Chapter 7
Katherine listened to the recording three times.
Not because she needed to.
Once was enough.
She listened because after eleven years of being called unstable, dishonest, bitter, and paranoid, hearing Richard's own voice confess felt unreal.
Claire's voice was there.
Vivienne's.
Richard's.
Words about destroying hospital records.
Bribing an investigator.
Planting financial documents.
Every lie that had ruined Katherine's life was suddenly trapped inside a cheap phone recording made by her ten-year-old daughter.
Katherine pressed the call button beside her bed.
A nurse entered.
"I need my clothes."
"You can't leave."
"My daughter has been kidnapped."
"Police are handling it."
Katherine pulled the heart monitor leads from her chest.
"I'm her mother."
"Mrs. Reed—"
"My name is Katherine Blackwood."
The nurse froze.
Katherine swung her legs over the bed.
"And I'm leaving."
Ten minutes later, Daniel arrived.
He took one look at her and shook his head.
"Elias will kill me."
"My father can get in line."
"Katie, you nearly died."
"My child is in a car with the woman who assaulted her."
Daniel stopped arguing.
He helped her into a wheelchair.
"At least let me take you."
"Where is Dad?"
"Following police."
"Where is Richard?"
Daniel's expression darkened.
"No one knows."
Katherine looked at him.
"Then that's the real problem."
Richard had heard the recording too.
Vivienne had accidentally sent a copy to a cloud account linked to their shared security system.
When he listened to it, he understood that his life had changed.
The evidence in Margaret's box was bad.
The recording was worse.
The recording made everything current.
It tied Vivienne to old crimes.
It tied him to the cover-up.
And it proved he knew exactly what had happened to Katherine.
He stood inside his office at Blackwood Holdings staring at the city.
His assistant had gone home.
His lawyers were calling.
Board members were calling.
He answered none of them.
There was only one move left.
He opened his private safe.
Inside was cash.
Two passports.
A handgun.
And the missing music box.
He had found it that afternoon.
But not the hidden bank key.
Still, there was something inside Vivienne and Elias did not know about.
A second envelope.
Katherine had hidden it beneath the velvet lining.
Richard opened it again.
The document inside was old.
Signed by Margaret.
Witnessed by a private attorney.
It gave Katherine temporary voting control of Margaret's shares if Elias was ever medically incapacitated or manipulated by another beneficiary.
Richard smiled bitterly.
Even dying, his mother had prepared for him.
He put the document into his coat.
Then his phone rang.
Vivienne.
He answered.
"You stupid woman."
"Careful."
"You let Emma record you."
"She recorded you too."
"I noticed."
"Then help me."
"Why would I?"
"Because she has destroyed both of us."
"No, Vivienne. You destroyed yourself."
Her voice sharpened.
"If I go down, you go with me."
"I know."
"So what now?"
Richard looked at the handgun.
"Where are you?"
She hesitated.
"Why?"
"I can solve this."
"You said that eleven years ago."
"And Katherine disappeared for eleven years."
Emma sat beside Vivienne in the SUV.
She listened.
Vivienne didn't notice her slowly pulling the interior door handle.
Locked.
Child lock.
She looked out the window.
Traffic was heavy.
They were crossing toward Manhattan.
Emma tried to memorize landmarks.
Bridge.
Red sign.
Gas station.
A church with a broken clock.
Anything.
Richard asked again.
"Where are you?"
Vivienne finally answered.
"The Grand."
Emma looked at her.
The hotel.
They were going back to where everything started.
Vivienne ended the call.
"Why are we going there?" Emma asked.
"Because your grandfather owns it."
"So?"
"So tonight he is going to give part of it to me."
"He won't."
Vivienne looked at her.
"He will if he loves you."
Emma swallowed.
"That's not winning."
"What?"
"If you make someone sign because you're threatening their family, you didn't win."
Vivienne laughed.
"Tell yourself that when you're older."
The SUV entered the private underground garage of the Blackwood Grand.
Vivienne pulled Emma from the back seat.
This time she didn't tie her hands.
Too many cameras.
Instead, she gripped Emma's shoulder.
