Chapter 10 - The Third Car
Gideon lowered his weapon.
Not completely.
Only a few inches.
Christopher stared at him.
“Tell me he’s lying.”
Gideon’s face had gone gray.
Christopher repeated.
“Tell me.”
Gideon looked at Theodore.
Then at Margaret.
Then at Juliette.
Finally at Christopher.
“I was there.”
Christopher felt something cold spread through his chest.
“Why?”
Gideon swallowed.
“I was following Rachel.”
“For Estelle?”
“No.”
“For myself.”
Christopher’s voice sharpened.
“Explain.”
Gideon stepped inside the boathouse.
“I knew Rachel was planning to meet someone.”
“Who?”
“She wouldn’t tell me.”
“So you followed her?”
“Yes.”
“Did she know?”
“No.”
Christopher looked at Theodore.
The old man appeared entertained.
That infuriated him.
Christopher turned back to Gideon.
“What happened?”
Gideon stared at the floor.
“Rachel left the clinic.”
“I followed.”
“A black sedan followed her too.”
“The second car.”
“Yes.”
“What about the vehicle she crashed with?”
“Different vehicle.”
Christopher frowned.
Gideon continued.
“Rachel realized she was being followed.”
“She accelerated.”
“The sedan accelerated.”
“I tried to get between them.”
“You were protecting her.”
“Yes.”
Theodore laughed softly.
Gideon ignored him.
“Then another vehicle came from the opposite direction.”
“Rachel swerved.”
“The sedan struck the rear side of her car.”
“She crossed the center line.”
Christopher could picture it.
He hated that.
Gideon’s voice broke.
“The oncoming driver tried to avoid her.”
“He went into the barrier.”
“Rachel’s car rolled.”
Christopher swallowed.
“You stopped?”
“Yes.”
“I ran to her.”
“She was conscious.”
Christopher closed his eyes.
“What did she say?”
Gideon’s eyes filled.
“She asked about Emma.”
Christopher looked away.
“She kept saying, ‘Don’t let them take her.’”
Christopher’s throat tightened.
“Then?”
“The sedan stopped farther down the road.”
“A man got out.”
“The one you later attacked?”
“Yes.”
“I fought him.”
“He escaped.”
“Rachel…”
Gideon swallowed.
“She died before the ambulance arrived.”
Christopher remained completely still.
“So you didn’t cause the crash.”
“No.”
Theodore smiled.
“He was still driving the third car.”
Christopher turned toward him.
“You’re pathetic.”
Theodore’s smile disappeared.
“You wanted me to think he killed his sister.”
“I stated a fact.”
“You weaponized it.”
Theodore shrugged.
“Facts are only useful when placed correctly.”
Christopher understood where Arthur and Estelle had learned their cruelty.
It had begun here.
With Theodore.
Christopher looked at Gideon.
“Why hide it?”
Gideon’s voice became quiet.
“Because the police accused me.”
Christopher frowned.
“The investigators found payments from Estelle.”
“They found my car.”
“They found blood on my clothes.”
“Rachel’s blood.”
“Yes.”
“And the man from the sedan?”
“Disappeared.”
“Someone changed traffic camera records.”
Christopher looked at Theodore.
Theodore said nothing.
Gideon continued.
“Arthur’s people got me out before charges were filed.”
Christopher stared.
“Father knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he tell me you sold Rachel?”
“I don’t know.”
Theodore laughed.
“Because Arthur never trusted Daniel.”
Gideon looked at him.
“And he was right.”
Theodore raised the USB.
“You kept Rachel’s files.”
“Yes.”
“You hid them.”
“Yes.”
“You blackmailed Estelle.”
Christopher turned.
Gideon stiffened.
“What?”
Theodore smiled.
“Ask him.”
Christopher’s exhaustion turned to anger.
“Did you blackmail my mother?”
Gideon hesitated.
“Yes.”
Christopher laughed bitterly.
“Of course you did.”
“I needed money to keep investigating.”
“So you threatened Estelle?”
“I told her I had proof she hired the men following Rachel.”
“And?”
“She paid.”
“How much?”
“Ten million over seven years.”
Christopher stared.
“What did you do with it?”
“Investigators.”
“Safe houses.”
“Private labs.”
“Informants.”
“And?”
Gideon looked toward the monitor showing Leo.
“I searched for Juliette’s son.”
Juliette gasped.
“You knew?”
Gideon looked at her.
“I knew you had been pregnant.”
Juliette covered her mouth.
“I knew Jonathan made you disappear for nine months.”
“I knew you returned without a baby.”
“But you told me he died.”
“I believed he did.”
Juliette whispered.
“I thought so too.”
Gideon stared at the little boy on the monitor.
His face broke.
“That’s him?”
Juliette nodded.
Gideon took one step toward the screen.
“Leo?”
The boy could not hear.
Gideon touched the monitor.
Christopher watched.
For all the deception around them, that pain looked real.
Theodore cleared his throat.
“Touching.”
Gideon turned.
His weapon rose.
“Where is my son?”
Theodore smiled.
“Put the gun down.”
“Where?”
“Daniel.”
“Where is he?”
Theodore’s guards raised their weapons.
Christopher moved between Gideon and the old man.
“Stop.”
Gideon’s breathing was ragged.
Christopher looked at Theodore.
“You wanted Rachel’s files.”
“You have them.”
“Release the children.”
Theodore smiled.
“No.”
Christopher stared.
“That was the deal.”
“We had no deal.”
“You said—”
“I said give me the files.”
“You assumed the rest.”
Christopher’s hands clenched.
Theodore continued.
“That is your weakness.”
“You listen for what you want to hear.”
