Chapter 8 - The Empty Office
I did not go alone.
I also did not tell Charles that.
Naomi stayed in a car downstairs with two private security officers.
Sienna waited across the street.
Julian was nowhere near us.
Hartwell's Midtown office was nearly empty after dark.
Charles sat in the boardroom.
The black ledger lay on the table.
I stopped six feet away.
"You broke into my apartment."
He smiled.
"Prove it."
"Give me the ledger."
"Release the freeze."
"No."
"Then we're done."
"Did you steal from Alan Mercer?"
His eyes changed.
Barely.
"Alan was weak."
"That's not an answer."
"He made mistakes."
"Did you frame him?"
Charles leaned back.
"You sound like your father."
"Did you?"
He ignored the question.
Instead he slid a document across the table.
An annulment agreement.
If I signed it and released Hartwell's collateral structure, Julian and I could end the marriage quietly.
I laughed.
"You planned my divorce too?"
"I plan exits."
"Julian know about this?"
"Julian knows what I tell him."
"Not until you sign."
The boardroom door opened.
Sienna walked in.
Charles went white.
"Who let you in?"
She placed her phone on the table.
"Your security team still uses my old access profile."
His face hardened.
"Mercer."
She nodded.
"My father deserved his name back."
Charles stood.
"You have no idea what your father did."
"Then say it."
He didn't.
Sienna pressed play.
Audio filled the room.
Charles, fifteen years younger:
ALAN WON'T TALK ONCE THE FRAUD UNIT SEES HIS AUTHORIZATION.
Another voice asked:
BUT HE DIDN'T SIGN IT.
Charles answered:
HE DOESN'T HAVE TO KNOW THAT.
Charles lunged for the phone.
I grabbed the ledger.
Sienna stepped back.
Security officers entered from the hall.
Charles froze.
Then the fire alarm started.
Sprinklers burst from the ceiling.
Lights flickered.
Someone had triggered the building emergency system.
May you like
In the confusion, Charles disappeared through a service door.
And the ledger in my hands was fake.
