Chapter 9 - Sadie Finally Says His Name
Declan prepared to go to the Old Harbor Hotel.
Sadie prepared to stop him.
“You know it’s a trap.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re still going.”
“Yes.”
“Then why are we having this conversation?”
“Because you followed me into my office.”
“I live here temporarily.”
“You live in the east wing.”
“I got lost.”
“You walked past six doors marked private.”
Sadie frowned.
“Your signs are confusing.”
Declan almost smiled.
Almost.
Then his face returned to stone.
Nathaniel’s message sat on the desk between them.
THE TRUTH ABOUT YOUR SON.
Sadie lowered her voice.
“What do you think he knows?”
“I don’t know.”
“You told me the accident was twelve years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Was Nathaniel there?”
“No.”
“Victor?”
“Victor joined me eight years ago.”
“So this could be a lie.”
“It could.”
“And you’re risking yourself for it.”
Declan stared out the window.
“My son, Adrian, drove off a bridge at two in the morning.”
Sadie waited.
“He had alcohol in his system.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I blamed him.”
Declan’s voice cracked almost imperceptibly.
“For twelve years, I blamed my dead son for killing himself.”
Sadie’s expression softened.
“Declan.”
“If there is even a chance someone knows something else…”
She understood.
Not strategy.
Not ego.
A father.
“Then don’t go alone.”
“Nathaniel demanded—”
“Nathaniel is a liar.”
“Yes.”
“So why obey the only part of his message designed to make you vulnerable?”
Declan looked at her.
“Who taught you strategy?”
“My mother.”
He blinked.
“She played poker.”
For the first time that day, he laughed.
Sadie continued.
“You go. Anthony follows from a distance. Authorities know where you are.”
“He’ll detect them.”
“Then let him.”
Declan frowned.
“What?”
“If Nathaniel wants you afraid, show him you’re done following his rules.”
Declan stared at her.
Sadie shrugged.
“Diner manager.”
“You were wasted on breakfast shifts.”
“I’ve been saying that for years.”
That evening, Declan entered the Old Harbor Hotel alone.
Technically.
Anthony’s teams remained blocks away.
Investigators had been alerted through Declan’s attorneys.
Sadie stayed at the estate with her mother.
Also technically.
She had Anthony’s live audio feed in one ear.
He didn’t know.
Hannah had shown her how to access the staff security dashboard.
Sadie would apologize later.
Declan entered the abandoned ballroom.
Nathaniel Vale waited beneath a broken chandelier.
He was sixty-three, elegantly dressed, silver-haired and calm.
Victor stood twenty feet behind him.
Declan looked at both men.
“Nathaniel.”
“Declan.”
“You’ve aged.”
“So have you.”
Victor smiled.
Declan ignored him.
“My son.”
Nathaniel sighed.
“Straight to business.”
“Adrian.”
Nathaniel slowly reached into his coat.
Declan tensed.
Nathaniel produced an envelope.
“Your son discovered financial irregularities twelve years ago.”
Declan stopped breathing.
“What?”
“He was smarter than you knew.”
Nathaniel smiled faintly.
“He asked questions about companies we used before Victor ever joined us.”
“We?”
Nathaniel’s smile disappeared.
“You think Victor created this? Victor was useful muscle. The structure existed years earlier.”
Declan felt the floor shift beneath him.
“My son found it.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Nathaniel hesitated.
Declan stepped closer.
“What happened to my son?”
“I tried to scare him.”
Declan’s face went empty.
Nathaniel continued.
“I told him his investigation would destroy you.”
“Did you touch him?”
“No.”
“Did anyone?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“He left angry.”
“The bridge.”
“Yes.”
Declan’s fists closed.
Nathaniel lowered his voice.
“He had been drinking.”
For a horrifying moment, nothing had changed.
Then Nathaniel added, “But someone followed him.”
Declan looked at Victor.
Victor frowned.
“That wasn’t me.”
Nathaniel nodded.
“No. Victor didn’t work for us then.”
“Who?”
Nathaniel looked toward Declan.
“One of your drivers.”
“Name.”
“Samuel Price.”
Declan knew the name.
A loyal employee who died five years earlier.
“What did he do?”
“Adrian’s car was struck before it reached the bridge.”
Declan went utterly still.
“It wasn’t an accident.”
“No.”
Sadie, listening from the estate, covered her mouth.
Declan’s voice became barely audible.
“You knew.”
Nathaniel said nothing.
“You stood beside me at his funeral.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me blame my son.”
Nathaniel’s eyes hardened.
“You would have burned everything down.”
Declan took one step toward him.
Victor moved.
Sadie gripped the desk.
“Don’t,” she whispered though Declan couldn’t hear her.
Then something unexpected happened.
Declan stopped.
He did not attack Nathaniel.
He simply looked at him.
“You spent twelve years expecting me to become exactly the man you told everyone I was.”
Nathaniel frowned.
Declan touched his earpiece.
“Anthony.”
Nathaniel’s face changed.
“You brought them?”
“I brought everyone.”
Doors opened.
Investigators entered.
Victor ran.
He made it six steps.
Anthony’s team blocked him.
No gunfire.
No dramatic fight.
Just handcuffs.
Victor stared at Declan.
“You’ve become weak.”
Declan looked at him.
“No.”
He glanced toward Nathaniel.
“I became tired of letting men like you decide who I had to be.”
Nathaniel was arrested.
Victor too.
The envelope contained records supporting Nathaniel’s claim about Adrian’s crash.
Hours later, Declan returned home.
Sadie waited in the dining room.
He stopped when he saw her.
“You listened.”
She winced.
“Maybe.”
“Hannah?”
“Don’t fire her.”
“I’m considering promoting her.”
Sadie smiled.
Then saw his face.
The smile vanished.
“Declan.”
He looked away.
Sadie approached.
Slowly.
The man everyone feared stood completely still.
She stopped in front of him.
“You didn’t cause what happened to Adrian.”
“I built the world around him.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“It feels the same tonight.”
Sadie lifted her left hand.
She hesitated.
“May I?”
Declan looked at her.
The echo of his question from days earlier nearly broke him.
He nodded.
Sadie placed her hand gently against his forearm.
Nothing romantic.
Nothing dramatic.
Just contact.
Declan closed his eyes.
For twelve years, he had allowed no one near that grief.
Sadie did not tell him to forgive himself.
She did not tell him Adrian was in a better place.
She did not say everything happened for a reason.
She simply stayed.
After several minutes Declan whispered, “Sadie.”
“Yes?”
“I’m glad you didn’t disappear.”
Her eyes filled.
For the first time in her life, being seen did not feel dangerous.
And for the first time in Declan’s, being vulnerable did not feel like surrender.
But the empire Nathaniel had helped build was beginning to collapse.
And when morning came, Declan would have to decide whether to save it—
May you like
or finally let it die.
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