Chapter 7 - The Boat That Killed Helena
The recording continued.
Julian moved toward the hospital bed.
“You tried to kill me with my mother.”
Richard shook his head.
“I tried to stop Helena from selling the prototype.”
“You sabotaged the boat.”
“No.”
“I paid someone to remove the research case.”
“I did not order the explosion.”
Dr. Pierce adjusted Richard’s IV.
His hand blocked the camera for several seconds.
When the view returned, Richard’s breathing had changed.
Julian stepped closer.
“Who ordered it?”
Richard struggled to answer.
“Charles Wynn.”
Celeste stared at the screen.
“My father?”
Richard continued.
“Charles financed the original Vale system.”
“He believed Helena planned to sell it to a foreign buyer.”
“He destroyed the boat.”
“Then he used the accident to force me into a permanent partnership.”
Celeste staggered against the wall.
Charles Wynn was not only her father.
He was the chairman of Vale Global’s largest private investment partner.
The wedding had been described publicly as a union between two wealthy families.
In reality, it had been a merger disguised as romance.
The recording showed Richard attempting to remove the IV line.
Dr. Pierce restrained him.
“What are you giving me?”
Pierce did not answer.
Richard looked toward Julian.
“Find Bennett.”
“He has the proof.”
The video ended.
A second file opened.
It contained bank transfers from Charles Wynn to Sheriff Crane, Dr. Pierce, and an offshore company controlled by Julian.
Adrian looked at the screen.
“You were paid by Charles.”
Julian’s voice came through the speaker.
“At first.”
“He paid me to remain close to you.”
“He thought I wanted money.”
“What did you want?”
“The truth.”
“You poisoned me for the truth?”
“I needed your medical emergency to force Charles into the open.”
“Then why frame Nora?”
“Because her father hid the original evidence with her.”
Nora shook her head.
“I had nothing.”
“You had his watch.”
She touched the old silver watch beneath her sleeve.
Her father had given it to her the night before he died.
It had stopped during the crash.
Julian’s face appeared larger on the screen.
“The watch contains a microfilm key.”
“Michael Bennett knew someone would search his home.”
“So he put the evidence on the one object he knew you would never remove.”
Nora opened the watch’s rear casing.
Beneath the mechanism was a tiny black disk.
Before she could remove it, Charles Wynn entered the archive.
He carried a pistol.
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“My daughter has caused enough embarrassment.”
Then he aimed directly at Nora.