Christopher stared at the man who had built the Pierce empire.
He saw no greatness.
Only an old predator who had spent a lifetime convincing everyone that cruelty was intelligence.
“What do you want?”
“Emma.”
Christopher went still.
“No.”
“She is the last uncontaminated heir.”
Christopher almost laughed.
“She is seven.”
“Exactly.”
“Easier to shape?”
Theodore smiled.
Christopher felt sick.
“You’re not taking her.”
“You already gave her to me.”
Christopher glanced toward the monitor.
Emma was gone.
The couch was empty.
Leo was gone too.
Juliette screamed.
“No!”
Theodore’s guards moved.
Christopher lunged.
One struck him in the stomach.
He hit the table.
Gideon fired once into the ceiling.
Chaos exploded.
Margaret grabbed Juliette.
Christopher tackled the nearest guard.
Gideon struck another with the butt of his weapon.
Theodore moved backward through the hidden door.
Christopher saw the USB in his hand.
“Stop him!”
Gideon ran after Theodore.
Christopher grabbed his jacket.
“No.”
“My son!”
“It’s a trap.”
Gideon stared at him.
Christopher pointed toward the open hidden corridor.
“If Theodore wanted us dead, we’d already be dead.”
“Then why?”
“He wants us following.”
Margaret shouted.
“Christopher!”
He turned.
She was holding Rachel’s notebook.
“The USB.”
“What?”
“It’s not the real access key.”
Christopher stared.
Margaret opened the notebook.
A page had been cut out.
“Rachel changed it.”
Christopher felt hope.
“Do you know the new password?”
“No.”
Juliette wiped her tears.
“Emma’s birth weight.”
Christopher remembered Rachel’s letter.
Written backward.
He suddenly smiled.
Theodore had the wrong key.
“Good.”
Gideon looked toward the hidden corridor.
“They still have the children.”
Christopher nodded.
“We follow.”
“But not because he wants us to.”
They entered the corridor.
It descended beneath the lake.
Concrete walls.
Electrical cables.
Old emergency lights.
Christopher heard water somewhere beyond the walls.
Margaret came with them.
Juliette too.
After fifty feet, Gideon stopped.
“Wire.”
Christopher looked down.
A thin line crossed the corridor.
Explosive trigger.
Gideon carefully stepped over.
“They want us rushing.”
Christopher nodded.
They continued.
At the end stood two doors.
One marked PIERCE.
The other MONROE.
Christopher stared.
“This has been here for decades.”
Margaret nodded grimly.
“Theodore built both shelters during the Cold War.”
“Why Monroe?”
Margaret’s mouth tightened.
“He always expected my family to serve his.”
Gideon looked at her.
“Which door?”
Margaret pointed toward MONROE.
“If Theodore took children, there.”
Gideon reached for the handle.
Christopher stopped him.
“Wait.”
A sound came from behind the PIERCE door.
A child crying.
“Emma.”
Christopher moved toward it.
Juliette grabbed his arm.
“No.”
“What?”
“That isn’t Emma.”
Christopher listened.
The crying repeated.
Exactly.
Same rhythm.
Recording.
Gideon stared.
“He’s splitting us.”
Christopher looked toward the MONROE door.
Silence behind it.
He approached.
Locked.
Juliette whispered.
“Leo hates silence.”
Christopher looked at her.
“What?”
“When he was a baby, he couldn’t sleep unless music played.”
“If he’s in there, he’d be crying.”
Gideon’s face tightened.
“Unless he’s unconscious.”
Christopher pulled the handle.
Locked.
Gideon began working on the electronic panel.
Margaret looked around.
“Theodore isn’t taking them through here.”
Christopher turned.
“How else?”
“There’s an old tunnel to the river.”
“How far?”
“Almost a mile.”
Christopher’s heart dropped.
A distant engine started.
Underground.
Gideon swore.
“They’re moving.”
Christopher slammed his shoulder against the door.
Once.
Twice.
The lock held.
Gideon shouted.
“Move!”
He fired into the locking mechanism.
The door opened.
They rushed inside.
Empty.
Two chairs.
Two blankets.
Emma’s shoes.
Leo’s blue sweater.
Juliette collapsed.
Gideon grabbed the wall.
Christopher saw something written in crayon.
A yellow sun.
Two stick figures.
And underneath, Emma’s handwriting.
DADDY FOLLOW THE BELLS.
Christopher stared.
“Bells?”
Margaret’s face changed.
“What?”
She whispered.
“The chapel.”
“What chapel?”
“Theodore built a private chapel in the woods.”
Christopher had never heard of it.
“Where?”
“Across the river.”
Gideon turned.
“We need vehicles.”
Margaret shook her head.
“Too slow.”
“There’s a tunnel.”
They ran again.
At the end, an underground garage waited.
One vehicle was missing.
A second remained.
Christopher opened the driver’s door.
Keys inside.
Too easy.
Gideon inspected underneath.
“No explosive.”
Christopher started the engine.
Margaret pointed toward a concrete ramp.
“That leads to the river road.”
They accelerated.
Behind them, Juliette stared at Leo’s sweater in her hands.
Christopher looked in the rearview mirror.
“Juliette.”
She lifted her eyes.
“Why did Emma write about bells?”
Juliette swallowed.
“Because Theodore used them with Leo.”
“What does that mean?”
Juliette’s face became white.
“He trained him.”
Christopher stared.
“Trained him to do what?”
Juliette’s voice shook.
“To obey whenever he heard them.”
Christopher gripped the steering wheel.
“And Emma?”
Juliette whispered.
“If Theodore has enough time…”
She looked toward the road ahead.
May you like
“He’ll make Emma afraid of you before you ever reach her.”
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