CHAPTER 14 The Woman Holding Hope
CHAPTER 14
The Woman Holding Hope
Khloe couldn't breathe.
The security monitor showed Vanessa Kensington gently rocking Baby Hope in her arms.
The infant slept peacefully, unaware of the storm surrounding her.
Vanessa looked directly into the camera.
Then she smiled.
It was the same smile Khloe had seen at the courthouse.
The same smile Vanessa wore moments before pushing her down the marble staircase.
Khloe clenched her fists.
"I trusted you."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"You tried to kill me..."
"...and now you're holding my daughter."
Victor Ashcombe carefully studied the live video.
"Something's wrong."
Naomi looked at him.
"What?"
"Vanessa isn't frightened."
"She isn't acting like a hostage."
Richard stared at the screen.
"No..."
"She's waiting."
"For what?"
Richard slowly shook his head.
"For Edward."
The image suddenly changed.
A luxurious room appeared behind Vanessa.
Dark oak walls.
A marble fireplace.
An enormous portrait of Charles Harrington hanging above the mantel.
Gabriel immediately recognized it.
"The East Drawing Room."
Khloe looked at him.
"You know where Hope is?"
Gabriel nodded.
"Harrington Manor."
"The original mansion."
"I haven't entered that room in nearly thirty years."
Vanessa leaned closer to the camera.
"You look surprised."
Khloe glared at the screen.
"Give me my daughter."
Vanessa laughed softly.
"I never wanted your baby."
"I wanted your life."
She kissed Hope gently on the forehead.
"But Edward wanted something else."
A door opened behind Vanessa.
Heavy footsteps echoed across the wooden floor.
Edward Harrington entered.
Elegant.
Perfectly composed.
He stood beside Vanessa and looked into the camera.
"Good evening, Khloe."
"I wish we were meeting under happier circumstances."
Khloe's voice trembled with rage.
"Where is my daughter?"
Edward smiled.
"Safe."
"And she'll remain safe..."
"...as long as you make intelligent decisions."
He held up Jonathan Cole's black briefcase.
Everyone inside the underground vault froze.
Naomi immediately looked down.
The briefcase sitting beside her was still there.
She frowned.
"That's impossible."
Edward smiled wider.
"I see you're confused."
He placed his hand on the briefcase.
"Jonathan was smarter than all of us."
"He created two."
"One contained evidence."
"The other contained the truth."
Victor's face lost all color.
"There were two vaults."
Gabriel whispered,
"Jonathan never told me."
Edward slowly opened the briefcase in front of him.
Inside rested a thick red folder.
Across the front, in Jonathan's handwriting, were the words:
IDENTITY OF THE MASTERMIND
Khloe felt her heart racing.
Edward looked directly into the camera.
"Would you like to know who ordered your father's murder?"
No one answered.
Edward continued.
"So would I."
He tapped the unopened folder.
"Because I have never read it."
The room fell silent.
Naomi frowned.
"You expect us to believe that?"
Edward nodded.
"Jonathan designed the folder with a biometric lock."
"It only opens for one person."
He looked directly at Khloe.
"You."
Richard suddenly stepped toward the camera.
"My uncle..."
"What have you done?"
Edward turned toward him.
"I saved this family."
"You destroyed it."
Edward smiled coldly.
"I preserved power."
"You chased money."
"There is a difference."
Vanessa shifted Hope carefully onto her shoulder.
The baby stirred.
Then opened her tiny eyes.
For the first time...
Khloe saw her daughter awake since the kidnapping.
Hope yawned.
Then quietly reached toward Vanessa's necklace.
Khloe's eyes filled with tears.
"My baby..."
Vanessa looked almost uncomfortable.
For one brief moment...
Her expression softened.
Then Edward noticed.
His voice became ice.
"Vanessa."
She immediately straightened.
"Yes."
"Don't become attached."
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
"No, sir."
Victor turned away from the monitor.
"We're wasting time."
He looked at Khloe.
"We know where Hope is."
"We go tonight."
Gabriel nodded.
"There are underground passages beneath Harrington Manor."
"I helped design them."
Naomi unfolded the blueprints.
"There are four entrances."
Richard quietly corrected her.
"No."
"There are five."
Everyone looked at him.
"I built the fifth one myself."
Harrison stared at Richard.
"Why would we trust you?"
Richard looked at Jonathan's letter still clutched in his hand.
"Because your father asked me to protect Khloe."
"I failed once."
"I'm not failing again."
Khloe studied his face.
For the first time...
She didn't see the arrogant billionaire who had betrayed her.
She saw a broken man carrying decades of guilt.
Suddenly every monitor inside the vault flashed white.
An automated countdown appeared.
SELF-DESTRUCTION PROTOCOL ACTIVATED
15:00
Naomi's eyes widened.
Edward's voice echoed through the speakers.
"You have fifteen minutes."
"When the countdown reaches zero..."
"The underground archive..."
"...and every piece of Jonathan Cole's evidence..."
"...will disappear forever."
The timer continued counting down.
14:59...
14:58...
May you like
14:57...
The race against time had begun.
