside the station.”
Claire nearly broke. “Where is my daughter?”
Evelyn’s voice continued through the phone.
“Come to the Vale hotel before midnight. Bring the ledger. Come without police or guards.”
The video showed Emma tied to a chair, crying silently.
Adrian’s hands shook with rage.
Claire grabbed his coat. “We’re going.”
Daniel tried to stand. “It’s a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then you’ll die.”
Adrian looked at him. “I’ve already spent seven years dead.”
They took Daniel to a hidden clinic and left the false Emma with a trusted guard. Adrian, Claire, and Marcus’s second-in-command drove toward the old hotel.
The Vale hotel had closed after a fire thirteen years earlier. Adrian had not returned since his father died.
The building stood at the edge of Bellhaven, its windows black and empty.
Inside, the lobby smelled of ash and damp wood.
A trail of blue ribbon led up the stairs.
Claire followed it, breathing hard.
“Emma!” she called.
No answer.
The trail ended at the ballroom.
Adrian pushed the doors open.
Rows of old chairs faced a stage. At the center sat Emma, tied to a wooden chair.
Evelyn stood behind her.
Beside Evelyn was a man Adrian recognized from the newspaper photograph.
The lawyer from the cemetery.
And on the stage, beneath a dusty chandelier, hung a giant portrait of Adrian’s father.
Evelyn smiled. “Welcome home.”
Adrian held up the ledger. “Release her.”
“Put it on the floor.”
He did.
The lawyer walked down the steps and picked it up.
Claire rushed forward, but Evelyn pressed a knife against Emma’s throat.
“Don’t.”
Emma’s eyes filled with tears. “Mommy!”
Claire stopped.
Adrian stared at Evelyn. “You wanted the ledger. Take it.”
“I want more.”
“What?”
Evelyn looked toward the portrait.
“Your confession.”
Adrian’s brow furrowed.
The lawyer opened the ledger. “The accounts can only be transferred if the Vale heir admits responsibility for the Black Ledger network.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Your father built the empire. You inherited it. Tonight, you will accept the blame.”
Adrian looked at Claire.
May you like
A hidden camera’s red light blinked from the ceiling.
Cliffhanger: Evelyn planned to make Adrian confess to crimes he never committed—with Emma’s life as the price.
