Chapter 9 - Beneath the Black Water
The van struck the river roof-first.
Jace jumped after it.
The water was colder than ice.
The current dragged him beneath the surface.
He opened his eyes.
The van sank through black water below him.
Its headlights flickered once.
Then darkness swallowed it.
Jace kicked downward.
His lungs burned.
He reached the rear doors and pulled.
They did not move.
A red emergency light flashed inside.
Maisie floated against the ceiling.
Her eyes were closed.
Jace struck the glass with his elbow.
Nothing happened.
He pulled the silver star pendant from his neck.
The point of the star fit into the emergency latch.
The door opened.
Water rushed inside.
Jace grabbed Maisie.
Her body was completely still.
He pushed upward.
The surface seemed impossibly far away.
A hand caught his coat.
For one terrifying second, he thought Conrad had followed him.
It was Detective Ortiz.
Together, they pulled Maisie above the water.
Officers lifted them onto the riverwalk.
Dr. Shah had arrived with an emergency team.
She began resuscitation immediately.
Evelyn crawled across the pavement.
“Maisie.”
An officer tried to hold her back.
She fought him.
“That is my baby.”
Jace knelt beside Dr. Shah.
Water poured from his clothes.
“Come on.”
He pressed his hand around Maisie’s tiny fingers.
“Come back.”
Dr. Shah gave another command.
The defibrillator charged.
Maisie’s body jerked.
Nothing appeared on the monitor.
Evelyn made a sound Jace would hear for the rest of his life.
Dr. Shah tried again.
The monitor remained flat.
Conrad stood near the railing in handcuffs.
Rain ran down his face.
He watched without emotion.
“You see?”
His voice carried across the pavement.
“She was too weak.”
Jace rose.
Ortiz caught his arm before he reached Conrad.
Conrad smiled.
“Your mother was weak too.”
Jace stopped struggling.
“What did you say?”
Conrad’s smile widened.
“She discovered the trust records.”
“You told me she died from an aneurysm.”
“She died because she could not mind her own affairs.”
Detective Ortiz turned toward him.
“Are you confessing to murder?”
Conrad looked at the officers around him.
Then at the cameras.
His arrogance finally cracked.
“I said no such thing.”
A sound came from the medical team.
A single electronic beep.
Then another.
Dr. Shah looked at the monitor.
“We have a rhythm.”
Evelyn collapsed beside her daughter.
Maisie coughed weakly.
Jace closed his eyes.
For one second, the entire world became that small sound.
A heartbeat.
Conrad stared at the monitor.
The clock above the riverwalk showed 12:04.
The child had survived past midnight.
The trust had transferred.
Conrad had lost eighty-four million dollars.
He had also lost control.
Detective Ortiz led him toward a police vehicle.
Conrad looked over his shoulder.
“You still do not understand.”
Jace held Maisie’s wet hand.
May you like
Conrad’s voice rose above the rain.
“The trust was never the most valuable thing your mother hid.”
