Chapter 10 – The House Owned by a Child
Harrison’s villa stood above Lake Lucerne behind iron gates and rows of dark pine trees.
Legally, the house belonged to Tyler.
He had never known it existed.
Victor drove while Harrison sat in the back beside him.
Tyler’s cheek had swollen where his father struck him.
No one spoke until the gates closed behind them.
Inside, Harrison led Tyler into a study.
A notary waited beside a portable document scanner.
“You’re going to sign here,” Harrison said.
Tyler stared at the papers.
“No.”
Harrison poured himself a drink.
“Do you know what happens to your mother if you refuse?”
“You’re already trying to frame her.”
Harrison’s hand stopped.
Tyler realized he had revealed too much.
Victor stepped into the room.
“He knows about the contingency account.”
Harrison looked at his son with something colder than anger.
Disappointment.
“I gave you everything.”
“You gave me things.”
“You think there’s a difference?”
“Yes.”
Harrison set down his glass.
“The world does not reward good people, Tyler. It rewards people who understand leverage.”
“Is that what I am?”
Harrison smiled faintly.
“You are my greatest leverage.”
Tyler looked toward Victor.
For the first time, he saw uncertainty in the man’s face.
“You know he’ll blame you,” Tyler said.
Victor’s expression hardened.
“Be quiet.”
“When the FBI finds the accounts, Dad will say you created them.”
Harrison stepped forward.
“Sign the documents.”
Tyler pushed them away.
Harrison nodded toward the notary.
The notary opened a biometric device.
“If the child refuses,” she said nervously, “the authentication will not be valid.”
Harrison removed a pistol from his jacket.
“It will be valid.”
Victor stared at him.
“You said there would be no violence.”
“There won’t be if everyone cooperates.”
Outside the villa, headlights moved through the trees.
Harrison turned toward the window.
Victor checked the security monitor.
A black sedan had stopped near the gate.
Two figures stepped out.
Natalie and Agent Reed.
Tyler’s chest tightened.
His mother had come.
Harrison watched the monitor and smiled.
“She never learned when to stay away.”
He ordered Victor to take Tyler upstairs.
Tyler resisted, but Victor dragged him into the hallway.
As they reached the staircase, Tyler whispered, “You can still help us.”
Victor said nothing.
“Dad left you in Washington to recover the drive. When you failed, he made you come here because he doesn’t trust you.”
“Stop talking.”
“He’s going to kill Mom.”
Victor’s grip loosened.
“He won’t.”
“You know he will.”
A gunshot sounded outside.
Victor froze.
Tyler pulled away and ran upstairs.
He found a bedroom overlooking the front drive.
Natalie was behind a stone wall while Reed returned fire toward the villa’s security guards.
Tyler opened the window.
“Mom!”
Natalie looked up.
For one second, their eyes met.
Then Harrison entered the room behind Tyler.
He grabbed his son and pressed the pistol against his side.
Natalie saw him.
May you like
Harrison pulled Tyler away from the window.
“Your mother came all this way,” he said. “Let’s give her the reunion she wanted.”
