Chapter 12 - The Overlook
The overlook was empty except for a red scarf tied to the railing.
Sophie parked where she could see the road in both directions. Noah waited in a second vehicle below the ridge, close enough to reach her and far enough to honor the message. Thomas had arranged for a detective he trusted to monitor the area from a distance.
The sky over Asheville was clear for the first time in days. The mountains rose in layers of blue, beautiful enough to make Sophie understand why her father had wanted her to remember them.
At nine o’clock, Mara Mercer stepped from the trees.
She wore the red scarf from the company party and carried a small canvas bag. Her face was pale but composed.
“You came alone,” Mara said.
“I came prepared.”
Mara almost smiled. “That sounds like Daniel.”
“You knew him.”
“I knew of him. My mother talked about him until the day she died.”
“Your mother is Elise.”
“She was.”
Mara walked to the railing. Below them, the river flashed between the trees.
“My mother believed Daniel would expose Malcolm,” she said. “She believed he would make things right. After he died, she disappeared with me. She changed our names and moved from town to town.”
“Why come back?”
“Because Malcolm kept building the same lie. I wanted to know why my mother had sacrificed her life.”
Mara opened the canvas bag. Inside was a small leather-bound journal and an audio recorder.
“My mother recorded a conversation with Malcolm the night before Daniel died,” she said. “She never released it because she believed he would find us.”
Sophie did not touch the recorder. “Why send me threats?”
“I needed to know whether you were working with him.”
“Carter?”
“I thought you were going to sign the transfer.”
“I almost did.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Carter showed my mother’s old correspondence to me. He said you were desperate and could be manipulated.”
Sophie felt anger burn through the exhaustion. “He said that?”
“Not in those words. Malcolm never uses words that can be quoted.”
Mara pressed play.
Elise’s voice came through, younger and frightened. “You cannot keep threatening him.”
Malcolm answered, “Daniel will choose his family over his pride.”
“He will go to the reporter.”
“Then his family will suffer first.”
“You said you wanted to protect the child.”
“I am protecting what is mine.”
The recording stopped.
Sophie stared at the mountains. “He knew you were his daughter.”
“He knew. He sent money for a few years. Then my mother returned it.”
“Why did you work for him?”
“Because proximity gives you information. Because I wanted evidence. Because I was angry enough to mistake revenge for justice.”
“And now?”
“Now I want him stopped.”
Footsteps sounded behind the trees.
Mara’s face tightened. “We have to go.”
Noah appeared on the path. “Sophie.”
“I told you to wait.”
“You also told me not to leave you alone.”
Mara looked at him. “You are Noah Bennett.”
“And you are Elise Mercer’s daughter.”
“Your father helped cover up Daniel’s death.”
“I know.”
Mara’s expression softened. “Then you know why I was afraid to trust you.”
“I do.”
An engine roared below the overlook.
Two vehicles came up the access road. Mara grabbed Sophie’s arm. “Not the police.”
They ran toward the trail. Noah stayed behind long enough to kick a loose stone beneath the tires of the first SUV, forcing it to swerve. A man jumped out and shouted.
Sophie and Mara reached a narrow path leading into the woods. Sophie’s breath came hard. Her body protested every step, but she refused to stop.
They ducked behind a fallen tree. Noah joined them seconds later.
“Where is the detective?” Sophie whispered.
“Blocked by the second vehicle.”
Mara held the recorder against her chest. “There is another way out.”
They followed her through the trees to an abandoned service road. A blue sedan waited at the bottom.
“Whose car?” Noah asked.
“Mine.”
They piled inside. Mara drove down the mountain with the headlights off until the road widened.
Sophie looked at the journal in her lap. “What is in here?”
“Names. Dates. Payments. The people Malcolm bought.”
“And the person who changed the accident report?”
Mara nodded. “A county commissioner named Paul Danner.”
“He is dead.”
“His daughter is not.”
“Who?”
“Carter’s mother.”
The answer was almost too neat. Sophie frowned. “Carter’s mother changed the report?”
“No. She found it after her father died. She kept the original because Malcolm threatened her too.”
Noah looked at Mara in the rearview mirror. “Why hasn’t she come forward?”
“Because Malcolm controls her finances.”
Sophie closed the journal. “Then we find her.”
Mara turned onto a quiet road. “There is one more thing.”
“What?”
“Carter knows I am here.”
Sophie’s phone buzzed.
May you like
The message came from Carter.
You should have trusted me. Now someone else will pay for your choice.
