Chapter 12 - THE MAN INSIDE THE COMPANY
They took shelter in an old ranger station owned by the state.
Reyes contacted federal agents from a secure satellite phone.
By dawn, the attackers had disappeared.
Two abandoned vehicles were found near the lake house.
Their identification numbers had been removed.
Arthur called an emergency meeting with three board members he still trusted.
They arrived by helicopter.
One of them was Thomas Wren, the company’s chief financial officer.
Thomas had worked with Arthur’s father.
He had attended Arthur’s wedding.
He had carried Claire’s coffin.
When Arthur showed him the evidence, Thomas appeared devastated.
“I warned Malcolm to stop borrowing from the foundation.”
Arthur stared at him.
“You knew?”
“Not about Claire.”
Thomas removed his glasses.
“I believed he was hiding business losses.”
“He said Plant Four would destroy the company if regulators reopened the investigation.”
Reyes watched him closely.
“Why would the plant destroy the company?”
Thomas looked toward the door.
“There are sealed chambers beneath the east furnace.”
“Malcolm stored original inspection samples there.”
“The steel was defective.”
“He paid inspectors to replace the reports.”
Arthur’s face tightened.
“Why keep the samples?”
“Insurance.”
“Against whom?”
“Your father.”
Thomas explained that Arthur’s father had discovered the defective steel shortly before his own fatal heart attack.
Malcolm believed their father planned to remove him from the company.
Claire later found the hidden files while reviewing foundation grants connected to victims of the bridge failures.
“She realized the company had paid the families through secret charities.”
Sarah understood.
“The donations were not generosity.”
“They were hush money.”
Thomas nodded.
Arthur walked toward him.
“You helped hide seventeen deaths.”
Thomas’s eyes filled with fear.
“I protected thousands of jobs.”
“You protected yourself.”
Before Thomas could answer, Bella entered the room.
She stared at the silver cuff links on his sleeves.
Her face went pale.
Sarah noticed immediately.
“Bella?”
The child pointed at Thomas.
“He was in the garage too.”
Thomas froze.
Arthur turned slowly.
“You told me you were in New York.”
Thomas backed toward the window.
“I can explain.”
Reyes reached for him.
Thomas pulled a small device from his jacket and pressed the button.
An explosion shook the rear of the ranger station.
Windows shattered.
Smoke filled the room.
Thomas escaped through the broken window.
Marcus pursued him into the trees.
Minutes later, they found Thomas’s abandoned jacket near the road.
A waiting vehicle had taken him.
Inside the jacket pocket was a note.
PLANT FOUR.
May you like
MIDNIGHT.
BRING THE GIRL OR VANESSA DIES.
