Chapter 11 - The Recording Nobody Was Supposed to Hear
Lily noticed Liam was missing eight minutes later.
His coffee was still warm.
His jacket was gone.
His phone remained on the table.
"Liam?"
No answer.
She checked the hallway.
Bathroom.
Kitchen.
Nothing.
Victor saw her face.
"What?"
"He's gone."
Victor stood immediately.
Daniel checked cameras.
"The east exit opened seven minutes ago."
"Vehicle?"
"A rideshare stopped two blocks away."
Lily stared.
"He left his phone."
Victor picked it up.
Unlocked.
Liam had never been good at privacy.
The gambling site remained in recent applications.
Victor opened it.
Saw the message.
His face changed.
Lily read over his shoulder.
"No."
She grabbed the phone.
"No, no, no."
Victor called Mason.
"Find Liam."
"How?"
"He took a rideshare from the east gate."
"On it."
Lily paced.
"He's going to Briar Point."
"Probably."
"You can't say probably like that."
Victor faced her.
"We will find him."
"He did this because of me."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
His voice stopped her.
"Paul wrote the message."
Victor stepped closer.
"Paul designed the threat. Paul created the choice. Liam made a bad decision, but do not confuse that with responsibility for the trap."
Lily remembered telling Liam almost the same thing hours earlier.
Don't give Paul your guilt.
She closed her eyes.
Victor softened.
"We're going."
They left immediately.
Victor's convoy took the highway north.
Mason tracked the rideshare.
"Liam got out near Route Nine."
"How far from Briar Point?"
"Four miles."
"He may be walking."
"No."
Mason paused.
"Camera caught him getting into another car."
Victor frowned.
"What car?"
"Black sedan."
"Plate?"
"Stolen."
Lily felt sick.
"They took him."
Victor looked out the window.
"Or he got in willingly."
"Why would he?"
"Because Paul promised you would be safe."
Lily hated that he was right.
Briar Point sat ninety minutes outside the city.
Old family property.
Dense woods.
A large lake.
Victor had not visited in seven years.
Not since his father died.
As they drove, Daniel accessed archived property plans.
"The main house has three entrances."
"Paul knows them."
"Boathouse?"
"Still there."
Victor looked at Lily.
"Your plan remains."
She stared at him.
"Even without Liam?"
"Especially without Liam."
"No."
"Lily."
"I'm not going across that lake alone."
"You won't."
"With who?"
"Mason."
She laughed once.
"The man who has betrayed us and unbetrayed us three times tonight?"
Mason's voice came through the speaker.
"That's unfair."
Lily leaned toward the phone.
"Which part?"
Mason considered.
"Fine."
Victor nearly smiled.
They reached a public marina five miles from the property.
Mason met them there.
Victor gave Lily a protective vest.
Again.
She put it on without argument.
"Small boat," Mason said.
"No motor after the halfway point."
Lily looked at the dark lake.
Dawn had arrived, but clouds kept everything gray.
"Wonderful."
Victor stood beside her.
For a moment neither spoke.
Then he said, "If this fails—"
"It won't."
"Listen."
She did.
"If this fails, you leave."
"Victor."
"You have evidence. Samuel has evidence. Daniel has copies."
He looked toward the distant shore.
"Paul cannot win anymore unless we let him decide what matters."
Lily understood.
"You mean Liam."
"I mean all of us."
He met her eyes.
"I will try to bring him back."
"Try?"
"I won't lie to you."
She appreciated that.
More than false reassurance.
Victor continued.
"But Paul wants control. Killing Liam removes leverage."
"So he'll keep him alive."
"As long as he believes we still care about the game."
Lily looked at Victor.
"We do."
"No."
His voice was steady.
"We care about Liam. Not Paul's game."
That distinction mattered.
Mason started the boat.
Lily climbed in.
Before she pushed away, Victor touched her hand.
She looked down.
His fingers rested gently over the cracked skin.
Not possessive.
Careful.
"Come back."
Lily looked up.
"So you can order me around again?"
"Exactly."
A small smile.
Then she left.
Victor watched the boat disappear into morning mist.
Daniel approached.
"You like her."
Victor's expression became blank.
"We're under active threat."
"That wasn't a denial."
"Daniel."
"Fine."
They drove toward the main entrance.
At Briar Point, the gate stood open.
A speaker crackled.
Paul's voice.
"Welcome home, Victor."
Victor entered.
The estate looked unchanged.
Stone house.
Tall windows.
Dead gardens.
Memories pressed against him.
His father standing on the steps.
Michael running toward the lake.
A younger Victor promising his brother everything would be fine.
He pushed the image away.
The front door opened.
Ethan should have been in custody.
Instead Paul appeared.
Alone.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Where is Liam?"
Paul smiled.
"Inside."
"Where's Ethan?"
"Federal custody, I imagine."
Paul spread his hands.
"Not everything is conspiracy."
Victor studied him.
"You seem calm."
"I am."
"Your money is frozen."
"Money changes hands."
"Your organization is exposed."
"Organizations change names."
"Your allies are being arrested."
Paul smiled.
"Allies change sides."
Victor stopped ten feet away.
"What do you want?"
Paul's expression changed.
Finally honest.
"You."
"Meaning?"
"To admit I was right."
Victor almost laughed.
"This was ideological?"
"In part."
"You stole ninety million dollars for philosophy?"
"I enjoy comfort."
Paul walked into the house.
Victor followed.
Daniel remained outside with Samuel's arriving team.
Inside, Paul's men watched from balconies.
Victor counted.
Eight visible.
Probably more.
"Liam."
Paul gestured toward the drawing room.
Liam sat in a chair.
Untied.
Confused.
Victor frowned.
"Are you hurt?"
Liam shook his head.
"Not yet."
Paul smiled.
"I promised him his sister would walk away."
"Where is she?"
Liam's expression changed.
"She's not with you?"
Victor did not answer.
Paul understood.
"Oh."
He laughed.
"You finally learned."
Victor looked toward the windows.
Lake side.
Paul's smile faded.
"What did you do?"
Victor said nothing.
Across the property, Lily and Mason reached the old boathouse.
They entered quietly.
Dust covered the floor.
No guards.
At the back wall, a steel door led underground.
Mason used an old key.
It opened.
Stairs descended into darkness.
Lily switched on a flashlight.
Rows of shelves.
Boxes.
Tapes.
Hard drives.
Victor's father's archive.
"Found it," Mason whispered.
Lily looked around.
Hundreds of recordings.
Which one mattered?
Then she saw a table.
Modern laptop.
Headphones.
A file already open.
Someone had been listening recently.
She pressed play.
Ethan's voice.
Then Paul's.
A conversation from four months earlier.
Paul: "What about the Carter girl?"
Ethan: "Keep her working. Inflate the debt."
Paul: "And when Victor's removed?"
Ethan: "She becomes the killer."
Paul laughed.
Then another voice spoke.
Lily froze.
Not Ethan.
Not Paul.
Someone else.
A woman.
"Make sure Victor believes Paul is behind everything."
Mason stared at the speakers.
Lily whispered, "Who is that?"
Mason's face had gone white.
"I know that voice."
"Who?"
Before he could answer, a pistol clicked behind them.
A woman said quietly:
"Then you know you should have stayed away."
Lily turned.
A tall blonde woman stood at the bottom of the stairs.
Elegant coat.
Calm face.
Gun raised.
Victor's older sister.
May you like
Claire Hayes.
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