CHAPTER 9 — THE MAN WHO ORDERED HER DEATH
Victor's finger tightened on the trigger.
Time stopped.
My father stared at the barrel of the pistol, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"You work for me," he whispered again.
Victor almost smiled.
"I worked for you."
Outside, one of the helicopters roared lower over the mansion, shaking the shattered windows.
"The Board doesn't like loose ends."
Richard Ashford—the man who had controlled everyone for decades—looked frightened for the first time in his life.
Before Victor could fire—
A deafening crack echoed through the room.
Not from Victor's pistol.
From somewhere outside.
The bullet shattered the window beside Victor's head.
Glass exploded across the office.
Victor instinctively ducked.
"So..." he muttered.
"They're already here."
Thomas frowned.
"They?"
Victor didn't answer.
Instead, he barked an order.
"Fall back!"
The Blackstone operatives instantly shifted formation, dragging Victor behind a marble pillar.
Whoever had fired wasn't with us.
But they weren't with Blackstone either.
Another sniper round punched through the wall.
One Blackstone operative collapsed instantly.
Dead before he hit the floor.
The room erupted into confusion.
"Sniper!"
Everyone scattered.
Even my father threw himself behind a bookshelf.
Thomas quickly looked through the broken window with binoculars.
His face changed.
"No..."
"What?"
"There aren't one."
"There are three."
Three different sniper positions.
Perfect military spacing.
All targeting Blackstone.
Victor looked genuinely alarmed.
"They weren't supposed to arrive until tomorrow."
My father slowly looked up.
"Who?"
Victor answered through clenched teeth.
"The Auditors."
Grace frowned.
"The what?"
Thomas looked horrified.
"I've heard rumors."
"What rumors?"
"When Blackstone believes one of its own has become a liability..."
He swallowed.
"They send the Auditors."
"They don't investigate."
"They erase."
A third sniper shot echoed.
Another operative fell.
Victor cursed.
"They're cleaning the operation."
My father slowly stood.
"Listen to me."
Victor ignored him.
"I built this organization."
Another shot.
Victor ducked.
"No."
"You built the first version."
He looked toward Richard.
"You've been obsolete for years."
Noah quietly tugged my sleeve.
"Dad."
"What is it?"
"The bad man."
He pointed toward Victor.
"He wasn't at the hospital."
Everyone froze.
"What?"
"The man who scared Mommy..."
Noah slowly turned.
His tiny finger pointed...
At my father.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Richard's face drained of color.
"Noah..."
The little boy stepped behind me.
"You yelled at Mommy."
His breathing became uneven.
"You made her cry."
Memories flashed through Noah's frightened eyes.
"I heard you."
His voice shook.
"You said..."
He closed his eyes tightly.
"'You'll never leave with him.'"
I stared at my father.
"You were there."
Richard slowly lowered his head.
"I was."
"You lied for three years."
"I did."
"You watched her die."
His voice cracked.
"No."
"I watched her refuse."
Thomas stepped forward.
"Refuse what?"
Richard finally looked at all of us.
"Emily wasn't supposed to die."
Victor laughed bitterly.
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
Richard's shoulders sagged.
"I only wanted the documents."
Grace whispered,
"What documents?"
Richard looked toward Emily's laptop.
"Her evidence."
He slowly sat down in the chair beside the fireplace.
Looking suddenly exhausted.
Older.
"I'll tell you everything."
Victor immediately shouted,
"Don't!"
Richard ignored him.
"Twenty-six years ago..."
he began,
"I met William Carter."
"He trusted me."
"He thought we were building an investment company."
Thomas quietly corrected him.
"You were building Blackstone."
Richard nodded.
"At first..."
"It really was security consulting."
Victor rolled his eyes.
"Here comes the redemption speech."
Richard glared at him.
"Shut up."
Surprisingly...
Victor did.
Richard continued.
"Then governments started hiring us."
"We discovered something."
"What?"
I asked.
He looked directly at me.
"Information is worth more than money."
"The richest families weren't protected by guards."
"They were protected..."
"...by secrets."
He stood and slowly walked toward the broken window.
"So we began collecting them."
"Affairs."
"Medical histories."
"Hidden children."
"Illegal accounts."
"Anything."
Grace frowned.
"Blackmail."
Richard nodded.
"At first."
"Then someone realized something better."
He looked toward Noah.
"If you control the heir..."
"You control everything."
Victoria covered her mouth.
"So Project Guardian..."
Richard nodded.
"Wasn't my idea."
Victor smiled.
"It was mine."
Thomas looked sick.
"You monster."
Victor shrugged.
"It worked."
Richard continued speaking.
"I wanted money."
"Victor wanted power."
"The Board wanted both."
I interrupted him.
"The Board."
"Who are they?"
Richard looked toward the ceiling.
"You've never heard their names."
"You never will."
"They don't exist on paper."
"They've survived wars."
"Governments."
"Empires."
"They don't own companies."
"They own the people who own companies."
The room became silent.
Grace whispered,
"So Emily..."
Richard closed his eyes.
"She found their financial network."
"She copied everything."
"The bank records."
"The flash drive."
"The safe-deposit box."
Everything suddenly connected.
Emily hadn't been protecting Noah's inheritance.
She had been protecting evidence capable of destroying Blackstone itself.
Victor suddenly laughed.
"You still don't understand."
Everyone turned toward him.
"The box is empty."
I frowned.
"What?"
Victor smiled.
"We opened it yesterday."
Grace's face turned white.
"No."
Victor nodded.
"The evidence is gone."
Richard looked stunned.
"You found it?"
Victor smiled.
"Oh yes."
"And the Board is reading every file right now."
The room fell silent.
Three years.
Emily had died protecting evidence.
And now...
It was gone.
Victor slowly stood.
"So this little family reunion..."
He brushed dust from his jacket.
"...is officially over."
He raised his pistol once again.
This time...
Not at Richard.
Not at me.
At Noah.
"No!"
I lunged forward.
Victor smiled.
"Give me the second key."
My heart stopped.
"What second key?"
Victor's smile widened.
"You really don't know."
He looked directly at Noah.
"The little boy has had it all along."
Grace gasped.
"No..."
Victor nodded.
"Emily never trusted adults."
"So she hid the final key..."
"...with her son."
Noah's frightened eyes widened.
Then...
Almost instinctively...
He reached toward the small teddy bear he had carried everywhere since his mother's funeral.
May you like
A teddy bear...
No one had ever searched.
