Chapter 12 - The Bridge
We found Claire Holloway’s car at the bottom of the river.
Not physically.
The police had recovered it years ago.
But Luka’s team found the original crash photographs.
Something had been missed.
The brake line had been cut.
Derek stared at the report for a long time.
Then he vomited in the sink.
His father had killed his mother.
The truth changed him.
Not enough to erase what he had done.
But enough to destroy the last piece of loyalty he had to Victor.
“I’ll testify.”
he said.
Luka looked skeptical.
“You’ll go to prison too.”
“I know.”
“Fraud.”
“I know.”
“Illegal access.”
“I know.”
“Medical conspiracy.”
Derek nodded.
“I know.”
He looked at me.
“I’m done making you pay for what I’m afraid of.”
For the first time, I believed he meant it.
The independent DNA appointment was scheduled for the next morning.
Grace.
Derek.
Luka.
All samples collected under court supervision.
No Mercer laboratory.
No private clinic.
A university genetics center.
Chain of custody recorded on camera.
Results would take forty-eight hours.
Forty-eight hours.
That deadline became everything.
Because Luka’s attorneys discovered another deadline.
The Moretti board was meeting in two days.
If no direct biological descendant was verified, a dormant trust provision allowed the board to consolidate voting power.
Victor had quietly accumulated proxies.
If the vote passed before Grace’s parentage was established, he could gain control of Moretti Biomedical.
The company holding the remaining evidence.
Everything converged.
The DNA.
The board.
Victor.
Grace.
We had forty-eight hours.
Then Victor disappeared.
So did Brittany.
And at 6:14 p.m., my mother vanished from Luka’s estate.
No forced entry.
No alarm.
Only one security camera disabled for eighty-two seconds.
When it returned, Elena was gone.
On her bed was a note.
I KNOW WHAT HE WANTS.
LET ME END IT.
My father collapsed into a chair.
“She went to Victor.”
Luka cursed.
I grabbed my coat.
“Where?”
My father looked at me.
“The bridge.”
The same bridge where Elena had almost died.
The same bridge where Claire Holloway had been killed.
Victor had chosen the place where his secrets began.
We arrived after dark.
Rain covered the road.
A black sedan sat near the railing.
Victor stood beside it.
Elena faced him.
Brittany stood near the car holding a folder.
No weapons visible.
That did not make me feel safer.
Victor saw me.
“You brought everyone.”
I stepped forward.
“Let my mother go.”
Elena turned.
“Emma, stay back.”
Victor smiled.
“She always was brave.”
Luka moved beside me.
“What do you want?”
Victor looked at him.
“Your signature.”
“On what?”
Brittany opened the folder.
A trust disclaimer.
Luka would deny paternity rights to any child conceived through unauthorized use of M-17.
In exchange, Victor would release Elena and destroy the remaining evidence.
Luka laughed.
“No.”
Victor’s smile disappeared.
“You don’t want the child.”
Luka looked at Grace, sleeping in a secured vehicle behind us.
Then at me.
“You don’t know what I want.”
Victor stepped closer.
“I know you never wanted children.”
“That was before someone gave me one.”
My heart stopped for half a second.
Victor saw my expression.
“So touching.”
Then Elena moved.
Fast.
She grabbed the folder from Brittany and threw it over the bridge.
Victor lunged.
Derek came from behind the second vehicle.
He tackled his father before Victor reached her.
Both men hit the pavement.
Victor stared up at his son.
“You weak little idiot.”
Derek’s face twisted.
“You killed Mom.”
For the first time, Victor looked surprised.
Then he smiled.
And that smile told Derek everything.
Police sirens appeared in the distance.
Victor had one final card.
He looked at me and said,
“You think the DNA test will save you?”
I froze.
May you like
He smiled wider.
“You should ask Luka what else was stored under M-17.”
