Chapter 5 - Serena's Bargain

Saint Agnes parking garage smelled of wet concrete and gasoline.

Victor arrived with Marco and two plainclothes detectives.

Detective Claire Halloran had spent twelve years trying to build cases against Blackwood associates. She did not look pleased to be working beside Victor.

“This does not make us friends,” she said.

Victor checked the lower ramp.

“I would be concerned if it did.”

Halloran looked at him.

“You hand me evidence, I protect the witness. You threaten anyone, we are done.”

“Agreed.”

Marco glanced at Victor.

Halloran noticed.

“That surprises your own man.”

Victor said, “A lot has changed since yesterday.”

They found Serena behind a concrete column beside an abandoned sedan.

Her red gown was gone.

She wore a borrowed gray sweatshirt and one broken heel.

For the first time, she looked ordinary.

Terrified.

She raised both hands when she saw Halloran.

“Do not let him near me.”

Victor stopped ten feet away.

Halloran moved between them.

“You called Lily?”

“Yes.”

“Why not police?”

Serena laughed bitterly.

“Because half the people I know who wear badges have eaten at Victor’s table.”

Halloran looked at Victor.

He said nothing.

Serena’s eyes moved to him.

“Where is Ethan?”

“Safe.”

“And Lily?”

“Safe.”

Serena’s face tightened.

“Of course she is.”

Victor’s voice remained controlled.

“Do not speak about her unless it is relevant.”

Serena gave a tired smile.

“You already trust her more than you ever trusted me.”

“I watched you hurt my son.”

“You watched the end of something you never bothered to notice at the beginning.”

Halloran cut in.

“Serena. Start talking.”

Serena leaned against the car.

“Damian approached me almost two years ago.”

“Before Adriana died?” Halloran asked.

“Yes.”

Victor’s hands curled.

Serena noticed.

“He knew I was jealous of her.”

“Why?”

“She had everything.”

Victor’s expression turned hard.

Serena snapped, “Do not pretend you do not understand envy. Your entire world is built on men wanting what another man owns.”

Halloran said, “Stay on the facts.”

Serena nodded.

“Damian paid me to tell him where Adriana went, who she met, whether she was moving money.”

“Why did you have access?”

“Adriana trusted me.”

Victor closed his eyes briefly.

Serena continued.

“We had known each other since college.”

Lily had not known that.

Victor had.

That made it worse.

Halloran asked, “What happened the day Adriana died?”

“She called me.”

“What did she say?”

“That she was leaving Chicago with Ethan.”

Victor’s head lifted.

“She told you that?”

“Yes.”

“She was going to take my son?”

“She was going to a safe property for a week. She planned to send you evidence once she got there.”

Victor’s anger shifted into pain.

Serena looked away.

“I told Damian where she was meeting Naomi.”

“Why?”

“Because he said Victor would lose everything if Adriana exposed the ledger.”

Halloran said, “And you cared about that?”

“I cared about Victor.”

Victor’s laugh was cold.

“No.”

Serena flinched.

“You cared about becoming Mrs. Blackwood.”

She looked at him.

“Yes.”

The word came out small.

Halloran continued.

“What happened after you gave Damian the location?”

“He called someone.”

“Who?”

“I did not know then.”

“And now?”

“A man named Owen Pike.”

Marco’s expression changed.

Victor noticed.

“You know him.”

Marco nodded.

“Former transport contractor. Worked security logistics.”

Halloran wrote the name down.

Serena said, “Damian told Pike to ‘make sure she never reaches Bennett.’ I heard it.”

Victor stepped forward.

Halloran raised a hand.

“Stay there.”

Victor stopped.

Serena whispered, “I told myself he meant intercept her.”

“Did you?” Victor asked.

She looked at him.

“For about an hour.”

Silence.

“Then the news came.”

Victor stared at her.

“You knew.”

“Yes.”

“And you stayed silent.”

“Yes.”

