Chapter 10 - The Man Who Betrayed Both Families
Gideon wanted privacy.
Genevieve refused.
“No more private truths.”
They stood in the abandoned maintenance room beneath Terminal Seven while Rosalind, Beatrice, and Arthur remained nearby.
“If it concerns my mother,” Genevieve said, “everyone who already knows stays.”
Gideon looked at Arthur.
“You should tell her.”
Arthur shook his head.
“Marcus was your father.”
“And Elena was her mother.”
Genevieve crossed her arms.
“One of you starts talking.”
Gideon did.
“The night your mother died, my father received a call from her.”
Genevieve’s pulse quickened.
“What time?”
“Approximately ten twenty.”
“The accident happened at eleven.”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
“Marcus never told me everything. Only that Elena had discovered Sebastian was moving against her.”
“Why call Marcus instead of my father?”
Arthur answered.
“Because she didn’t trust me.”
Genevieve stared.
Her father’s face broke.
“I wanted to expose Sebastian immediately. Elena believed he had people inside law enforcement, the courts, and both companies.”
“She was right.”
“Yes.”
“She thought you’d act recklessly.”
“Yes.”
Genevieve looked at Gideon.
“What did Marcus do?”
“He sent a car to meet her.”
“And?”
“The car never reached her.”
“Why?”
Gideon’s jaw tightened.
“Marcus recalled it.”
Silence.
Genevieve felt the room tilt.
“Why?”
“Sebastian called him.”
Arthur looked away.
Gideon continued.
“He said you were with Elena.”
Genevieve stopped breathing.
“I wasn’t.”
“I know.”
“Where was I?”
“With Beatrice.”
Beatrice nodded.
“You were asleep at my home.”
Genevieve looked at Gideon.
“Sebastian threatened me.”
“Yes.”
“He told Marcus that if he helped my mother, I would die.”
“Yes.”
“So Marcus called off the rescue.”
“Yes.”
The word was barely audible.
Genevieve turned away.
Her mother had been alone.
Because Gideon’s father chose a child he knew over a woman asking for help.
The logic was understandable.
The result was unforgivable.
Both could be true.
“What happened after?” she asked.
Gideon answered.
“Marcus sent men anyway, fifteen minutes later.”
“Too late.”
“Yes.”
“Why change his mind?”
“He realized Sebastian had lied about your location.”
Beatrice whispered, “Elena’s car was found at eleven twelve.”
Genevieve closed her eyes.
Twenty minutes.
That was the distance between help and death.
She wanted someone to blame cleanly.
Marcus.
Arthur.
Sebastian.
Gideon.
But history rarely offered one villain and everyone else innocent.
Sebastian had built the trap.
Marcus had surrendered to it.
Arthur had hidden afterward.
And their children had inherited the consequences.
Genevieve opened her eyes.
“Did your father ever forgive himself?”
Gideon’s expression turned distant.
“No.”
“How did he die?”
“Officially?”
“Yes.”
“Heart attack.”
“And actually?”
“I don’t know.”
The ledger marked Marcus as removed.
That suggested Sebastian.
Arthur sat heavily.
“There’s something else.”
Genevieve almost laughed.
“Of course there is.”
Arthur looked at Gideon.
“Marcus gave me evidence before he died.”
“What evidence?”
“A recording of Sebastian admitting he had arranged Elena’s crash.”
Genevieve went completely still.
“You have proof?”
“Had.”
“Where is it?”
“Sebastian stole it thirteen years ago.”
Her hope vanished.
Arthur continued.
“But Marcus made a copy.”
Gideon stared.
“My father never told me.”
“He didn’t trust himself to keep it.”
“Where is it?”
Arthur looked at Genevieve.
“With Elena.”
She frowned.
“Mom is buried in New York.”
“No.”
Arthur shook his head.
“Her public grave is in New York.”
Silence.
Genevieve stared.
“What?”
Arthur’s voice broke.
“After the investigation, I had her remains transferred privately.”
“Where?”
“To the Winterborne family chapel.”
Genevieve stepped backward.
“You moved my mother without telling me?”
