Chapter 5
At 3:42 a.m., Grand Central Terminal looked like a cathedral built for ghosts.
The main concourse was mostly empty.
A few travelers dragged suitcases across the polished floor.
Cleaning crews moved quietly beneath the giant clock.
I walked alone.
At least, that was what whoever was watching needed to believe.
Maya was two blocks away in a parked car with a laptop connected to my phone.
Thomas was inside the station dressed in a borrowed maintenance jacket.
Neither of them liked the plan.
Neither did I.
But Sophie had called me ten minutes earlier.
She was safe.
For now.
Maya had insisted we verify that before I left.
My daughter sounded irritated that I had woken her.
“Mom, it’s almost four in the morning.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
A lie.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Lock your door.”
She laughed sleepily.
“It locks automatically.”
“Lock it anyway.”
There had been a pause.
“Mom?”
“I love you.”
Another pause.
“I love you too.”
I nearly told her everything.
Instead, I said goodnight.
Then Maya called a private security contact in Boston.
Two people were already outside Sophie’s dorm.
People Maya trusted.
I trusted no one.
But it was better than nothing.
Now I crossed the concourse carrying a black handbag.
Richard’s notebook was inside.
Or what looked like his notebook.
Maya had spent thirty minutes photographing every page.
The original was hidden beneath the spare tire of her car.
I carried a replacement notebook filled with blank paper except for the first four copied pages.
Enough to fool someone who checked quickly.
My phone vibrated.
NEW MESSAGE.
CLOCK.
I looked toward the information booth.
The famous four-faced clock stood under the stars painted on the ceiling.
I walked toward it.
Another message.
PLACE BAG UNDER SOUTH SIDE.
WALK AWAY.
I slowed.
Too easy.
They didn’t want to meet.
They wanted a dead drop.
Which meant the person collecting the notebook might not know anything.
A courier.
Disposable.
I reached the clock.
Bent down.
Placed the bag beneath the south side.
Then walked away.
My heartbeat filled my ears.
Maya’s voice came through the tiny wireless earbud hidden beneath my hair.
“Keep walking.”
I did.
“Thomas has eyes on the bag.”
I headed toward a row of benches.
Three minutes passed.
Nothing.
Five.
Then Thomas whispered.
“Movement.”
I didn’t turn.
“Who?”
“Gray hoodie. Male. Young.”
“Following?”
“Yes.”
“Careful.”
Another voice came through.
Maya.
“Evelyn, another person just entered from Vanderbilt Avenue.”
“Description?”
“Woman. Red coat.”
I saw her reflection in a dark store window.
Mid-forties.
Blonde.
Expensive shoes.
She walked confidently.
Not like a courier.
Like someone who belonged anywhere she decided to stand.
She passed the clock without looking at the bag.
The young man in the hoodie approached.
Bent down.
Picked it up.
Then the woman said one word.
“Stop.”
He froze.
So did I.
She took out her phone.
The young man handed her the bag.
Then ran.
She watched him go.
Maya whispered, “Evelyn, do you know her?”
“Yes.”
I knew her very well.
Her name was Celeste Warren.
Senior vice president and general counsel of Hamilton Grand Hotels.
Richard’s closest legal adviser for eleven years.
She had sat beside me at his funeral.
Held my hand.
Brought food to my house.
Helped with probate.
Told me Richard had always admired my strength.
And now she was collecting his secret notebook at four in the morning after someone threatened my daughter.
I felt something inside me harden.
Celeste opened the bag.
She checked the notebook.
Her face relaxed.
Then her phone rang.
She answered.
“Yes.”
Silence.
“I have it.”
Another pause.
“No, she came alone.”
My nails dug into my palm.
“I’ll bring it to you.”
She walked toward the Lexington Avenue exit.
Maya spoke quickly.
“We follow.”
I headed after her.
“Not too close.”
Celeste reached the street.
A black sedan waited.
She got in.
Maya’s car moved from the curb thirty seconds later.
I climbed into a taxi.
I gave the driver an address two blocks from Maya’s route and kept her location on my phone.
The sedan headed downtown.
Past Union Square.
Past SoHo.
Then west.
Celeste’s car stopped outside a converted warehouse near the Hudson River.
Maya parked half a block away.
I paid the taxi and joined her.
Thomas appeared from another direction.
“She went inside,” Maya said.
“Who owns the building?”
“Checking.”
Her fingers moved over the laptop.
Then stopped.
“You’re not going to like this.”
“Try me.”
“Hamilton Strategic Services.”
The shell company.