"Smile."
"No."
Vivienne dug her fingers deeper.
Emma winced.
"I said smile."
They entered a private elevator.
The doors opened on the thirty-eighth floor.
The Grand Ballroom.
A charity gala was underway.
Hundreds of people filled the room.
Music played.
Champagne glasses glittered.
Vivienne walked Emma straight through the crowd.
People stared.
Emma's dirty hoodie stood out among evening gowns and tuxedos.
Whispers spread.
Vivienne smiled as if nothing was wrong.
At the center of the ballroom stood Elias.
He had arrived minutes earlier after receiving Vivienne's instructions.
Police were positioned discreetly outside.
She had threatened Emma if she saw officers.
So Elias had agreed to enter alone.
Their eyes met across the room.
Emma wanted to run to him.
Vivienne squeezed her shoulder.
"Don't."
Elias walked forward.
Every face turned toward him.
Vivienne spoke quietly.
"Did you bring the papers?"
"Yes."
"And your signature seal?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"Let her go."
"After."
Elias looked at Emma.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"I'm okay."
"Did she hurt you?"
Vivienne smiled for the crowd.
"Careful."
Emma stared at Elias.
"She wants your company."
"I know."
"Don't give it to her."
Several guests nearby started listening.
Vivienne's smile tightened.
"Quiet."
Emma raised her voice.
"She kidnapped me!"
The ballroom went silent.
Vivienne grabbed her arm.
"Stop."
Emma shouted louder.
"She kidnapped me from the hospital!"
Phones appeared.
People began recording.
Vivienne's face changed.
"This child is confused."
Elias stepped forward.
"No."
His voice carried across the room.
"She isn't."
Vivienne looked around.
"You have no idea what's happening."
"I have a very clear idea."
Elias held up an envelope.
"You want control of Blackwood Holdings?"
"Sign."
"First, release Emma."
"No."
"Then no signature."
Vivienne's eyes narrowed.
"You think I'm bluffing?"
"No."
Elias glanced toward the ballroom entrance.
"But you think I am."
Two police detectives walked in.
Vivienne jerked Emma backward.
"I told you no police!"
"I didn't bring them."
Katherine's voice came from behind the crowd.
"I did."
Emma's head snapped around.
"Mom!"
The crowd parted.
Katherine stood at the entrance, pale and weak, supported by Daniel.
Vivienne stared in disbelief.
"You should be in the hospital."
Katherine smiled.
"You should be in handcuffs."
Emma tried to run.
Vivienne caught her.
Then a man's voice came from the side entrance.
"Nobody move."
Richard stepped into the ballroom.
He held the missing music box in one hand.
And a gun in the other.
Screams erupted.
People ducked behind tables.
Police reached for their weapons.
Richard pressed the gun against his own side, partly hidden from view.
"Vivienne," he said.
"Bring Emma."
She stared at him.
"What are you doing?"
"Ending this."
Katherine stepped forward.
"Richard."
He looked at his sister.
For the first time in eleven years, they faced each other with no lies left between them.
"Hello, Katie."
"Let my daughter go."
"You always did get everything."
Katherine looked at the terrified child.
"This isn't about me anymore."
"It was always about you."
"No."
She shook her head.
"It was always about you being afraid you'd never be enough."
Richard's face twisted.
"Shut up."
"You stole because you wanted Dad's respect."
"Shut up."
"You framed me because you couldn't earn it."
"SHUT UP!"
His voice echoed through the ballroom.
Emma started crying.
Elias stepped between Richard and Katherine.
"This ends now."
Richard laughed bitterly.
"No, Dad."
He lifted the music box.
"This ends when you finally choose."
He pointed the gun toward Emma.
"Your company."
Then toward Katherine.
"Or your family."
Elias stared at his son.
And slowly removed the Blackwood signet ring from his hand.
He dropped it onto the floor.
The metal struck marble.
"The company was never worth either of them."
Richard's face collapsed.
May you like
For the first time, he realized he had spent eleven years destroying people for something his father was willing to abandon in a second.
And that realization made him more dangerous than ever.
