Chapter 12 - The Empty Playroom
Nathan ran outside before anyone could stop him.
"Lucy!"
Elena was right behind him.
He called the house.
No answer from the playroom.
Security picked up on the second ring.
"Where is my daughter?"
A long pause.
"Mr. Mercer, Mrs. Mercer said she had court-approved permission to take Lucy for lunch. She showed us an email from your attorney."
David swore.
"I sent no such email."
Nathan's vision narrowed.
Claire had forged another document.
Detective Collins was already calling local units.
Nathan called Claire.
She answered.
"Where are you?"
"You made this ugly."
"Put Lucy on the phone."
"She's fine."
"Claire."
His voice broke on her name.
"Please."
For a moment, there was only road noise.
Then Lucy's voice came through.
"Daddy?"
Nathan closed his eyes. "Hey, peanut. Are you okay?"
"Mommy says we're going to the lake house."
Claire took the phone back.
"Now you know she's safe."
"Turn around."
"Not until you listen."
"I am listening."
"You are going to stop the audit. You are going to tell the police there was a misunderstanding. And you are going to sign a statement saying the company transfer was authorized."
Nathan looked at Detective Collins. She shook her head slowly: keep her talking.
"And if I don't?"
Claire's voice changed.
"Then Caleb releases everything."
"Everything what?"
"The board emails. The medical reports. Videos of you forgetting meetings. Enough to make investors believe you're unstable."
Nathan almost laughed from disbelief.
"You drugged me so you could build evidence that I was sick."
"I never wanted that."
"But you did it."
Silence.
That silence was an answer.
Elena suddenly pointed toward the detective's tablet.
Claire's SUV had triggered a highway camera heading north.
Toward the Mercer lake house.
Nathan kept talking.
"What is Hawthorne?"
Claire inhaled sharply.
"Where did you hear that?"
"My mother."
The line went quiet.
Then Caleb's voice appeared in the background.
"Hang up."
Nathan's blood turned cold.
Claire was not alone.
The call ended.
Detective Collins looked at him. "We have units moving toward the lake house. You are not going in first."
Nathan nodded.
He meant it when he nodded.
Then another text arrived.
This one from an unknown number.
MIDNIGHT. SIGN OVER YOUR VOTING CONTROL OR YOU DON'T SEE LUCY AGAIN.
Below the message was a PDF.
Nathan opened it.
At the bottom of the voting-control agreement was a signature line.
May you like
His name had already been typed in.
Someone only needed his hand to make the forgery complete.
