Chapter 5 - Sebastian Broke Every Rule To Save The Woman Who Saw Too Much
Sebastian refused to take Elise to the docks alone.
Instead, he assembled a private team.
Elise argued.
“She's expecting us.”
“Exactly.”
“She wants me.”
“She wants what you know.”
“She thinks I can read the code.”
“You can.”
Elise looked at him.
“So can someone else.”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because we've tested every archivist we could find.”
“And?”
“None could identify the final code.”
Elise stared at him.
“What makes me different?”
“You care about the details.”
“That isn't the same as skill.”
“It is when people hide things in details.”
They reached the docks after midnight.
Fog covered the water.
Shipping containers formed narrow corridors.
Elise followed Sebastian.
Her heart hammered.
Then she saw her.
Vivian.
Standing beside a container.
Daniel Cross beside her.
And Grant.
Elise stopped.
Grant looked at her.
“Elise.”
She stared at him.
“How much?”
He swallowed.
“How much what?”
“How long have you been lying?”
“I never wanted this.”
Vivian laughed.
“You're adorable.”
Grant looked at her.
“Shut up.”
“You came to me.”
“I came for money.”
“And you got it.”
Elise felt sick.
“So that's it?”
Grant looked at her.
“I needed the money.”
“For what?”
“My father.”
Elise's anger faltered.
“What happened?”
“He owes people.”
“Who?”
“Vivian.”
Silence.
Grant looked ashamed.
“She promised to clear his debts if I got access to Sebastian's records.”
Elise's voice became quiet.
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
“You asked me to dig into the Voss foundation.”
“Yes.”
“You stole my laptop.”
“Yes.”
“You left me outside because you didn't want anyone important seeing me.”
Grant closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Elise swallowed.
“And did you ever love me?”
Grant looked at her.
“I did.”
She almost laughed.
“Past tense.”
“I was scared.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You were selfish.”
He flinched.
Vivian interrupted.
“Enough.”
She held out her hand.
“Elise. The ledger.”
“I don't have it.”
“You know where it is.”
“No.”
“You can read the code.”
“Yes.”
“Then read it.”
Elise looked at the container.
Something caught her eye.
Three small cuts in the metal.
The mark.
She stepped closer.
Sebastian quietly asked,
“What?”
“The code is here.”
Vivian smiled.
“Exactly.”
Elise touched the scratches.
“The ledger isn't a book.”
“What?”
“The registry is a map.”
Vivian's smile disappeared.
“A map to what?”
“Accounts.”
“Whose?”
“Your grandfather's.”
Sebastian stared.
Elise continued.
“Every transaction was encoded using shipping routes.”
She looked at the numbers painted on the container.
“They didn't hide money in banks.”
“They hid it in freight.”
Vivian's face changed.
“You know.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Elise turned.
“To three warehouses.”
Sebastian understood.
“The foundation's storage facilities.”
“Yes.”
Vivian raised her gun.
“Then you're coming with me.”
Sebastian stepped between them.
“No.”
Vivian aimed at him.
“Move.”
“No.”
She fired.
Sebastian jerked.
Elise screamed.
But Sebastian did not fall.
The bullet struck his shoulder.
His team returned fire.
Chaos erupted.
Elise ducked.
Grant pulled her behind a container.
“What are you doing?”
“Keeping you alive.”
She looked at him.
“You don't get to be the hero now.”
“I know.”
He handed her the key to a nearby truck.
“Take this.”
“Why?”
“Because Vivian isn't leaving until she gets the second ledger.”
“What second ledger?”
Grant looked at her.
“Her personal records.”
“Where?”
“Mercer Holdings.”
Elise stared.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You knew all of this.”
“I didn't know she'd kill Sebastian.”
Elise looked toward the gunfire.
“Neither did I.”
They moved.
Sebastian's team had surrounded Vivian.
But Daniel escaped.
Vivian was arrested.
Grant surrendered.
The docks went quiet.
Elise ran to Sebastian.
Blood soaked his shirt.
“You're hurt.”
“Grazed.”
“That is not a reassuring word.”
He smiled faintly.
“You're angry.”
“I am.”
“At me?”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“I was afraid.”
That wiped the smile from his face.
He touched her cheek.
“I'm okay.”
“You don't get to decide that.”
“I just did.”
She stared.
Then hugged him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
When she finally stepped back, Sebastian looked at her differently.
Not as an investigator.
Not as an asset.
May you like
As a woman he had almost lost.
And that realization terrified him.
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