CHAPTER 5 THE MAN WITH THE GUN
THE MAN WITH THE GUN
Marcus did not point the weapon at Nathaniel.
He aimed it toward the staircase.
“Someone is coming.”
Footsteps scraped against the stone above them.
Nathaniel extinguished the flashlight.
Elena pressed herself against the wall.
A shadow appeared at the top of the stairs.
Then a guard tumbled forward.
Blood darkened the back of his jacket.
Marcus fired once.
The intruder disappeared.
Nathaniel grabbed Elena’s arm and pulled her behind the metal table.
Another shot struck the wall.
Stone chips scattered across the floor.
Marcus fired again.
A man cried out.
Silence followed.
Nathaniel climbed the stairs with Marcus behind him.
A masked intruder lay beside the wounded guard.
He was alive but bleeding from the shoulder.
Marcus kicked the gun away.
Nathaniel tore off the mask.
He recognized the man.
Daniel Kessler had worked as Vivienne’s private driver for four years.
“Who sent you?” Nathaniel demanded.
Daniel smiled through gritted teeth.
“You already know.”
Vivienne’s voice drifted from the hallway above.
“Daniel?”
She appeared behind the guards.
Her eyes widened when she saw him on the floor.
Nathaniel watched her carefully.
For one instant, her surprise looked genuine.
Then she recovered.
“What has he done?”
Daniel laughed.
“You promised you would get me out.”
Vivienne stepped back.
“I have no idea what he is talking about.”
Daniel’s smile vanished.
“You said the records would burn tonight.”
Nathaniel climbed the final step.
“What records?”
Daniel looked toward the open passage.
“All of them.”
Smoke began rising from below.
Marcus cursed and rushed back down.
Flames had erupted behind the refrigerator.
Someone had placed an incendiary device inside the wall.
Nathaniel lifted Elena into his arms when the smoke thickened.
Marcus carried the wounded guard.
The second guard dragged Daniel toward the foyer.
Sprinklers activated overhead.
Lucas screamed when he saw Elena emerge through the smoke.
Nathaniel set her down.
The boy ran into her arms.
Vivienne stood beneath the falling water.
Her satin dress clung to her body.
Black mascara streaked beneath her eyes.
She no longer looked like the elegant queen of Hartwell Mansion.
She looked cornered.
Nathaniel faced her.
“You are going to tell me everything.”
Vivienne’s gaze shifted toward Daniel.
“You should ask your loyal security chief.”
Marcus emerged from the passage coughing.
Nathaniel looked at him.
Marcus wiped soot from his face.
“The initials in that ledger are not mine.”
“They match your name.”
“They also match someone else’s.”
Nathaniel’s expression changed.
Marcus Reed had not always been Marcus Reed.
He had been born Marcus Rowan.
His older brother’s name was Malcolm.
Malcolm Reed had been a physician at Saint Catherine’s Hospital.
He had disappeared six years ago.
Elena gripped the edge of the table.
“Dr. Reed delivered Lucas.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“My brother helped falsify the records.”
Nathaniel’s voice became dangerously calm.
“Where is he?”
Marcus looked toward Vivienne.
“I believe she knows.”
Vivienne shook her head.
Daniel began laughing again.
Everyone turned toward him.
He coughed blood onto the marble floor.
“You are all looking at the wrong woman.”
Nathaniel grabbed his collar.
“Then tell me who gave the orders.”
Daniel’s eyes moved past him.
They fixed on the portrait above the staircase.
The painting showed Nathaniel’s late father, Theodore Hart.
May you like
Daniel whispered one final name before losing consciousness.
“Your mother.”
