Chapter 12 - Nora's Second Secret
They caught Vivian at the far end of the tunnel.
Not because she slowed down.
Because the steel door had locked automatically.
She yanked at it, cursing.
Emma approached carefully.
"You said my mother was trying to save you."
Vivian clutched the ledger to her chest.
Behind them, sounds of fighting echoed from the underground room.
"She found out Thomas was using Gavin and me," Vivian said.
"Using you to steal money?"
"At first."
"There is no 'at first' for stealing twenty-eight million dollars."
Vivian flinched.
"You think I don't know that?"
"I think you pushed me into a pool and pulled a gun on me."
"Because I thought you were working with Thomas."
Emma stared at her.
"That makes no sense."
Vivian looked desperate now. "He told me Nora's daughter had come for the ledger. He said if you found it, you'd give it to him for money."
"And you believed him?"
"I believed what kept me alive."
Emma stepped closer.
"Did you help kill my mother?"
Vivian's face collapsed.
"No."
"Did you know they were going to hurt her?"
Silence.
That was the answer.
Emma's throat tightened.
"You knew."
"I knew Thomas wanted to scare her. I didn't know Gavin would run her car off the road."
Emma shoved Vivian against the wall.
"You could have warned her."
"I tried."
"How?"
"I left a message with Lauren."
Emma's grip loosened.
"Lauren?"
"She was supposed to get Nora out of town."
Footsteps approached fast.
Thomas appeared at the far end, blood on his shirt cuff, pistol back in his hand.
He aimed at Vivian.
"Give me the ledger."
Vivian looked at Emma.
Then she did the last thing Emma expected.
She shoved the ledger into Emma's arms.
"Run when the door opens."
"What are you doing?"
Vivian turned to face Thomas.
"Fixing one thing."
The steel door clicked open.
Emma pulled it wide.
Vivian did not move.
Thomas smiled.
"You were always terrible at loyalty."
Vivian smiled back.
"So were you."
Then she pulled a tiny voice recorder from the neckline of her dress.
May you like
Its red light was blinking.
Vivian's confession did not soften Emma. It sharpened her anger. Fear explained choices. It did not erase them. If Vivian wanted redemption, she would have to earn it with truth, not tears.
