Chapter 10 - The Boy in the Black Car
Meline screamed Adrian’s name.
He reached the second floor before Bennett.
One look at the empty bedroom and his face changed into something Meline had never seen.
Not panic.
Not rage.
Something quieter.
More dangerous.
“Lock the estate.”
Bennett grabbed his phone.
“Already doing it.”
“Road cameras.”
“Checking.”
Adrian looked at Meline.
“When did you last see him?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“How did they get in?”
“I don’t know.”
He checked the window.
A maintenance ladder rested below.
Inside help.
Again.
Meline saw the realization.
“How many people does Victor own?”
“Enough.”
Adrian pulled out his phone.
Meline grabbed his arm.
“You cannot storm somewhere shooting.”
“My son is gone.”
“I know.”
“My son is gone.”
The second time, his voice cracked.
Meline stepped closer.
“That is exactly why you cannot become predictable.”
He stared at her.
“Victor expects violence.”
“Yes.”
“So do something he won’t expect.”
Adrian looked at the mirror.
Bring the flash drive.
Come alone.
Meline’s mind raced.
“The song.”
“What?”
“Victor thinks everything is on the flash drive.”
“It is.”
“No.”
She pointed toward the piano room.
“The evidence existed before the drive. Elena and Norah encoded information in the score.”
“So?”
“So Victor still doesn’t know what we decoded.”
Adrian understood.
“We give him a fake.”
Bennett entered.
“Vehicle found.”
“Where?”
“Black SUV westbound.”
“Plate?”
“Stolen.”
“Traffic cameras?”
“Lost near Sheridan.”
Adrian called the federal prosecutor.
For once, he did not hesitate to ask law enforcement for help.
The response was immediate.
Agents mobilized.
Meline went downstairs.
She copied selected harmless files onto a second drive.
Adrian prepared to leave.
“You’re not going alone,” she said.
“The message says—”
“Victor knows you won’t.”
Adrian stopped.
“He knows you.”
“Yes.”
“But he doesn’t know me.”
“Meline.”
“I can help.”
“No.”
“You keep saying that.”
“And you keep ignoring me.”
“Excellent relationship.”
The word slipped out.
Relationship.
They both noticed.
Wrong time.
Very wrong time.
Meline looked away.
Adrian almost smiled despite everything.
Then his face became serious.
“If something happens to you—”
“Something already happened to me when Victor went after my mother.”
He could not argue.
Bennett found the likely location from an old Victor-owned property.
An abandoned lakeside concert hall north of the city.
The irony was cruel.
Music again.
Adrian and Meline drove there with federal teams staying several minutes behind.
Inside the hall, emergency lights glowed.
Eli sat on the stage.
Unhurt.
Victor stood behind him.
Three armed men occupied the aisles.
Adrian’s entire body tightened.
“Let him go.”
Victor smiled.
“Drive?”
Adrian raised it.
“First Eli.”
“No.”
“Victor.”
“You know how this works.”
Meline stepped forward.
Victor looked surprised.
“The maid.”
“Pianist,” she said.
“Whatever.”
“Eli comes to me. Then you get the drive.”
Victor considered.
“Why you?”
“Because he trusts me.”
Eli looked at her.
Meline saw fear.
But also understanding.
She had taught him to count rhythm.
Four beats.
Breathe.
Four beats.
Wait.
Meline subtly tapped her fingers against her leg.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Eli noticed.
Victor didn’t.
Adrian moved slightly.
One guard raised his weapon.
“Don’t.”
Adrian froze.
Meline continued tapping.
At four, Eli dropped to the floor.
Adrian threw the flash drive toward the opposite aisle.
Victor turned instinctively.
Federal agents exploded through the rear doors.
Chaos.
Shouting.
Weapons.
Meline ran toward Eli.
One of Victor’s men grabbed her.
Adrian crossed the distance in seconds.
A shot fired.
Meline screamed.
The guard fell.
Adrian pulled her away.
Eli crawled behind the piano onstage.
Victor grabbed the boy.
“No!”
Meline ran.
Victor pressed a gun to Eli’s side.
Everyone stopped.
Victor backed toward the stage exit.
“Move and he dies.”
Adrian’s face became blank.
“Take me.”
Victor laughed.
“You always thought everything was about you.”
“It is.”
“No.”
Victor looked at Meline.
“It’s about what people will do to protect you.”
His expression twisted.
“Elena died because she believed you could change.”
Adrian said nothing.
“I spent years building this with you. Then she wanted you to walk away.”
Victor shook his head.
“She would have destroyed everything.”
“So you killed her.”
“I saved what we built.”
Eli began crying.
Victor tightened his grip.
Meline saw the piano beside them.
Open.
Keys exposed.
She sat.
Everyone stared.
Victor frowned.
“What are you doing?”
Meline played.
Norah’s song.
Softly.
Victor’s face changed.
“Stop.”
Meline continued.
“Stop playing that.”
Eli’s breathing slowed.
Adrian recognized what she was doing.
Not calming Victor.
Calming Eli.
Four beats.
Breathe.
Four beats.
Wait.
Meline reached the bridge.
Eli looked at her.
She emphasized four notes.
Their lesson signal.
Ready.
Victor screamed.
“I said stop!”
He moved the gun.
Eli bit his wrist.
Victor shouted.
Adrian lunged.
Agents fired.
Victor fell.
The gun skidded away.
Eli ran into Adrian’s arms.
Meline stopped playing.
For several seconds nobody moved.
Then Adrian held his son so tightly the boy squeaked.
“Dad.”
“I’ve got you.”
“I can’t breathe.”
Adrian laughed and cried at the same time.
Meline stood.
Victor was alive.
Wounded.
Handcuffed.
An agent read him his rights.
He looked toward Adrian.
“This isn’t over.”
Adrian held Eli.
For the first time, the threat had no power.
“Yes,” Adrian said.
“It is.”
But Victor smiled.
“No.”
His eyes moved to Meline.
“You still haven’t asked Norah who caused the crash.”
Meline froze.
Adrian’s expression changed.
“What crash?”
Victor laughed as agents dragged him away.
And somewhere inside Meline, an old memory opened.
Four years earlier.
Rain.
A hospital.
Her father already dead for years.
Her mother’s car wrapped around a tree.
The accident doctors believed had accelerated Norah’s decline.
Meline suddenly remembered the date.
May you like
Three days after Elena Vance died.
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