Chapter 13 - Lily Behind the Locked Door
Nathan ran.
Agents shouted behind him.
He ignored them.
Lily screamed again.
“Daddy!”
Nathan followed the voice down a long hallway.
A locked bedroom door stood at the end.
He slammed into it.
Once.
Twice.
On the third attempt, the frame split.
Lily stood beside the bed.
A masked man held her by the arm.
Nathan froze.
“Let her go.”
The man dragged Lily backward.
She cried.
Nathan raised both hands.
“You want money?”
The man said nothing.
“You want a car?”
Nothing.
“You want Richard?”
The man’s eyes shifted.
That told Nathan enough.
“You don’t work for him.”
The masked man moved toward the balcony.
Nathan’s blood ran cold.
The balcony opened above a steep garden terrace.
“Don’t.”
Nathan spoke carefully.
“You cannot leave carrying her.”
The man opened the door.
Lily suddenly bit his hand.
He shouted.
Nathan rushed forward.
The man shoved Lily away.
Nathan caught her before she struck the railing.
Federal agents entered seconds later.
The masked man climbed over the balcony.
An agent tackled him before he could jump.
Nathan dropped to his knees.
Lily stared at him.
For one terrifying second, she seemed unable to move.
Then she threw herself into his arms.
Nathan held her.
“I’m here.”
Lily sobbed against his chest.
“I knew you’d come.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
Those five words nearly destroyed him.
Downstairs, Richard Vale was arrested.
Victoria was detained.
The kidnapped-child operation should have ended there.
But it didn’t.
The masked man was identified as Eric Shaw.
He had no employment history with Vale Holdings.
Instead, he worked for a private intelligence firm.
The owner of that firm was Daniel Ross.
Nathan’s own security chief.
Nathan stared at the report.
Daniel had controlled the mansion cameras.
Daniel knew Grace’s movements.
Daniel knew Lily’s clothing.
Daniel had been the one feeding Nathan information since the beginning.
Marcus entered.
“Nathan.”
He looked up.
“Daniel disappeared.”
Nathan’s face hardened.
“When?”
“Twenty minutes before the raid.”
Nathan looked toward Lily sleeping against Grace in the next room.
Richard and Victoria had been central to the conspiracy.
But someone inside Nathan’s own household had been helping them.
Marcus placed another document on the table.
“And Daniel transferred six million dollars yesterday.”
“To where?”
Marcus hesitated.
“An account originally created by your father.”
Nathan frowned.
“My father paid him?”
“No.”
Marcus turned the page.
“The account owner was changed fourteen months ago.”
“To whom?”
May you like
Marcus looked directly at him.
“Your mother.”
