Chapter 3 - The Engagement Ring Was a WeaponBy sunrise, Desmond had turned the underground room into a command center.
Three laptops were running.
Two secure phones had been activated.
Every Hayes account was frozen.
Every known Rossi connection was being monitored.
Norah sat at the table with a cup of coffee she had not touched.
Desmond stood across from her.
“You need to sleep.”
“So do you.”
“I don't sleep when people try to kill me.”
“I've noticed.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
It disappeared quickly.
He placed a file on the table.
“I traced the financial records.”
“And?”
“The money from Arthur's investigation passed through six companies.”
“Shell companies?”
“Yes.”
“Who owns them?”
“That's the problem.”
Desmond sat.
“They all lead to one holding corporation.”
Norah frowned.
“Which one?”
“Black Crown Holdings.”
Her face went white.
“So it is real.”
“Yes.”
Desmond looked at another file.
“And the corporation has one majority shareholder.”
“Who?”
He pushed the paper toward her.
Norah looked down.
Then stopped breathing.
The name was:
Margaret Hayes.
Desmond's mother.
Neither of them spoke.
“She died before Arthur,” Norah whispered.
“I know.”
“Then someone is using her identity.”
“Or…”
Norah looked up.
“Or what?”
Desmond shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“My mother wasn't capable of this.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew her.”
“So did Arthur.”
Desmond stood.
“I need to visit the family estate.”
Norah got up immediately.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if Margaret's name is being used, they want you to go there.”
“To find something.”
“Or to die.”
Desmond looked at her.
“Then you're coming.”
They left through a concealed tunnel beneath the warehouse.
Two vehicles were waiting at opposite ends.
They chose neither.
Desmond drove a third car from a hidden garage.
No tracker.
No plates connected to him.
No phones.
For the first time in years, he felt almost invisible.
The Hayes estate stood three hours outside Manhattan.
Arthur had loved the place.
Desmond had hated it after his brother died.
Too many memories.
Too many rooms.
Too many ghosts.
When they arrived, the gate was open.
Desmond slowed.
Norah looked at him.
“Someone's been here.”
He parked.
They entered through the back.
The house was untouched.
Or appeared untouched.
Then Norah stopped.
A painting hung crooked in the hallway.
She adjusted it.
Behind it was a safe.
Desmond stared.
“I didn't know that was there.”
“Arthur knew.”
“How?”
“He showed it to me.”
“What's inside?”
“Something he wanted you to have.”
Desmond entered the combination.
The safe opened.
Inside was a folder.
A gun.
A passport.
And an old cassette tape.
Desmond picked up the tape.
Norah found an ancient player in a cabinet.
The recording began with static.
Then Arthur's voice.
“If you're hearing this, Desmond is probably standing beside you.”
Desmond closed his eyes.
His brother continued.
“I'm sorry.”
A pause.
“I tried to fix this without involving you.”
Desmond's jaw tightened.
“Carlo Rossi isn't the man I'm afraid of.”
Norah looked at him.
Arthur continued.
“He's a servant.”
Static.
“The real problem is inside our family.”
Desmond's heartbeat increased.
“You'll want to blame Mother. Don't.”
He stared at the floor.
“Someone is using Mother's name.”
Norah whispered:
“We were right.”
Arthur's voice continued.
“There's only one person who had access to everything.”
Desmond leaned closer.
“Someone who knew our finances. Our schedules. Our security. Someone who could make people disappear without raising suspicion.”
The tape crackled.
Then Arthur said a name.
A name that made Desmond's blood freeze.
“Elias.”
Norah's face changed.
“Your uncle?”
“My mother's brother.”
“He died seven years ago.”
“So did Victor Hale.”
They looked at each other.
Arthur's voice continued.
“I don't know whether Elias is alive. But if he is, he's the only person I trust you to fear.”
The recording ended.
Silence.
Desmond sat.
Norah touched his shoulder.
“You okay?”
“No.”
He looked at the cassette.
“How did Arthur know?”
“He was already investigating.”
“Then Elias may still be alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where do we find him?”
Norah hesitated.
“I know where.”
Desmond turned.
“How?”
“Because I've been looking for him.”
She pulled out a photograph.
A remote cabin in Vermont.
“He contacted me six months ago.”
Desmond stared at her.
“You spoke to him?”
“Once.”
“What did he say?”
“That Arthur wasn't the only Hayes he trusted.”
Desmond's expression hardened.
“Who else?”
Norah looked at him.
“You.”
He looked away.
Then his phone vibrated.
For a moment he forgot they weren't supposed to have phones.
He checked the screen.
A message from Isabella.
Meet me alone tonight.
Another message appeared.
Bring the engagement ring.
A third.
Come before midnight, or Norah dies.
Desmond stared at the screen.
Norah saw his face.
“What happened?”
He handed her the phone.
She read the messages.
Her breathing changed.
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
“You can't go.”
“She knows where you are.”
“Then let her think—”
“No.”
“Desmond.”
“I've spent three years thinking my brother died in an accident.”
He stood.
“I spent eight months thinking I was marrying a powerful woman because it was the only way to keep my people alive.”
He looked at the ring on his hand.
“I've been wrong twice.”
Norah looked at him.
“What are you going to do?”
“I'm going to let Isabella believe she's winning.”
“And then?”
May you like
His expression was colder than she'd ever seen.
“I'm going to ask her who ordered Arthur's murder.”
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