Chapter 17 - The Man Who Sold the Fire

Owen had expected police at the office. He hadn't expected the river patrol to be waiting beyond the old ferry channel.

When their boat signaled him to stop, he turned sharply toward the reeds. A wake struck the concrete embankment, and his engine died in shallow water. He jumped into the river with a small waterproof case in his hand.

Nathan heard this over Moreno's speakerphone from the hospital room. I watched his face tighten at each update.

"Stay with the boat," the officer shouted in the background.

Owen ignored him. He splashed toward a narrow stretch of bank, lost one shoe in the mud, and tried to climb a broken wooden ladder. Police reached him before he made the top.

The case contained the audit drive. The officers secured it, documented its condition, and brought it in for forensic examination. No one opened it for dramatic effect at the dock. Real evidence needed more than an audience.

Later that evening, Moreno told us what Caleb had admitted. Owen had ordered him to shut down the conservatory cameras, lure me with a message sent from a device linked to Nathan's account, and stand watch during the attack. Owen himself had worn the cap. He'd used a short recording built from Nathan's voice samples to frighten me into blaming my fiancé.

"Why ruin the wedding instead of just stealing my files?" I asked.

"He wanted to make you look unreliable," Moreno said. "A bride insisting her groom planned an attack would make a messy, sensational story. He thought people would question your motives and forget your evidence."

It was such a small, cruel calculation. Turn a woman into a spectacle. Make her pain louder than the facts.

Nathan looked at my bandaged face. "He knew I'd been planning to remove him from the company. The audit was supposed to be independent."

"Did you tell anyone?"

"Only my mother."

A terrible quiet filled the room.

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At nine that night, Moreno returned with one more piece of news. Owen had asked to speak to Nathan before his arraignment. He offered to explain exactly what had happened at Lark Street, but only if Nathan came alone.

Nathan looked at me. "For once in my life," he said, "he doesn't get to set the rules."