Chapter 8 - The Child in the FactoryNathan arrived at Hanover Steelworks alone.
The bullet missed his heart by four inches.
Doctors placed him under guard.
Nathan did not sleep.
By sunrise, he had transformed fear into strategy.
Rachel wanted federal agents to arrest Derek Shaw immediately.
Nathan refused.
“If Derek disappears, Malcolm knows Colin talked.”
Rachel understood.
“So we let the merger proceed.”
Grace stared at Nathan.
“You're going there?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
He turned toward her.
“You told me not to make decisions alone.”
“This is different.”
“How?”
“Because now Malcolm has specifically threatened our baby.”
Nathan's eyes softened.
“That is exactly why I have to end it.”
Grace looked away.
Nathan moved closer.
“For eight months you protected me by disappearing.”
She met his gaze.
“Don't.”
“Now let me protect you by staying visible.”
Grace hated that he was right.
The plan was dangerous.
Nathan would attend the merger signing as expected.
Rachel's team would monitor every electronic transfer.
The instant Derek attempted to route funds into Nathan's accounts, agents would capture the transaction.
Simultaneously, Victor would trace communications to Malcolm.
Grace would remain in a secure hospital under an assumed name.
Nathan kissed her forehead before leaving.
Grace grabbed his jacket.
“If something feels wrong, leave.”
“I will.”
“You promise?”
Nathan hesitated.
“Nathan.”
“I promise.”
He kissed her.
Not like a man saying goodbye.
Like a husband remembering how.
At 10:00 a.m., Nathan entered the Grand Harbor ballroom.
The same hotel where he had found Grace.
Derek Shaw greeted him.
“Big day.”
Nathan forced a smile.
“Very.”
Derek looked perfectly normal.
That disturbed Nathan more than guilt would have.
Investors gathered.
Cameras flashed.
Nathan signed preliminary documents.
At 10:42, Rachel messaged him.
Transfer initiated.
Nathan continued smiling.
At 10:44:
Funds routed through Cayman entity.
At 10:46:
Destination account identified in your name.
Nathan looked across the room.
Derek touched his phone.
Rachel sent one final message.
We have him.
Federal agents entered.
Derek's face went blank.
Nathan stood.
“Derek Shaw, step away from the table.”
Derek looked at him.
Then smiled.
Nathan's stomach tightened.
“What?”
Derek whispered, “Too late.”
His phone rang.
Nathan answered.
Malcolm Reed's voice came through.
“You look very confident.”
Nathan scanned the ballroom.
“Where are you?”
“Not there.”
“You lost.”
Malcolm laughed.
“No, Nathan.”
Nathan's pulse accelerated.
Rachel approached.
“What?”
Nathan put the call on speaker.
Malcolm continued.
“You've always made the same mistake your father made.”
“What mistake?”
“You think the company is the thing people want.”
Nathan's blood went cold.
Malcolm said, “I never cared about your merger.”
Nathan looked at Rachel.
She understood simultaneously.
Grace.
Nathan ran.
He reached the parking garage while calling the hospital security team.
No answer.
Victor answered.
“Nathan?”
“Get to Grace.”
“What happened?”
“Now!”
Nathan drove faster than he ever had.
At the hospital, the secure floor was in chaos.
Two guards were unconscious.
A nurse cried near the elevator.
Nathan grabbed her.
“Grace Whittaker.”
The nurse pointed.
“Room twelve.”
Empty.
The bed sheets were torn.
An IV lay on the floor.
Nathan stared.
“No.”
A phone rested on the pillow.
It rang.
Nathan answered.
Malcolm.
“You took my family from me.”
Nathan's voice shook with rage.
“I didn't do anything to you.”
“Your father did.”
“I am not my father.”
“You carry his name.”
“Where is Grace?”
“Safe.”
“If you touch her—”
“I won't.”
Malcolm paused.
“The baby, however, represents something important.”
Nathan could barely breathe.
“Don't.”
“Legacy.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“Take me instead.”
“That is the first intelligent thing you've said.”
“Where?”
Malcolm gave him an address.
An abandoned industrial site.
Nathan recognized it immediately.
Hanover Steelworks.
The factory that had produced the defective bridge steel.
Rachel reached him.
Nathan told her.
“We call tactical units,” she said.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“He'll see them.”
“Nathan—”
“He wants me.”
Rachel stared.
“He may kill you.”
Nathan looked at the empty hospital bed.
“Then make sure Grace lives.”
Meanwhile, fifteen miles away, Grace awakened in the back of a van.
Her wrists were tied.
Her head pounded.
The baby moved.
She swallowed panic.
Across from her sat Malcolm Reed.
He looked older than she remembered from the hotel.
Not monstrous.
Almost tired.
Grace whispered, “You don't want to hurt my child.”
Malcolm looked at her.
“You don't know what I want.”
“I know grief.”
His eyes hardened.
“You know nothing.”
“I watched Nathan mourn me.”
“He'll mourn again.”
Grace forced herself to remain calm.
“You had children.”
Malcolm's expression changed.
Grace knew she had guessed correctly.
“A son?”
Malcolm looked toward the window.
“My daughter.”
Grace remained silent.
Malcolm spoke after a while.
“Rebecca was twenty-six.”
“What happened?”
“She worked for Charles Whittaker.”
Grace's stomach tightened.
“She discovered the bridge report.”
Malcolm's eyes filled with something colder than anger.
“Margaret believed Rebecca would expose everything.”
Grace understood.
“She killed her?”
“Rebecca died in a staged robbery.”
Grace closed her eyes.
Malcolm continued.
“My wife killed herself six months later.”
There it was.
The origin of everything.
“You blamed Charles.”
“I blamed all of them.”
“But Nathan was nineteen.”
“He inherited the empire built over my daughter's grave.”
Grace stared at Malcolm.
“And now you're willing to hurt another innocent child?”
His face tightened.
“Don't compare them.”
“Why not?”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand exactly.”
Grace leaned forward as far as the restraints allowed.
“You spent fifteen years becoming the same kind of person you hated.”
Malcolm's hand clenched.
Grace continued.
“Your daughter discovered corruption and wanted the truth exposed.”
“Stop.”
“Would Rebecca want you threatening a baby?”
“Stop.”
“Would she recognize you?”
Malcolm slapped the wall beside her.
Grace flinched.
But she saw it.
Doubt.
Then pain ripped through her abdomen.
Grace gasped.
Malcolm frowned.
“What?”
She breathed slowly.
Another wave came.
Her eyes widened.
“No.”
“What?”
Grace looked down.
Fluid soaked the seat beneath her.
Her water had broken.
She looked up at Malcolm.
May you like
“The baby's coming.”
For the first time, Malcolm Reed looked afraid.
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