Chapter 12 - THE GHOST OF THE KANE FAMILY
Everett moved Claire and her family to a secure location.
Then he returned to Chicago.
Willa found him alone in his office.
The red envelope lay on the desk.
“You’re blaming yourself.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Everett looked out the window.
“My father trusted Raymond.”
“That wasn’t your decision.”
“I trusted Sterling.”
“That was.”
He gave her a look.
Willa sat across from him.
“You want me to tell you none of this is your fault?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not going to.”
Everett almost smiled.
“You’re terrible at comforting people.”
“I’m excellent.”
“No.”
“You married me.”
“I was unconscious.”
“Still counts.”
This time he laughed.
The tension broke.
Then Everett became serious.
“Raymond taught me half of what I know.”
“Which means?”
“He knows how I think.”
“So think differently.”
“How?”
Willa leaned forward.
“Stop acting like a Kane.”
He stared at her.
“Act like what?”
“A patient.”
Everett frowned.
“People reveal themselves when they think someone is weak.”
That afternoon, Everett publicly announced he had suffered a severe relapse.
News reports claimed his neurological condition had worsened.
Sterling’s arrest had shaken Kane businesses.
Stock values fell.
Employees panicked.
Exactly as Willa predicted, a message arrived.
One sentence.
Midnight. Old Kane slaughterhouse. Come alone if you want the truth.
Everett showed her.
“You’re not going.”
“I’m absolutely going.”
“Then I’m going.”
“No.”
Willa folded her arms.
“Did the coma destroy your memory? Because we’ve had this conversation.”
Everett sighed.
At midnight, they entered the abandoned slaughterhouse through separate entrances.
Raymond Kane stood in the center of the old processing floor.
Sixty-eight.
Gray hair.
Long black coat.
Very much alive.
“Everett.”
“Uncle.”
Raymond smiled.
“You look remarkably healthy.”
“I recover fast.”
His eyes moved toward the shadows.
“And the wife?”
Willa stepped out.
Raymond laughed.
“The homeless nurse.”
“The dead uncle.”
His smile faded.
“I see why you like her.”
Everett stepped closer.
“Why?”
Raymond lifted his shoulders.
“Your father stole my life.”
“He built the company.”
“With my money.”
“So you tried to kill me?”
“I tried to correct succession.”
Raymond looked at Willa.
“Sterling was never strong enough. Useful, but weak.”
“And Whitfield?”
“Greedy.”
“Allison?”
“Cowardly.”
Everett’s voice dropped.
“And Harold Fisk?”
Raymond shrugged.
“Collateral damage.”
Willa’s jaw tightened.
Raymond noticed.
“Don’t take it personally.”
“You destroyed my career.”
“You survived.”
“So did Everett.”
Raymond’s smile disappeared.
Men stepped from the shadows.
Six.
Armed.
Raymond spread his hands.
“I expected you to bring security.”
Everett said calmly, “I did.”
Raymond laughed.
Then nothing happened.
His smile widened.
“Your men aren’t coming.”
Everett’s eyes narrowed.
Raymond held up a phone.
“They were intercepted ten minutes ago.”
He looked at Willa.
“Which leaves just the three of us.”
A gun pressed into the back of Willa’s head.
Raymond smiled again.
May you like
“And only two of us are walking out.”
Cliffhanger: Everett’s final trap had failed, and Raymond now had Willa at gunpoint.
