Chapter 8 — Richard’s Last Bargain
Richard forced Emily onto a narrow dock behind the warehouse.
The river churned beneath them.
He held the gun against her side.
Lucas followed slowly.
“Let her go.”
Richard laughed.
“You still don’t understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“No. Sophia was never the real plan.”
Lucas stopped.
Richard tightened his grip on Emily.
“You were.”
Police surrounded the warehouse but could not shoot without risking the child.
Richard continued.
“Your company controls medical distribution across four states. With your signature and Sophia as your widow, I would have owned the network.”
“You forged the insurance documents.”
“And dozens of contracts.”
Emily whimpered.
Lucas kept his eyes on her.
“You’re hurting her.”
“She means nothing to me.”
“She means everything to me.”
“That is your weakness.”
Lucas shook his head.
“No. It is the reason you lose.”
Richard frowned.
Lucas raised his phone.
The recording was still running.
Every word had been transmitted live to Detective Morris.
Richard’s expression changed.
“You think that matters?”
“It matters to the federal agents behind you.”
Richard glanced over his shoulder.
That brief movement was enough.
Emily bit his hand.
He shouted.
Lucas lunged.
The gun fired.
A bullet struck Lucas high in the shoulder.
He fell but grabbed Emily’s dress as Richard lost his balance.
Richard slipped over the edge.
He caught the dock with one hand.
Lucas held Emily with his good arm.
Richard stared up at him.
“Help me.”
Lucas looked at the man who had planned his death and his daughter’s disappearance.
Then he reached down.
Richard smiled in relief.
Lucas grabbed his wrist.
“You don’t get to make her watch you die.”
Police pulled Richard onto the dock and handcuffed him.
Emily crawled into Lucas’s lap.
Blood spread across his white shirt.
“Daddy, don’t sleep.”
He pressed his forehead to hers.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
But as paramedics carried him away, Lucas saw Sophia standing at the warehouse entrance.
May you like
She was smiling.
And he knew the nightmare was not over.