“I was afraid Sebastian would search the original grave.”
“Does Beatrice know?”
“No.”
For once, Beatrice looked as shocked as Genevieve.
Arthur continued.
“The recording is sealed inside a compartment beneath her memorial.”
Gideon looked at the clock.
“If it still exists.”
Genevieve was already moving.
Their plan for Vale House changed.
Rosalind continued feeding Sebastian false information, making it appear that the second archive was being transported toward the mountain estate.
Meanwhile, Gideon and Genevieve traveled to the Winterborne chapel.
Arthur remained behind with Beatrice.
The chapel stood on a forested hill outside Port Aurelia.
Small.
Private.
Almost forgotten.
Rain had replaced snow by the time they arrived.
Genevieve entered alone first.
Her mother’s memorial occupied the far wall.
Elena Winterborne.
Beloved wife.
Beloved mother.
Genevieve touched the engraved letters.
Seventeen years of grief.
Seventeen years of lies.
Gideon waited near the entrance.
She appreciated that.
“Where?” she asked.
Arthur had given them instructions.
Third floor tile.
Left of the memorial.
Genevieve knelt.
Gideon helped lift the stone.
Beneath it was a metal case.
Inside waited an old digital recorder sealed in plastic.
Genevieve stared.
Gideon inserted fresh batteries from his equipment bag.
The device powered on.
One file.
He looked at her.
“Ready?”
“No.”
He waited.
Genevieve pressed play herself.
Static.
Then Marcus Vale’s voice.
Then Sebastian.
Older.
Younger.
But unmistakable.
“You should have left Elena alone.”
“She was going to destroy everything.”
“You killed her.”
“I protected what we built.”
“She had a daughter.”
“Then you understand why you’ll keep quiet.”
Genevieve stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
Marcus said, “One day Gideon will find out.”
Sebastian answered.
“Then I’ll make certain he believes Arthur did it.”
Gideon’s eyes changed.
The final line came.
“And if Arthur ever tells Genevieve the truth, I’ll destroy them both using the companies you helped me build.”
The recording ended.
Silence filled the chapel.
Genevieve cried then.
Not dramatically.
No collapse.
Just tears.
Quiet and unstoppable.
Gideon remained several feet away.
He did not touch her.
Did not tell her it would be all right.
Because it wasn’t.
Eventually Genevieve stood.
She wiped her face.
“We have him.”
Gideon nodded.
“This plus the ledger is enough.”
“For criminal investigators.”
“Yes.”
“And for the public?”
“More than enough.”
She looked at her mother’s memorial.
“Then we stop hiding.”
Gideon stepped closer.
“What are you proposing?”
“Tonight at Vale House.”
“The trap?”
“Still happens.”
“But?”
Genevieve picked up the recorder.
“We don’t just trap Sebastian.”
She looked at Gideon.
“We end the empire that allowed him to exist.”
Gideon understood the cost immediately.
Vale Holdings.
Winterborne Maritime.
Political alliances.
Security agreements.
Careers.
Fortunes.
Everything would be investigated.
“Your father may lose the company.”
“I know.”
“So might I.”
“I know.”
“And you’re willing to do it?”
Genevieve looked at the memorial one last time.
“My mother died because everyone protected the empire instead of the truth.”
She turned toward Gideon.
“I’m not making the same choice.”
For a long moment, he simply watched her.
Then he said, “Neither am I.”
Outside the chapel, a car door closed.
Gideon turned.
Nobody should have known they were there.
Footsteps approached.
Genevieve held the recorder tightly.
The chapel door opened.
Malcolm Reeve, Gideon’s missing security director, stumbled inside.
His face was exhausted.
His clothes soaked.
“Mr. Vale.”
Gideon stepped forward.
“Where is your family?”
“Safe now.”
“Who took them?”
Malcolm looked directly at Genevieve.
“Sebastian.”
“We know.”
“No.”
Malcolm shook his head.
“You don’t understand.”
He pulled a flash drive from his pocket.
“Crowne is not working alone.”
Genevieve took it.
“Who?”
Malcolm’s answer changed everything.
May you like
“Arthur Winterborne.”
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