Chapter 6 - The Night Nathaniel Disappeared
Nathaniel did not return that night.
Or the next morning.
By noon, every member of his organization was searching.
By sunset, rumors had spread across Pinehaven.
Nathaniel Mercer was dead.
I refused to believe it.
Daniel stayed near me.
He didn't try to touch me.
Didn't ask me to forgive him.
He simply stayed.
At midnight, I found him in the kitchen.
“You should sleep.”
“I can't.”
“Neither can you.”
He looked at me.
“I deserve what you think of me.”
I leaned against the counter.
“I don't know what I think.”
“That makes two of us.”
I almost smiled.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice spoke.
“Miss Bennett.”
I froze.
“Who is this?”
“Your mother's bargain has expired.”
My body went cold.
“What do you want?”
“Your key.”
“I don't have one.”
“You do.”
“How?”
“You've carried it since childhood.”
The call ended.
Daniel looked at me.
“What happened?”
I remembered the numbers.
17-06-92-41.
I suddenly understood.
It wasn't just a code.
It was my birthday.
My mother's birthday.
Evan's birthday.
And one other date.
June 92 didn't exist.
It was shorthand.
I ran to my mother's old box.
Inside was a photograph of me at ten.
I was holding a silver locket.
I had never opened it.
My mother had told me it was special.
I took it from the box.
Inside was a tiny engraved number.
17-06-92-41.
Daniel stared.
“The key.”
We rushed to Blackwater Island.
My mother was gone.
Evan was gone.
The facility had been abandoned.
A trail led toward the cliffs.
We followed it.
At the edge of the forest, I found a piece of black fabric.
Nathaniel's coat.
My heart broke.
Then a voice came from behind me.
“Looking for me?”
I turned.
Nathaniel stood there.
Bruised.
Blood on his collar.
Alive.
I ran.
I didn't think.
I just did.
I reached him and wrapped my arms around his neck.
He stiffened.
Then held me.
“You're alive.”
“I promised.”
I pulled back.
“You scared me.”
“I know.”
Daniel approached.
Nathaniel looked at him.
“You did good.”
Daniel nodded.
“I got her out.”
Nathaniel turned to me.
“You found the locket.”
I held it up.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
I sighed.
“Everyone suspects.”
He smiled.
“This is why I like you.”
Despite everything, I laughed.
Nathaniel's expression softened.
Then he saw the tears in my eyes.
“What?”
“I thought I lost you.”
His face changed.
“You're not going to.”
“Don't promise things you can't control.”
“I control a lot.”
I smiled through the tears.
“Arrogant.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked away.
For a moment, none of us spoke.
Then Nathaniel said, “Your mother left a message.”
He handed me a recorder.
Her voice filled the room.
“My daughter, if you're hearing this, Elias Cross knows about the locket.”
I closed my eyes.
“He will come for you.”
The recording continued.
“Do not give him the key.”
Nathaniel looked at Daniel.
“Why?”
“Because the trust was never designed to protect money.”
The room fell silent.
“It was designed to protect people.”
My mother explained that the trust held evidence against powerful families.
The money was only bait.
The true asset was the Blackridge Archive.
Thousands of documents.
Every illegal agreement.
Every blackmail file.
Every secret transaction.
The person controlling it could expose the entire system.
Elias Cross wanted it buried.
My mother wanted it released.
Nathaniel understood.
“He's afraid of the truth.”
Daniel nodded.
“We can expose him.”
“Not yet,” Nathaniel said.
“Why?”
“Because he still has hostages.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who?”
Nathaniel looked at me.
“Your mother.”
“And Evan?”
“Also alive.”
I felt relief.
Then fear.
“Where?”
Nathaniel pointed toward the horizon.
“A private island owned by Cross Holdings.”
I stared.
“How do we get there?”
Nathaniel smiled.
“We were invited.”
Daniel frowned.
“By who?”
Nathaniel looked at me.
“Madeline.”
I stared.
“Madeline?”
“She turned against her family.”
“Why?”
Nathaniel's answer was quiet.
“Because she finally realized being chosen isn't the same as being loved.”
The words hit me unexpectedly.
Daniel looked at the floor.
He understood too.
Madeline had everything.
Beauty.
Money.
Family power.
Yet she had still been used.
Like me.
Like Daniel.
Like everyone.
Nathaniel held out his hand.
“Are you ready?”
I looked at him.
“No.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
He squeezed my hand.
“Neither am I.”
We boarded the boat at dawn.
The island appeared through the fog.
And somewhere inside its walls, my mother and Evan were waiting.
May you like
So was the man who had spent years trying to control all of us.
Elias Cross.
