Chapter 9 - Vanessa's Version

"If you wanted us dead, you would have shot already," I said.

Vanessa's jaw tightened. "You really are annoying."

"I've been told."

She lowered the gun slightly.

Adrian exhaled. "Good start."

"Don't get comfortable."

Vanessa stepped into the room and locked the door behind her.

"My father didn't die in a boating accident," she said. "He disappeared."

I stared at her.

"There was a body."

"There was a coffin. Nobody in the family saw the body. Grandmother insisted it was too damaged."

Adrian looked at the files. "Why fake his death?"

"Because he was trying to get out of Project Harbor."

Vanessa pulled a folded letter from her coat.

It was addressed to her, written in Thomas Sterling's hand.

VANESSA, IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME, ROOM 1704 HOLDS THE FIRST TRUTH. THE SECOND IS WITH DANIEL CARTER.

My father.

"I found this letter six months ago," she said. "Hidden in a safe my mother never opened. That's why I started moving money."

"You stole forty-three million dollars?"

"I moved it. I didn't spend it."

"To shell companies."

"To keep it from Grandmother until I knew who was alive and who was lying."

The rooftop attack flashed through my head.

"And kicking me was part of your careful investigation?"

Her face hardened. "I thought you were working for Martin."

"I was."

"Exactly. Martin has been hunting the ledger for years."

Adrian frowned. "Then why recruit Naomi?"

Vanessa looked at me. "Because of her father. He needed someone who could open doors Daniel Carter couldn't anymore."

A phone vibrated.

Not mine.

Vanessa's.

She checked the screen and went white.

"What?" I asked.

She handed me the phone.

A live video feed showed my mother tied to a chair in an industrial room.

Caleb Morse stood behind her.

A timer in the corner counted down from 59:48.

Then Martin Shaw stepped into frame.

"Naomi," he said to the camera, calm now, no panic in his voice. "Bring the Project Harbor files to Pier 19 before the timer reaches zero. Come alone. Or your mother learns exactly what happened to your father the hard way."

Vanessa whispered, "He played all of us."

The feed zoomed in on my mother.

She lifted her head and looked straight into the camera.

May you like

THEY DECLARED HER DEAD—THEN ORDERED HER CREMATED WHILE SHE WAS STILL ALI...

They were about to burn her alive.Her death certificate had already been signed. Her body was scheduled for immediate cremation. A...

She Pushed a Pregnant Woman in a Wheelchair Into the Pool—Then Her Husba...

She was pregnant. She was in a wheelchair. And the woman standing behind her was smiling.Seconds later, one brutal shove sent her...

SHE WAS ATTACKED WITH A GOLF CLUB—THEN ONE RED BUTTON EXPOSED A DEADLY S...

Her mother-in-law tried to smash her skull with a golf club. But the real nightmare began when her husband walked through the door...

Then she mouthed two words.

DON'T COME.