The company tied to forged payments.
I stared at the warehouse.
Lights glowed on the third floor.
“Can you access cameras?”
“Not without time.”
“We don’t have time.”
Thomas looked at me.
“We should call federal investigators.”
“With what? A notebook, stolen records, and a story about people who may have connections inside law enforcement?”
Maya nodded reluctantly.
“She’s right.”
Thomas threw up his hands.
“So we just walk inside?”
“No.”
I looked around.
Across the street was a twenty-four-hour diner.
“Thomas, stay here.”
He frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Something less dramatic than breaking in.”
I crossed the street.
Inside the diner, a tired waitress looked up.
“Coffee?”
“Actually, I need your help.”
Five minutes later, I had what I wanted.
The diner received deliveries from the warehouse every morning at five.
Breakfast trays for overnight staff.
The delivery man was already loading a cart.
Money solved the rest.
At 4:36 a.m., I walked through the warehouse lobby wearing a diner apron and pushing coffee, eggs, and pastries.
The security guard barely looked at me.
“Third floor.”
“Thanks.”
My hands were shaking.
I kept them on the cart.
The elevator opened onto a hallway with glass offices.
Voices came from a conference room.
I pushed the cart slowly.
Celeste stood inside.
So did Martin.
And Simon Rusk.
I recognized him from Maya’s photographs.
Tall.
Silver hair.
Military posture.
Three enemies in one room.
Then another man stepped into view.
Daniel.
My stomach dropped.
Even after everything, some stupid part of me had wanted him not to be there.
Celeste placed the fake notebook on the table.
“She brought it.”
Daniel picked it up.
He flipped through the first few pages.
“What did she say?”
“Nothing.”
“She came alone?”
“As instructed.”
Martin poured himself coffee from a machine.
“She was always obedient.”
I almost pushed the cart through the glass.
Celeste gave him a disgusted look.
“Don’t underestimate her.”
Simon spoke for the first time.
“If she were dangerous, Richard would have told her everything.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“Richard told her more than he should have.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
Celeste crossed her arms.
“She went to B2.”
Martin looked nervous.
“The files are gone.”
“Gone where?”
“We cleared most of them.”
“Most?”
Martin hesitated.
Simon’s voice became quiet.
“What does most mean?”
“There were backup drives missing.”
Nobody spoke.
My pulse quickened.
Backup drives.
Richard had taken something.
Celeste turned toward Daniel.
“Did he hide them at the lake?”
I stopped breathing.
Daniel looked at her.
“I searched the house after the funeral.”
Rage exploded inside me.
He had gone through our home.
While I was grieving.
Maybe while I was standing in another room.
“Nothing,” Daniel continued.
Simon said, “Search again.”
Daniel tossed the notebook down.
“First I want Evelyn contained.”
“Contained how?” Celeste asked.
He rubbed his face.
“We push the audit forward. Anonymous evidence goes to federal authorities. Forged authorizations. Money transfers. Her name is on enough documents.”
My knees almost gave way.
They were going to frame me.
Not someday.
Now.
Martin smiled.
“Once she’s arrested, board control transfers.”
Daniel stared at him.
“You seem pleased.”
Martin’s smile disappeared.
Celeste said, “And the daughter?”
Daniel’s head snapped toward her.
“What about Sophie?”
“The message worked.”
“What message?”
Silence.
My heart stopped.
Daniel walked closer to Celeste.
“What message?”
Celeste looked toward Simon.
Simon said nothing.
Daniel’s face darkened.
“You threatened Sophie?”
“Insurance.”
Daniel slammed his hand against the table.
“I told you family was off limits.”
I stared through the glass.
Confusion cut through my anger.
Daniel was part of it.
Clearly.
But he hadn’t known about the threat.
Celeste spoke calmly.
“You lost the right to set boundaries when Richard began investigating.”
“She is nineteen years old.”
“And Evelyn is becoming a problem.”
Daniel pointed at Simon.
“If anyone touches Sophie—”
Simon stepped toward him.
“You forget your position.”
Daniel stopped.
The room changed.
There it was again.
Daniel wasn’t in charge.
He was involved.
But he was also afraid.
Simon spoke quietly.
“You wanted your brother’s chair.”
Daniel’s jaw clenched.
“We gave it to you.”
“Not yet.”
“We gave you the path.”
Daniel looked away.
Simon continued.
“You forged records. You fed us internal data. You kept Richard distracted. Don’t become sentimental now.”
I felt sick.
Daniel had betrayed him.
