Chapter 8 - THE TRAP
I didn't go alone.
I knew better.
Daniel arranged security within minutes.
But we couldn't alert the police immediately.
If Laura had my mother, we needed to know where she was.
The tracking data from the video led to an abandoned Mercer-owned hotel outside the city.
I recognized the building.
It had been closed for fifteen years.
Elijah arrived unexpectedly.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“Alex—”
“You've done enough.”
He looked at me.
“Let me fix one thing.”
I stared at him.
“You can't fix five years.”
“No.”
He nodded.
“But I can stop Laura from hurting you again.”
I wanted to tell him to leave.
Instead, I said:
“Stay behind me.”
The hotel was dark.
Our security team entered through the rear.
We found my mother tied to a chair.
But Laura was gone.
My mother looked terrified.
“Alex!”
I ran to her.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“She wanted the documents.”
“Where is she?”
My mother looked toward the hallway.
“She said she was going upstairs.”
We heard a door slam.
Then the building's lights came on.
Every television in the lobby activated simultaneously.
Laura appeared on every screen.
She was sitting in what looked like Elijah's office.
“Hello, Alexandra.”
Elijah stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
Laura smiled.
“Your company.”
“You don't own it.”
“Neither does he.”
She pointed at me.
“She does.”
I froze.
Laura continued.
“You finally understand.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Because I was supposed to have everything.”
“You stole from your own sister.”
Laura's smile disappeared.
“You were always the favorite.”
“I didn't even know you existed.”
“You didn't have to.”
Her eyes filled with hatred.
“Everyone loved you.”
“Who?”
“Your father.”
“My mother.”
“Even Elijah.”
I looked at Elijah.
Laura laughed.
“Oh, don't look so surprised.”
She leaned closer to the camera.
“He married you because his father told him to.”
Elijah went rigid.
“What?”
Laura smiled.
“He was supposed to get close to you, convince you to sign over the foundation, and then divorce you.”
I turned toward Elijah.
He looked horrified.
“Alex, I swear—”
I raised my hand.
“Don't.”
Laura laughed.
“You finally see it.”
I stared at my husband.
“Is it true?”
He shook his head.
“I didn't know.”
“Did you ever sign anything?”
“No.”
“Did your father ever tell you to marry me?”
Silence.
That silence was answer enough.
I stepped backward.
Laura continued:
“You were both fools.”
Then the screens went black.
A second later, police sirens sounded outside.
Laura had called them.
She had framed us.
But she hadn't counted on Daniel.
He walked into the lobby holding a laptop.
“Actually,” he said calmly, “she just confessed to kidnapping.”
Laura's face reappeared on one screen.
Daniel had recorded the entire conversation.
Her expression changed.
For the first time, she looked frightened.
Then a gunshot echoed upstairs.
Everyone froze.
A security guard shouted:
“She's running!”
We chased her to the roof.
Laura stood at the edge.
Wind tore through her hair.
“You can't win,” she screamed.
I stopped several feet away.
“It's over.”
“No!”
“You've lost.”
She laughed.
“Have I?”
Then she looked at Elijah.
“Ask him what happened to your father.”
Elijah froze.
“What?”
Laura smiled.
“Your father didn't die naturally.”
Then she stepped backward.
I screamed.
But someone grabbed her arm.
Elijah.
He pulled her back.
The police arrested her seconds later.
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As she was dragged away, she screamed:
“Ask him who killed Richard Mercer!”
