Chapter 8 - THE TRAP AT THE AIRFIELDRichard Blackwell called me at 9:17 p.m.
Unknown number.
Rebecca traced it immediately.
He didn’t care.
“Hello, niece.”
His voice was warm.
Cultured.
Almost affectionate.
I hated him instantly.
“Where are Julian and Chloe?”
“Alive.”
“If you hurt them—”
He laughed.
“You’re defending the husband who betrayed you?”
“No. I’m warning the man holding witnesses in a federal investigation.”
“You sound like your father.”
“Good.”
Silence.
That wounded him.
“You have something belonging to me.”
“The ledger?”
“It was never your father’s.”
“It documented his company being robbed.”
“Our company.”
I understood.
Richard still believed Sterling should have been his.
After three decades, this was never about money alone.
It was about humiliation.
“You want the ledger?”
“Yes.”
“In exchange for Julian and Chloe?”
“And safe passage.”
I looked at Rebecca.
She shook her head.
Obviously.
Richard continued.
“Midnight. Waukegan Executive Airfield. Hangar Six.”
“You think I’m coming alone?”
“I know federal agents are listening.”
Rebecca’s expression changed.
Richard chuckled.
“Hello, Agent Cross.”
We all froze.
He had surveillance somewhere.
Or information.
“You have forty-three minutes,” he continued. “If I see a tactical response, Chloe dies first.”
“What about Julian?”
“That depends how sentimental you are.”
“Not very.”
Even Rebecca nearly smiled.
Richard’s voice hardened.
“Bring the original ledger.”
The line went dead.
Rebecca immediately began planning.
My mother objected.
“You cannot let Victoria enter that hangar.”
“I’m going.”
“No.”
I turned.
“You don’t get to make decisions for me.”
The words cut.
She accepted them.
Then nodded.
“You’re right.”
That surprised me.
“But I am asking you not to.”
“I’ve spent the last week being hunted inside my own life.”
I held up the ledger.
“This ends tonight.”
We prepared a duplicate.
Perfect exterior.
Blank interior pages mixed with photocopies.
The original went into federal custody.
I wore a wire.
Marcus insisted on driving.
My mother stayed with Rebecca’s command team.
At 11:58, our car rolled toward Hangar Six.
Rain had begun.
Of course.
The same cold rain that seemed to follow every nightmare in my life.
Hangar doors stood open.
Inside, a private jet waited.
Julian sat tied to a chair.
Chloe sat several feet away, her injured shoulder bandaged.
Daniel Mercer stood behind them holding a gun.
And beside the jet stood Richard Blackwell.
My uncle.
He was seventy-two.
Silver-haired.
Immaculate.
He looked like the kind of man whose photograph appeared in magazines beneath headlines about philanthropy.
Nothing about him looked monstrous.
That was the worst part.
“Victoria.”
I walked inside carrying the ledger.
Marcus remained outside according to Richard’s instructions.
“What happened to family reunions?” I asked.
Richard smiled.
“Evelyn raised you badly.”
“She didn’t raise me at all.”
His smile faded.
Good.
“Ledger.”
“Release Chloe.”
“No.”
“Then no ledger.”
Mercer lifted his gun.
Chloe flinched.
Richard sighed.
“You have your father’s stubbornness.”
“And apparently my mother’s survival instinct.”
He approached.
“Do you know what your father stole from me?”
“A company you tried to bankrupt?”
“He stole my future.”
“You committed fraud.”
“I built half of Sterling.”
“And then you robbed it.”
His face darkened.
“Your father would have been nothing without me.”
“And you’ve spent thirty years trying to prove that by destroying everything he built.”
The hangar went silent.
Richard stopped three feet away.
“Give me the ledger.”
“Tell me who cut my brakes.”
Mercer’s face changed.
Richard smiled.
“Still curious?”
“I want to hear it.”
“Why?”
“For closure.”
He laughed softly.
“You think life gives closure?”
“I think guilty men love hearing themselves explain why they’re smarter than everyone.”
That landed.
His vanity outweighed caution.
Richard looked toward Mercer.
“Daniel arranged the mechanic.”
My heart pounded.
“Name.”
Mercer interrupted.
“Don’t.”
Richard ignored him.
“Thomas Greer.”
Rebecca was hearing everything.
“Where is Greer?”
“Dead.”
My stomach dropped.
“Why?”
“Because people who perform ugly tasks become uncomfortable liabilities.”
Mercer stared at Richard.
A realization moved across his face.
He was a liability too.
Interesting.
I pushed.
“Did Julian know?”
Richard looked at my husband.
“Not before the crash.”
Julian closed his eyes.
“Chloe?”
“No.”
She began crying quietly.
Not innocence.
Relief.
“Then why was she in the garage?”
“To create a suspect.”
Chloe stared at Mercer.
“You set me up.”
Mercer said nothing.
Richard extended his hand.
“Ledger.”
I gave it to him.
He opened it.
Flipped pages.
Then his expression changed.
“This is fake.”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
Mercer raised the gun.
Federal lights exploded outside.
“FBI!”
Chaos erupted.
Mercer grabbed Chloe.
Gun pressed to her throat.
Richard ran toward the jet.
Julian knocked his chair sideways, striking Mercer’s legs.
The gun fired.
Chloe screamed.
I dove behind equipment.
Agents flooded the hangar.
Mercer dragged Chloe toward the plane.
Then Julian did something I never expected.
He threw himself at Mercer.
Both men crashed to the floor.
The gun slid away.
Chloe kicked it.
Richard reached the jet stairs.
Then my mother stepped from behind a federal vehicle outside.
“Richard!”
He stopped.
Everything stopped for him.
“Evelyn.”
My mother walked forward.
No weapon.
No protection except agents covering her.
“You lost.”
Richard looked at her like the past had come alive to haunt him.
“You always choose them.”
“Yes.”
“I’m your brother.”
“You stopped being my brother when you threatened my child.”
His face twisted.
“I gave you everything.”
“No. You tried to own everything.”
Agents moved closer.
Richard looked toward the jet.
Then toward my mother.
He knew escape was over.
Mercer was handcuffed.
Julian lay on the ground bleeding from his forehead.
Chloe was crying.
I stood.
Richard looked at me.
“You think winning tonight makes you safe?”
“No.”
“You think Sterling survives this scandal?”
“Yes.”
“You think shareholders forgive weakness?”
I walked toward him.
“This wasn’t weakness.”
“No?”
“No.”
I looked around at the agents surrounding him.
“This was your final board meeting.”
His expression collapsed.
Rebecca handcuffed Richard Blackwell at 12:14 a.m.
Daniel Mercer was arrested seconds later.
For the first time since my crash, I thought the nightmare was ending.
I was wrong.
At 4:30 that morning, Rebecca entered the hospital waiting room.
Her face was grim.
“We searched Mercer’s devices.”
“And?”
“There’s a scheduled payment.”
“To who?”
“A Sterling board member.”
My stomach tightened.
“Which one?”
“Helen Price.”
I stared at her.
Helen.
My father’s closest advisor.
The woman who had voted against Julian.
The woman who seemed to protect me.
“What was the payment for?”
Rebecca placed a printed message on the table.
My blood went cold.
If Victoria survives, initiate Phase Two. Board removal. Permanent.
The transaction was scheduled for that morning.
May you like
Blackwell’s arrest hadn’t ended the conspiracy.
Someone inside Sterling was preparing to finish it.