“And then you came to my wife’s funeral.”

Serena began to cry.

Victor’s voice did not rise.

“You held Ethan.”

“I know.”

“You touched my son after helping the man who killed his mother.”

“I know.”

“Stop saying that.”

Halloran stepped closer to Serena.

“What happened afterward?”

“Damian said it was too late to undo anything. He told me if I spoke, I would be charged with conspiracy.”

“Were you paid?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“Two hundred thousand.”

Victor turned away.

Marco watched him carefully.

Halloran asked, “Then why did you become Victor’s fiancée?”

Serena wiped her face.

“Damian encouraged it.”

“Why?”

“He said Victor was becoming unstable after Adriana’s death. He said someone had to keep the house from collapsing.”

Victor looked back.

“Keep it?”

Serena swallowed.

“Control it.”

Halloran said, “Explain the guardianship petition.”

“Damian’s lawyer drafted it.”

“Did Victor approve?”

“No.”

“Did you know the signature was forged?”

“Yes.”

“Did you drug Ethan?”

Serena hesitated.

Victor’s face went still.

Halloran said, “Answer.”

“Yes.”

Marco swore.

Serena spoke quickly.

“Small doses. Damian said it would make him sleep so Lily would look incompetent.”

Lily was not there, but Victor imagined her hearing those words.

His voice became low.

“You drugged a baby to discredit his nanny.”

“I did not intend to hurt him.”

“You dragged him by a fractured arm.”

“He screamed whenever I touched him!”

“He was afraid of you.”

“I know that now.”

“No. You knew then.”

Serena had no answer.

Halloran asked, “Why injure him?”

“I did not plan the fracture.”

Victor stepped forward again.

“Do not hide behind the word plan.”

Halloran allowed him one step, then blocked him.

Serena whispered, “He knocked over a tray. I lost my temper.”

Victor’s eyes became empty.

“I should kill you.”

Halloran’s hand moved toward her belt.

Victor looked at her.

Then at Serena.

Adriana’s letter returned to him.

Do not avenge me.

End it.

He stepped back.

“No.”

Serena stared.

Victor said, “You will live long enough to answer every question.”

Halloran relaxed slightly.

A sound echoed from the ramp.

Marco turned.

“Car.”

Headlights swept across the wall.

A black SUV accelerated down the lower lane.

Halloran shouted, “Move!”

They scattered.

The SUV did not aim for Serena.

It aimed for Victor.

Marco grabbed him and pulled him behind a pillar as the vehicle smashed into the abandoned sedan.

Metal screamed.

Serena dropped to the ground.

Two men jumped from the SUV.

One raised a gun.

Halloran fired once.

The gunman fell behind the door, wounded.

The second ran.

Marco chased him toward the stairwell.

Victor crouched beside Serena.

She stared at him in shock.

“You saved me.”

“I moved because I need you alive.”

She almost laughed.

“Still honest.”

Sirens approached from the upper ramp.

Halloran kicked the fallen gun away.

“Your friend Damian has poor timing.”

Victor looked at the SUV.

“No.”

Halloran frowned.

“What?”

“He has perfect timing.”

Victor walked to the driver’s side.

The airbag had deployed.

The driver was unconscious.

Marco returned with the second man handcuffed behind his back.

“Got him.”

Victor recognized him.

His stomach dropped.

The man was one of his own security captains.

“Rourke.”

The captain spat blood onto the concrete.

“You should have stayed out of the ledger.”

Marco grabbed his collar.

Victor raised a hand.

“No.”

Rourke laughed.

“You think cops save you now?”

Victor looked at Halloran.

“They can save him from Marco.”

Halloran almost smiled.

Rourke’s expression changed.

Victor crouched.

“Who told Damian we found the ledger?”

Rourke said nothing.

Victor waited.

Halloran said, “He talks at the station.”

Victor nodded.

That surprised everyone again.

Serena stood slowly.

