Chapter 11 - The Woman Who Signed
Lenore stood at the far end of the basement corridor, flanked by Nora and Arthur. Her face had become a mask of resignation.
Mara smiled. “There she is.”
Camille looked from the paper to her aunt. “You made the first payment?”
“No,” Lenore said.
“Your name is here.”
“I signed the transfer.”
“What transfer?”
Arthur answered. “The payment was made through a charity account. Lenore was the trustee.”
Mara stepped closer. “She sold your father.”
“I did not,” Lenore said.
“You signed away Daniel’s access to the evidence. You gave Rusk the harbor permits.”
“I signed under threat.”
“Everyone says that after they are paid.”
Camille felt the paper tremble between her fingers. “What did you do?”
Lenore looked at her. “I saved Olivia.”
“By helping Rusk?”
“Rusk had found you. He intended to use you as leverage. I gave him the permits and told him Daniel had fled. In exchange, he let Olivia take you.”
“You traded evidence for me.”
“Yes.”
The basement seemed to fill with old smoke and older grief.
Adam stepped toward Lenore. “Why is her name in the music box?”
“Because I wanted Camille to know the truth if I failed.”
Mara laughed softly. “Lenore always preferred confession after the danger passed.”
“You killed people,” Lenore said. “Do not pretend we are the same.”
“I killed people who believed money made them immortal.”
“You killed Felix Dane.”
“Felix killed himself when I showed him the ledger.”
Adam’s eyes narrowed. “He was found with a bullet in his chest.”
“He shot himself after I put the gun in his hand.”
Camille felt bile rise.
Mara extended her hand. “The ledger and the paper.”
“You’ll kill us anyway,” Adam said.
“Not all of you.”
“Who survives?”
“The useful ones.”
Nora fired first. The shot struck the ceiling, and the basement exploded into motion. Adam shoved Camille behind a filing cabinet. Lenore pulled Arthur down. Mara’s guards surged through both corridors.
Lucy had been sent toward the north exit with Nora, but now her voice echoed from the stairwell.
“Dad!”
Adam looked up. One of Mara’s men had grabbed her.
He moved before thinking. Camille seized his coat.
“Adam, wait.”
“That’s my daughter.”
“The guard is between you and her.”
Camille pointed to the emergency sprinkler valve. Adam understood. He shot the valve. Water blasted across the ceiling. The guard slipped. Lucy kicked his knee and ran.
Adam caught her, pulling her against his chest.
“You okay?”
“I kicked him.”
“I saw.”
“Was that good?”
“It was excellent.”
Mara reached Camille in the confusion. She snatched the paper from her hand and held a blade beneath her jaw.
“Give me the ledger,” she told Adam.
Adam froze.
Camille looked at him. “Don’t.”
“I’m not going to let her hurt you.”
“You have to.”
“No.”
“Trust me.”
Mara pressed the blade closer. “How romantic.”
Camille lifted both hands. “The ledger is a copy.”
Mara’s eyes sharpened.
“The original is in the trust office,” Camille said. “You can have it, but only if you let everyone here leave.”
“You expect me to believe you?”
“You believe the ledger matters. That means you believe I matter.”
Mara considered her.
Adam noticed the tiny tracker hidden beneath the music box. Its light blinked red. Nora had placed it there. The cavalry was coming, but not yet.
Mara dragged Camille toward the west corridor. “You and I are going to the trust office.”
“No,” Olivia said.
Mara turned. “You have spent your life running. Today you can watch your daughter choose.”
Camille met Olivia’s eyes. “I’m coming back.”
“I know,” Olivia whispered.
Mara pulled Camille through the doorway.
As they disappeared, Lenore picked up a fallen gun.
May you like
“Why did Camille tell Mara to trust her?” Arthur asked.
Lenore looked at the blinking tracker. “Because she has finally learned that survival is not the same as surrender.”
