Chapter 8 - Nathan’s Bargain
Nathan refused to say more over the phone.
He wanted protection.
Reduced charges.
A private meeting.
I wanted to hang up.
Dad wanted him alive long enough to talk.
Federal prosecutors arranged the meeting that afternoon.
Nathan entered the interview room wearing a plain detention uniform.
No tailored suit.
No expensive watch.
No assistants.
No mistress.
The transformation was almost shocking.
He looked at me.
His eyes lingered on the high collar of my blouse.
For once, he seemed ashamed.
I felt nothing.
“Where is Victor?”
I asked.
Nathan sat.
“I want a deal.”
“You’re in no position to bargain.”
“I know where Torres is.”
My heart stopped.
Dad’s attorney immediately leaned forward.
“Proof.”
Nathan gave us an address.
A farmhouse two hours north of the city.
“Celeste used it for meetings.”
“How do you know Torres is there?”
“She told me.”
“When?”
“The night before Blackthorn.”
I stared at him.
“You knew they planned to abduct a federal agent?”
“No.”
“She said they might need leverage.”
“And you asked no questions.”
Nathan looked down.
That was answer enough.
Federal teams left immediately.
I stayed.
“Victor.”
I reminded him.
Nathan rubbed his hands together.
“I saw him once.”
“Describe him.”
“Older.”
“Thin.”
“Scar along his jaw.”
Dad’s face hardened.
Victor had carried that scar since college.
“Did he speak to you?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Nathan looked at me.
“He said I had one job.”
“What?”
“Break your relationship with your father.”
The room went silent.
Every fight.
Every insult.
Every attempt to isolate me.
Celeste had not been improvising.
She had been directing Nathan.
“And you agreed?”
“I didn’t know why.”
“You didn’t care.”
His eyes lifted.
“No.”
At least he finally stopped lying.
“Why the financial crimes?”
“Celeste said we needed liquidity.”
“For what?”
“To buy Halcyon.”
Dad frowned.
“You were preparing a takeover?”
“I thought I was.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“She had me borrowing against everything.”
“She kept saying Halcyon was vulnerable.”
“In reality?”
“I was funding companies connected to her.”
I leaned forward.
“Did you know about my Ashford shares?”
Nathan frowned.
“What shares?”
He genuinely did not know.
That terrified me.
Someone had been positioning me inside Ashford Global without Nathan’s knowledge.
The interview room door opened.
Agent Torres entered.
Alive.
Bruised.
Exhausted.
But walking.
I stood so quickly my chair fell.
“Maya.”
She gave me a tired smile.
“They got there in time.”
Then she looked at Nathan.
Her smile disappeared.
“We found the farmhouse empty except for Torres.”
An agent explained.
“They moved out hours earlier.”
Torres placed a folded sheet of paper on the table.
“They left this with me.”
I opened it.
A single sentence.
ASK ELIAS WHAT HAPPENED ON OCTOBER 17, 2003.
I looked at Dad.
He went pale.
“What happened that day?”
He slowly sat down.
“That was the day Victor Sloane supposedly died.”
Torres shook her head.
“No.”
May you like
She pointed toward the date.
“According to what they told me, that was the day Elias Vale tried to have him killed.”
