Chapter 4 - The Man Who Wanted Her Dead
The Harrington estate stood forty miles outside Manhattan.
Black iron gates.
Dead gardens.
No lights.
Preston waited near the side entrance.
Genevieve stepped out of Mateo's car.
“You came.”
“You asked.”
Preston looked at Mateo.
“I know you hate me.”
“I don't waste energy on you.”
Preston swallowed.
Genevieve almost laughed.
He still looked like the man who had abandoned her at the altar.
But something in him had changed.
“What is under the house?”
“The original trust ledger.”
Mateo's eyes narrowed.
“How do you know?”
“My father showed me.”
“Why?”
“Because he thinks I'm loyal.”
Preston led them downstairs.
A hidden door opened beneath the wine cellar.
Inside was an underground archive.
Genevieve found her grandmother's records.
Trust accounts.
Beneficiaries.
Safe houses.
And a list of names.
At the top was Genevieve Caldwell.
Below her was another name.
Amelia Caldwell.
Genevieve frowned.
“Why is Amelia listed?”
Preston looked embarrassed.
“She is also a beneficiary.”
“Then why did Harrington use her?”
“Because your father never told her about the trust.”
Genevieve looked at Mateo.
He nodded.
“The Harringtons wanted both women under their control.”
A sound came from above.
Doors slammed.
Preston looked toward the staircase.
“My father.”
Mateo drew his weapon.
“Can you get us out?”
Preston shook his head.
“Not fast enough.”
Genevieve opened the ledger.
A map fell from inside.
She touched it.
“There's another exit.”
“Where?”
“Behind the north archive wall.”
They moved.
Three men entered the room.
Gunfire erupted.
Mateo pushed Genevieve behind the stone shelves.
Preston fired from the opposite side.
One attacker fell.
Another ran.
Then Richard Harrington appeared.
He did not carry a gun.
He held a photograph.
“Genevieve.”
She stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
“You.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandmother built something I spent my life trying to obtain.”
“You mean steal.”
Richard smiled.
“Steal is such an ugly word.”
“Truth usually is.”
His smile disappeared.
“You sound like your grandmother.”
“Good.”
Richard looked at Mateo.
“You should have stayed out of this.”
Mateo answered.
“Too late.”
Richard raised the photograph.
It showed Genevieve's mother.
“Do you know what happened to her?”
Genevieve stopped breathing.
“My mother died when I was twelve.”
“That's what your father told you.”
Charles had lied.
Again.
Genevieve's knees weakened.
“Where is she?”
Richard smiled.
“Alive.”
The room exploded with silence.
“She is alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere you can never reach unless you give me the trust.”
Mateo stepped closer.
“You're bluffing.”
Richard turned to him.
“Am I?”
He produced a live video.
Genevieve's mother appeared on-screen.
Older.
Pale.
But alive.
Genevieve covered her mouth.
“Mom?”
The screen showed her mother looking directly at the camera.
Richard smiled.
“Give me control of the trust.”
Genevieve's hands shook.
“You're using my mother.”
“I'm giving you a choice.”
Mateo whispered, “Don't.”
Genevieve looked at him.
“What choice do I have?”
He stepped closer.
“You don't give him anything tonight.”
“My mother is alive.”
“I know.”
“If I refuse, he hurts her.”
“Maybe.”
Genevieve stared.
“You don't know.”
“I know men like him.”
Richard smiled.
“You have one hour.”
Then the lights went out.
When they came back, he was gone.
Preston rushed to the video equipment.
“There was a signal.”
“Can you trace it?”
“Yes.”
He did.
The location came up.
An abandoned psychiatric hospital.
Genevieve looked at Mateo.
“Take me there.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then don't walk into it.”
“My mother is there.”
Mateo's expression softened.
“I'll bring her back.”
Genevieve shook her head.
“No.”
She took his hand.
“You promised I could make my own decisions.”
“I did.”
“Then trust me.”
The words stopped him.
Finally, he nodded.
They reached the hospital before dawn.
The building smelled of dust and antiseptic.
Genevieve heard footsteps.
Then a woman's voice.
“Genevieve?”
She nearly collapsed.
Her mother.
Alive.
They found her in a locked room.
Mateo freed her.
Genevieve ran into her arms.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then her mother whispered, “My baby.”
Genevieve cried.
“Why did you leave me?”
“I didn't.”
Richard entered behind them.
He held a detonator.
“Family reunion.”
Mateo stepped forward.
Richard pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
He stared at it.
Genevieve smiled faintly.
“You wanted me to panic.”
Richard's expression changed.
Mateo had already removed the trigger.
“You should have checked your equipment.”
Security stormed the building.
Richard escaped through a rear tunnel.
Genevieve's mother turned toward Mateo.
“You're Elias's grandson.”
“Yes.”
She smiled through tears.
“Your grandfather kept his promise.”
Genevieve looked at him.
“What promise?”
Her mother answered.
“He promised me that if my family was ever threatened, his family would protect my daughter.”
Mateo stared at Genevieve.
The marriage suddenly meant more than either had understood.
May you like
It was no longer only a shield.
It was the continuation of a promise made long before they were born.
