Chapter 19 - The Forty-Seventh Floor
I did not go alone.
I only made Simon believe I did.
Marcus fitted a small transmitter beneath my coat.
Detective Cole positioned officers two floors below.
Daniel hated every second.
“This is insane.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have to prove anything.”
“I am not proving anything.”
“Then why?”
“Because Simon thinks I have the ledger.”
“You do.”
“A copy.”
The original remained elsewhere.
Nobody except me knew where.
Not even Daniel.
Trust had limits now.
The elevator carried me to the forty-seventh floor.
Hale Tower had been empty for renovation.
Plastic covered the lobby.
Exposed wires hung from the ceiling.
The executive floor looked frozen in another decade.
Dark wood.
Heavy doors.
Dust.
I stepped out.
“Simon?”
My voice echoed.
No answer.
Then speakers activated.
“Claire Bennett.”
Male.
Older.
Calm.
“You look very much like your father.”
I looked around.
“Where is Richard?”
“Still alive.”
“Show me.”
A monitor switched on.
Richard sat in a chair inside another room.
Not tied.
Just trapped behind a locked glass door.
He looked furious.
“Claire.”
He could see me.
“Don’t give him anything.”
Simon laughed through the speakers.
“Richard has always confused stubbornness with courage.”
“Let him go.”
“The drive.”
I held up a flash drive.
“You first.”
A door clicked open.
Simon entered.
The resemblance to Samuel was startling.
Same bone structure.
Same eyes.
But Simon’s expression was colder.
He leaned on a cane.
Vanessa had described him perfectly.
“You pushed Vanessa.”
I said.
He smiled.
“Not physically.”
“You convinced her I was stealing from the family.”
“I showed her what she was ready to believe.”
“You told her my child would erase her inheritance.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because fear reveals character.”
“No.”
I looked directly at him.
“Fear reveals the story people tell themselves.”
His smile faded slightly.
“My father said things like that.”
“I liked Thomas.”
“You killed him.”
“No.”
“Julian damaged his brakes.”
“Yes.”
“You knew?”
“Afterward.”
“Did you protect Julian?”
“For a time.”
“Why?”
“Because Julian was useful.”
There it was.
No shame.
No apology.
“What do you want from the ledger?”
“The location of my father’s master archive.”
“It isn’t on the drive.”
“It is.”
“No.”
Simon studied me.
“Thomas decoded most of it.”
“So did Arthur.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“Your father found something Arthur missed.”
“What?”
Simon smiled.
“The account containing Edward’s final insurance policy.”
“Money?”
“Information.”
Behind the glass, Richard shouted.
“Don’t listen to him.”
Simon ignored him.
“Edward knew his children would eventually destroy one another.”
“He was right.”
“He created a dead-man archive.”
“What does it do?”
“If accessed incorrectly, copies are released.”
“To whom?”
“Everyone.”
My stomach tightened.
“Blackmail files?”
“Evidence.”
Simon sounded almost offended.
“Your generation calls everything blackmail.”
“What do you call it?”
“Leverage.”
I looked at him.
“You’ve spent forty years trying to become your father.”
Simon smiled.
“And you have spent eight years trying to become yours.”
That landed harder than I wanted.
He held out his hand.
“The drive.”
I stepped closer.
“Where is Richard?”
Simon nodded toward the glass room.
The door unlocked.
Richard walked out.
He moved toward me.
Simon raised a pistol.
“Stop.”
Richard stopped.
Simon kept the weapon low.
Not dramatic.
Just controlled.
“The drive.”
I tossed it onto the carpet between us.
Simon smiled.
Then my phone vibrated.
He glanced at it.
“You should answer.”
Unknown sender.
I stared at him.
“You?”
“No.”
That surprised me.
I opened the message.
SIMON DOESN’T KNOW JULIAN ALREADY FOUND THE ARCHIVE.
My heartbeat changed.
I looked at Simon.
His expression sharpened.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He stepped closer.
“Give me the phone.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
“Julian has it.”
Simon froze.
Behind him, Richard’s face changed.
“What?”
“The master archive.”
Simon stared.
“Impossible.”
“Apparently not.”
“Who told you?”
I smiled.
“You aren’t the only person who likes anonymous messages.”
Simon grabbed the flash drive.
He inserted it into an old terminal.
Marcus spoke quietly through my earpiece.
“Keep him talking.”
Simon entered passwords.
Nothing.
He looked angry.
“What did you do?”
“Gave you exactly what you asked for.”
“This isn’t the original.”
“No.”
He raised the weapon.
Richard moved between us.
“Enough.”
Simon laughed.
“You protect her now?”
“She is carrying Arthur’s grandchild.”
“Arthur isn’t the bloodline that matters.”
Richard stared.
“What?”
Simon smiled.
“You still don’t understand the trust.”
I felt cold.
“What do you mean?”
Simon looked at me.
“The audit isn’t triggered because your baby is Arthur’s descendant.”
“Then why?”
“Because Claire is.”
The room went silent.
Richard stared at me.
I couldn’t breathe.
“That is impossible.”
Simon smiled.
“Thomas Bennett wasn’t your biological father.”
My entire body went cold.
“You’re lying.”
“No.”
“Who was?”
May you like
Simon leaned closer.
“Arthur Hale.”