“There is someone else.”

Victor looked at her.

“What?”

“Damian never trusted Rourke with family information.”

“Who did?”

Serena’s eyes shifted.

“Mrs. Cole.”

Victor froze.

“The house manager?”

“She gave me codes because Damian told her I was already approved.”

“That is not proof she works for him.”

“No.”

Serena looked toward the ramp.

“But she was the one who told him Adriana used the chapel.”

Victor’s face hardened.

“You knew there was a hidden room?”

“I knew Adriana hid documents there. I did not know where.”

Halloran asked, “How did Mrs. Cole know?”

“She worked for Victor’s mother before Adriana came.”

Marco returned from speaking with officers.

“If Cole is compromised, Ethan’s location may be compromised.”

Victor was already moving.

The drive back took twenty minutes.

Victor called Miriam.

No answer.

He called Lily.

No answer.

His control began to crack.

“Again,” he told Marco.

Marco called the guards.

One answered.

“Sir?”

“Status.”

A pause.

Then, “We have a problem.”

Victor’s voice became deadly.

“What problem?”

“Mrs. Cole arrived ten minutes ago with a food delivery. She had the correct rotating code.”

Victor looked at Marco.

“Where is Lily?”

“She took Ethan into the service stairwell when the alarm sounded.”

“Why is the alarm sounding?”

“Smoke in the east corridor.”

Victor closed his eyes.

A diversion.

“Find them.”

“We are trying.”

The SUV had not even stopped when Victor opened the door.

He ran inside.

Smoke drifted from a burned trash cart.

Miriam stood near the medical suite.

“Ethan?”

“I don’t know.”

Victor nearly grabbed her.

Marco stepped between them.

Miriam shouted, “Lily heard someone unlock the outer door. She took him and ran.”

Victor looked toward the service stairs.

Then he heard a baby crying.

Faint.

Above them.

He ran.

On the fifth-floor landing, Lily stood with her back against the wall.

Ethan was strapped to her chest in a soft carrier.

Mrs. Cole stood three steps below them holding a kitchen knife.

Her hand trembled.

“Give him to me.”

Lily’s face was pale.

“No.”

“You do not understand.”

“I understand enough.”

Mrs. Cole cried, “Damian said he would kill my son.”

Victor stopped behind the stairwell door.

Marco reached for his weapon.

Victor motioned him down.

Lily said, “Then help us stop him.”

“You cannot.”

“Why not?”

“Because men like that always win.”

Lily looked past Mrs. Cole.

She saw Victor.

Her eyes changed, but she gave no sign.

“He does not always win.”

Mrs. Cole stepped upward.

“Give me Ethan.”

Lily backed against the wall.

“No.”

Victor entered.

“Put the knife down.”

Mrs. Cole spun.

The knife fell from her hand.

“Mr. Blackwood.”

Victor did not look at her.

He looked at Lily.

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Ethan?”

“Scared.”

Victor turned to Mrs. Cole.

“You had a choice.”

She sobbed.

“He has my son.”

“Then tell me where.”

“I don’t know.”

“Who is your son?”

“Thomas Cole.”

Marco’s head snapped up.

“The accountant?”

Mrs. Cole nodded.

“He worked for Vale Strategic. He found transfers he was not supposed to see.”

Victor looked at Marco.

“The red ledger transfers.”

“Yes.”

Mrs. Cole collapsed onto the stairs.

“Damian took him three days ago.”

Lily held Ethan tighter.

Victor’s voice softened, though his eyes did not.

“You help us find Thomas.”

Mrs. Cole looked up.

“And then?”

“And then you tell Halloran everything.”

She nodded through tears.

Victor reached for Ethan.

The baby went to him without hesitation.

Lily watched Victor hold his son.

Victor looked at her.

“You were right.”

“About what?”

“This house was never safe because I owned it.”

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He looked down at Ethan.

“It becomes safe only when the people inside it choose to protect one another.”