Whatever excuses he might have, whatever fear he felt, he had betrayed his own brother.
Then Celeste opened the notebook again.
She frowned.
“Wait.”
My heart slammed.
She turned several pages.
Blank.
Her face changed.
“This isn’t it.”
Simon grabbed the notebook.
He flipped through it.
“Damn it.”
Daniel looked toward the glass hallway.
“She knew.”
Simon shouted, “Lock the building.”
I abandoned the cart.
Ran.
Behind me, a door flew open.
“Stop!”
I reached the elevator.
Locked.
Red light.
I headed for the stairs.
Footsteps thundered behind me.
Maya’s voice came through my ear.
“Evelyn, move! They know!”
“I noticed!”
The stairwell door opened.
I raced downward.
Third floor.
Second.
A man came up from below.
Security.
I turned.
Simon appeared above me.
Trapped.
The guard climbed.
Simon descended.
Then the fire alarm screamed.
Lights flashed.
The stairwell doors unlocked automatically.
Maya.
I shoved through the second-floor door.
Employees poured into the hallway, confused.
I disappeared into the crowd.
Simon shouted behind me.
“Find her!”
I grabbed a coat from the back of an office chair and pulled it around myself.
Then I walked instead of ran.
Everyone else was hurrying toward the exits.
I kept my face down.
Ground floor.
The lobby doors were ahead.
A hand grabbed my shoulder.
I spun.
Daniel.
He dragged me into a side corridor.
I tried to scream.
He covered my mouth.
“Quiet.”
I bit his hand.
He swore.
“Evelyn!”
I backed away.
“Stay away from me.”
“You need to leave.”
“I heard everything.”
His face went pale.
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“I can explain.”
“You forged documents in my name.”
“Yes.”
The answer stunned me.
No denial.
No excuse.
Not yet.
“You helped them frame me.”
“Yes.”
“You betrayed Richard.”
His eyes filled with something I had never expected.
Shame.
“Yes.”
I wanted to slap him.
Instead, I whispered, “Why?”
He looked toward the hallway.
“Because Richard wasn’t supposed to die.”
I froze.
“What?”
“They told me they wanted leverage. Control. They wanted him removed from the CEO position.”
“Removed?”
“Board vote. Scandal. Medical leave. Anything.”
“And you believed them?”
“I wanted the company.”
There it was.
Ugly.
Simple.
Human.
“I spent my whole life behind him,” Daniel said. “Richard was the genius. Richard was the heir. Richard was the one our father trusted. I wanted one thing that was mine.”
“So you sold him.”
His eyes closed briefly.
“Yes.”
I stepped back like he smelled rotten.
Then he said, “But I did not kill my brother.”
“Who did?”
“I don’t know.”
“Liar.”
“I don’t.”
Footsteps approached.
Daniel pushed open a service door.
“Go.”
I didn’t move.
“If Simon finds you, Sophie becomes leverage again.”
“Why help me?”
He looked at me.
“Because I already let one Hamilton die.”
Voices came closer.
Daniel shoved me through the door.
“Go to the lake house.”
My eyes narrowed.
“You searched it.”
“I searched where Richard would hide something.”
“What does that mean?”
“He would hide evidence somewhere clever.”
I remembered Richard’s words.
Where we were happiest.
Daniel didn’t understand.
But I did.
He slammed the door behind me.
I ran into the alley.
Maya’s car screeched around the corner.
Thomas opened the rear door.
“Get in!”
I jumped inside.
As we sped away, Maya asked, “What happened?”
I looked back at the warehouse.
“Daniel helped us.”
Thomas stared at me.
“What?”
“He’s guilty.”
“Then why—”
“But he isn’t the one running this.”
Maya tightened her hands on the wheel.
“Simon?”
“Maybe.”
I thought of the way Simon controlled the room.
Then something else returned to me.
Richard’s notebook.
One page contained three letters I had not understood.
A.H.
I suddenly knew why they bothered me.
Those were Richard’s father’s initials.
Arthur Hamilton.
My father-in-law.
The founder of Hamilton Grand.
Dead for nine years.
I pulled out my phone.
“Maya, did Richard ever investigate company records from before Daniel joined the board?”
“Yes.”
“How far back?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Because this may not have started with Daniel.”
Thomas leaned forward.
“What are you saying?”
I looked out at Manhattan as dawn began to lighten the sky.
“I’m saying my husband may have inherited a criminal empire without knowing it.”
And if that was true, the answer wasn’t in Manhattan.
May you like
It was at the lake house.
Where Richard and I had once believed we were alone.
