Chapter 13 - RICHARD'S BARGAIN
At the police station, Richard demanded an attorney.
Then he demanded federal protection.
Then he demanded immunity.
Detective Reed laughed at the last request.
“You were tied to a chair twenty minutes ago.”
Richard stared at him.
“You think that makes me innocent?”
“No.”
“It makes you unpopular.”
Richard didn't smile.
Vanessa and Lucas were placed in separate interrogation rooms.
Daniel waited with Sarah in a conference room.
The wedding had been less than twenty-four hours ago.
Yet it felt like another lifetime.
Daniel finally looked at Sarah.
“Did she really kill your father?”
Sarah stared through the glass wall.
“I think she helped.”
“That's not what I asked.”
Sarah swallowed.
“She admitted enough.”
Daniel understood why that wasn't enough.
He wanted the same thing regarding his own father.
Proof.
Reed entered.
“Richard wants to talk.”
“About what?”
“The network.”
Sarah sat straighter.
Reed continued.
“He says Vanessa wasn't the person running it.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then who was?”
“He won't say until a prosecutor makes a deal.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Richard was brought into the room wearing handcuffs.
His expensive suit was dirty.
His face swollen.
He looked at Daniel first.
“I liked your father.”
Daniel almost stood.
Sarah touched his arm.
Richard continued.
“That doesn't mean I didn't betray him.”
Daniel's voice was low.
“If you had something to do with his death, no deal on earth will protect you from me.”
Reed immediately warned him.
Richard only nodded.
“Charles got too close.”
“To what?”
Richard looked toward the observation glass.
“An organization that started long before Vanessa.”
Sarah asked, “How many victims?”
Richard's jaw tightened.
“More than Michael.”
“More than Thomas.”
“How many?”
Richard looked away.
“Twenty-three confirmed targets.”
Sarah stopped breathing.
Daniel stared.
“Twenty-three deaths?”
“No.”
“Targets.”
“Some survived.”
“Some were ruined financially.”
“Some died.”
Reed asked, “Who selected them?”
Richard hesitated.
Then said a name.
“Arthur Vale.”
Daniel frowned.
Sarah knew it.
Arthur Vale was a billionaire financier and philanthropist.
His foundation funded hospitals, museums, and political causes across the country.
His face appeared on magazine covers.
Richard continued.
“Arthur created the structure.”
“Vanessa became one of his most effective operators.”
Sarah whispered, “Why?”
“Money.”
“Influence.”
“Control.”
Richard looked at Daniel.
“Your company owns property Arthur has been trying to acquire for eleven years.”
“Your father refused.”
“You refused.”
“So Arthur used another method.”
Daniel finally understood.
Vanessa had not chosen him because he was lonely.
She had chosen him because Arthur Vale wanted Bennett Development.
Reed leaned forward.
“Can you prove this?”
Richard gave a tired smile.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Richard looked at Sarah.
“Michael Crane found it first.”
Sarah stiffened.
“The master account.”
Richard nodded.
“He found more than an account.”
“He found Arthur's ledger.”
Sarah remembered Michael's final email.
I FOUND THE MASTER ACCOUNT.
“What happened to it?”
Richard's eyes shifted toward Vanessa's interrogation room.
“She has it.”
Daniel frowned.
“She was searching for evidence tonight.”
“Because she doesn't know she already has the most important piece.”
Sarah stared.
Richard leaned closer.
“Michael hid the ledger inside something Vanessa has carried for eight years.”
“What?”
May you like
Richard smiled faintly.
“Her wedding ring.”
