Chapter 5 - BLOOD ISN'T LOYALTY
Richard was gone.
Security searched the ballroom twice.
Then the kitchen.
Then the private lounges.
Nothing.
Dad stood in the security room staring at camera feeds.
“Find him.”
The security chief rewound footage.
There.
11:38 p.m.
Richard entered the auction gallery.
11:41 p.m.
He exited carrying a leather case.
11:43 p.m.
He entered the west service corridor.
11:44 p.m.
The camera feed went black.
I whispered,
“He knew where the blind spot was.”
Dad said nothing.
He didn't need to.
Only senior members of our family and estate management knew the security architecture.
My uncle had designed much of it.
Mom sat beside me.
Her hand touched my bruised cheek.
“You should have told us what you were investigating.”
“I didn't know who I could trust.”
Her hand stopped.
“Including us?”
I looked at Dad.
“Yes.”
Pain crossed his face.
But he didn't argue.
Thomas was still connected by phone.
“Richard had access to my accounts.”
Dad looked at the speaker.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know whether you were involved.”
Dad laughed bitterly.
“So nobody trusted anybody.”
Thomas answered,
“That's why Northstar survived.”
A security guard entered.
“We found the route.”
He displayed a blueprint.
A maintenance passage ran beneath the west corridor.
It connected to an old wine cellar.
And the wine cellar had an emergency tunnel leading beyond the estate walls.
Dad swore quietly.
“Richard could already be outside.”
The guard shook his head.
“Not necessarily.”
“Why?”
“The external tunnel gate is electronic.”
“And?”
“It locked when Ms. Vale ordered the estate sealed.”
I stood.
“Then he's still here.”
We descended into the basement.
The elegance of the gala disappeared.
Concrete walls replaced marble.
Exposed pipes replaced chandeliers.
The deeper we walked, the quieter it became.
Dad stayed beside me.
Two guards moved ahead.
Mom remained upstairs.
Thomas stayed on the phone.
We reached the wine cellar.
Empty.
Then one guard noticed footprints in dust.
They led toward a storage rack.
He pushed it aside.
A narrow passage appeared.
Dad looked at me.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
“No.”
He stared at me for a moment.
Then nodded.
We entered.
The tunnel smelled damp.
Our footsteps echoed.
Fifty yards ahead, someone shouted.
“Stop!”
We ran.
Richard stood at the external gate.
A black leather case rested beside him.
He held a phone in one hand.
And a gun in the other.
Everyone stopped.
Dad stared at his brother.
“Richard.”
Richard looked exhausted.
“Don't come closer.”
“Put it down.”
“I can't.”
“You can.”
Richard laughed.
“You always thought everything could be fixed with a command.”
Dad's voice softened.
“Whatever you've done, don't make it worse.”
“Worse?”
Richard's face twisted.
“You have no idea.”
I looked at the leather case.
“Is the ledger inside?”
His eyes shifted toward me.
That was answer enough.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
“Thomas is alive.”
Richard went pale.
I put the phone on speaker.
Thomas said,
“Hello, Richard.”
Richard nearly dropped the gun.
“No.”
Thomas continued.
“You should have checked the car.”
Richard whispered,
“I didn't kill you.”
Thomas went silent.
I looked at Richard.
“Then who did?”
“I don't know.”
“Who gave the order?”
“I don't know!”
His voice echoed violently through the tunnel.
Dad took one slow step forward.
Richard raised the gun.
“Don't.”
Dad stopped.
Richard's eyes filled with tears.
“I was supposed to move money.”
“That's all.”
“Victor told me it was political consulting.”
“Then lobbying.”
“Then offshore asset protection.”
“By the time I understood, my signature was everywhere.”
Dad whispered,
“So you used mine.”
Richard looked ashamed.
“They needed someone bigger than me to blame.”
“My own brother.”
“You had everything.”
Dad flinched.
Richard continued.
“The company.”
“The respect.”
“Dad's approval.”
“Everything.”
“And you thought that justified this?”
“No.”
Richard's hand shook.
“It made it easier to say yes the first time.”
I asked,
“Who attacked Thomas?”
Richard looked toward the dark tunnel behind us.
“I think—”
A sharp sound cracked through the passage.
Richard jerked backward.
His gun fell.
Dad shouted.
Security rushed forward.
Richard collapsed against the gate.
A dark stain spread across his shoulder.
The shot had come from behind us.
One of the guards spun around.
Nobody was there.
Dad knelt beside Richard.
“Stay with me.”
Richard grabbed his jacket.
“The ledger.”
“What?”
“Don't let…”
His breathing became ragged.
“Don't let Evelyn get it.”
Everything inside me stopped.
Dad stared at him.
“What did you say?”
Richard's eyes rolled toward me.
May you like
“Your mother…”
Then the lights went out.
