Chapter 9 - THE SECOND FLASH DRIVE
Adrian ordered Gabriel to drive.
Emma held the red case against her chest.
"Shaw knows we have it."
"Then he can come ask me for it," Adrian said.
"That is exactly what he wants."
They did not go back to the mansion.
Gabriel took them to an old machine shop he owned under another name.
There were no Walker cameras there.
No staff.
Just concrete, steel, and one secure office.
Adrian inserted Celeste's second flash drive into an offline laptop.
A folder opened automatically.
The first file was titled CHARLES WALKER - FINAL LEDGER.
The ledger listed decades of transfers from Carver property into Walker companies.
Beside several entries were initials.
H.P.
"Who is H.P.?"
"Harrison Pike."
Adrian stared.
Pike was the Walker family's attorney.
He had handled Charles's estate.
He had drafted Adrian and Celeste's marriage documents.
He was also the man who had recommended Martin Shaw for security.
"There is your man standing beside the family."
Celeste appeared eight months pregnant.
"Adrian, Harrison changed the trust after our wedding."
She held up pages.
"If I die before Noah turns three, control of my Carver claim passes to the Walker Family Office."
"Who controls the family office?"
Victoria whispered, "Pike and me."
"So Celeste's death made you both stronger."
Victoria looked sick.
"I did not ask her to die."
Adrian exploded.
"You refused a procedure that could have saved her!"
"Because Pike told me the first surgery could kill Noah."
"He said Celeste had already signed the risk preference."
Emma leaned forward.
"Did you see her signature?"
That hesitation was enough.
A scan of the supposed medical preference appeared.
But underneath it was a forensic note.
SIGNATURE DIGITALLY REPLICATED.
Victoria stared at the screen.
"No."
Harrison Pike's name appeared.
Pike sounded calm.
"Adrian, I hear you've been upsetting your mother."
"Where is Martin Shaw?"
Pike chuckled.
"You are finally asking the right question."
Then a crash sounded from the workshop floor.
Gabriel reached for his gun.
May you like
Pike whispered through the phone.
"Unfortunately, you're asking it too late."
