Chapter 14 - Partners Turned Enemies
Isabella looked at Marcus with pure hatred.
“You tried to kill me at the foundation.”
Marcus shrugged. “I tried to end a problem.”
“You hit yourself with a car?” William asked.
Marcus laughed. “No. Eleanor’s driver panicked. I had to improvise.”
Detective Ortiz shifted slightly.
Marcus swung his weapon toward her. “Don’t.”
William watched the two of them.
“So Claire was right. You were partners.”
“At first,” Isabella said.
Marcus’s smile disappeared. “Rachel’s daughter thought revenge made her special.”
“My mother found your theft.”
“Your mother wanted a payout.”
“She wanted the children’s money returned.”
Marcus snorted. “Everyone becomes a saint after death.”
Isabella moved before he finished.
She fired.
The shot hit a metal cabinet beside Marcus.
Ortiz dropped and returned fire.
Marcus ran behind the Jaguar.
William grabbed Isabella’s arm and forced the muzzle down as another shot hit the ceiling.
She twisted free.
“Give me the ledger!”
“No.”
“You don’t understand what’s in it.”
“I understand enough.”
“It names judges, donors, hospital executives—people who will burn your family to survive.”
“Then let them burn.”
Marcus rose behind the car and fired.
Isabella jerked.
The bullet struck her side.
She fell against William.
He caught her before she hit the floor.
For one second, all the glamour and control disappeared. She looked young. Scared.
Like the seventeen-year-old girl in Rachel Crane’s old photograph.
“I didn’t poison Claire,” she gasped.
William said nothing.
“I hated her. I threatened her. I searched for the letters.” Tears filled her eyes. “But I didn’t poison her.”
“Who locked Charlotte in the wall?”
Isabella looked toward Marcus.
“He did.”
Marcus fired again.
Daniel tackled him from the side.
The gun skidded across the floor.
Ortiz rushed forward and kicked it away.
Marcus laughed even with Daniel’s knee on his back.
“You think that ledger saves you?”
William looked down at the plastic-wrapped book.
May you like
Marcus smiled.
“The last page has your name on it.”
