Chapter 12 - MARIANNE'S COMPANY
Sylvester did not speak for almost a minute.
Neither did I.
Harbor Advisory.
The company that paid Victoria.
The company that funded the operation at the gala.
Registered director.
Marianne Vale.
His sister.
Bell cautioned us immediately.
“Corporate registration does not prove operational control.”
Sylvester laughed without humor.
“She signed the filings.”
“Digitally.”
“Could be forged.”
“Correct.”
“Do you believe they're forged?”
“I believe assumptions destroy investigations.”
I understood why Bell and Sylvester irritated each other.
They were similar.
Both controlled.
Both suspicious.
Both convinced facts were safer than emotion.
Unfortunately, emotion was all I had left.
“What do the coordinates mean?”
Bell zoomed the map.
“Possibly meeting location.”
“Trap.”
“Likely.”
“Jacob?”
“Could be there.”
“Marianne?”
“Could be there.”
“The briefcase?”
“Could be there.”
I glared.
Bell lifted both hands.
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
“I've spent thirty years telling families ‘could be.’”
He looked tired.
“I know exactly how much you hate it.”
That softened me.
Barely.
Lucas woke around four in the afternoon.
I spent two hours with him.
No investigation.
No Nathaniel.
No inheritance.
We played cards.
He cheated badly.
I pretended not to notice.
At one point he asked.
“Is the mean lady going to come back?”
“No.”
“Is Mr. Sylvester mad at me?”
My heart broke.
“Why would he be?”
“Because his party broke.”
I pulled him onto my lap.
“Sweetheart.”
“The party did not break because of you.”
“But the cakes did.”
I nearly smiled.
“Those cakes can be replaced.”
“Even the tall one?”
“Especially the tall one.”
He leaned against me.
“Victoria said we were beggars.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
“We are not.”
“I know.”
“Even if we were, it wouldn't make us less important.”
He thought.
“Daddy said people who are mean about money usually don't have enough hugs.”
I laughed unexpectedly.
Nathaniel had absolutely said something like that.
“Yes.”
“He did.”
Lucas looked toward the door.
“Is Daddy really in the video?”
I froze.
Children heard everything.
Always.
“Who told you?”
“Nobody.”
“I heard Mr. Edmund.”
I sighed.
“Yes.”
“Can I see?”
My throat tightened.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because Daddy was talking about grown-up problems.”
Lucas considered.
“Was he scared?”
I couldn't lie.
“Yes.”
Lucas lowered his eyes.
Then whispered.
“I remember his briefcase.”
I stopped breathing.
“What?”
“The brown one.”
“Sweetheart, you were three.”
“I know.”
“You remember it?”
He nodded.
“Daddy put my airplane inside.”
My heart raced.
“What airplane?”
“The red one.”
“Toy?”
“Yes.”
“He said it was safer there.”
“Safer?”
Lucas nodded.
“When?”
He shrugged.
“Before he went away.”
My pulse hammered.
“What happened to the airplane?”
Lucas looked confused.
“I don't know.”
I remembered the toy.
A small red wooden plane.
Nathaniel bought it in Boston.
Lucas carried it everywhere.
After Nathaniel died, I assumed it had been lost.
“What did Daddy say exactly?”
Lucas squinted.
“He said…”
I waited.
“He said, ‘Captain Lucas guards the key.’”
My blood ran cold.
The key.
Nathaniel loved riddles.
Too much.
I immediately called Sylvester and Bell.
They entered.
I repeated everything.
Bell crouched.
“Lucas, do you remember your red airplane?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you last see it?”
“In Daddy’s bag.”
“Briefcase?”
Lucas nodded.
Bell looked at me.
“If Jacob took the briefcase…”
“The airplane was inside.”
“Possibly.”
Sylvester paced.
“Nathaniel’s video said the key was Lucas.”
“Then birth record.”
I corrected.
“He said key is his birth record.”
“Maybe there are multiple keys.”
Bell looked annoyed.
“Why couldn't your friend use a normal safe?”
Sylvester deadpanned.
“He enjoyed being unbearable.”
Despite everything, I smiled.
Then Bell’s phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Face changed.
“What?”
He walked toward the window.
“Repeat that.”
Sylvester watched him.
Bell ended the call.
“Marianne Vale has been found.”
Sylvester went rigid.
“Where?”
“West Virginia.”
The coordinates.
“Alive?”
Bell paused.
“Yes.”
Sylvester exhaled.
“But?”
“She walked into a rural sheriff’s office forty minutes ago.”
“Condition?”
“Dehydrated.”
“Bruised.”
“Claims she escaped from a property where she had been held for four days.”
My stomach tightened.
Bell continued.
“She says Harbor Advisory was created by her.”
Sylvester closed his eyes.
“But she claims she created it for Nathaniel.”
I stared.
“When?”
“Three years before his death.”
“Why?”
“Off-books investigations into Graham.”
Everything shifted.
Harbor wasn't Graham’s company.
It was Nathaniel and Marianne’s.
Then how did it pay Victoria?
Bell answered before I asked.
“Marianne says she lost control of the accounts two years ago.”
“To whom?”
“She doesn't know.”
“Sylvester,” I whispered.
“Inside Vale.”
He nodded grimly.
Bell continued.
“And she says Nathaniel’s briefcase was never in West Virginia.”
“Where is it?”
“She doesn't know.”
I clenched my teeth.
Bell almost apologized.
Then added.
“But she knows what was inside.”
Silence.
“What?”
“Evidence connecting Graham Cross to illegal asset transfers.”
“Anything else?”
Bell looked toward Lucas.
“Yes.”
“A signed custody declaration.”
My heart stopped.
“What custody declaration?”
“Nathaniel named a guardian for Lucas if anything happened to you.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Who?”
May you like
Bell looked at Sylvester.
“Marianne Vale.”
