Chapter 6 - THE LAST HOSTAGE
I ran.
Security searched every hallway.
The parking lot.
The elevators.
Nothing.
Then my phone rang again.
A photograph appeared.
My mother sat in a chair inside a dark room.
She was unharmed.
But behind her stood Victor.
He smiled.
“You finally understand.”
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere your father once trusted.”
I knew immediately.
The old boathouse.
I drove there.
Alone.
When I entered, Victor stood near the window.
My mother was sitting at a table.
“Mom.”
“Danny, don't come closer.”
Victor smiled.
“You always were obedient.”
I stared at him.
“You killed my father.”
Victor's expression didn't change.
“Your father was weak.”
“He refused to give you the company.”
“He refused to understand reality.”
I looked at my mother.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Victor laughed.
“I'm not interested in hurting her.”
“Then why bring her here?”
“Because I need you to sign something.”
He placed documents on the table.
Transfer of Northbridge.
Every share.
Every asset.
Everything.
I looked at the papers.
Then smiled.
“You're twenty-two years too late.”
Victor frowned.
“What?”
“My father didn't leave me the company.”
Victor looked confused.
“He left me something better.”
“What?”
“The evidence.”
His smile disappeared.
“You're bluffing.”
I pressed a button on my phone.
The walls around us suddenly lit up.
Cameras.
Hidden cameras.
Victor stared.
“You recorded everything.”
“Yes.”
He stepped backward.
“You think that matters?”
“It already does.”
Outside, police sirens sounded.
Victor looked toward the window.
“How?”
I smiled.
“My mother wasn't the hostage.”
Victor froze.
“What?”
My mother stood.
She walked toward me.
The woman he had threatened was not my mother.
It was an undercover officer wearing my mother's coat.
Victor stared in horror.
Then the real door opened.
My mother stepped inside.
Victor looked from one woman to the other.
He finally understood.
He had walked into a trap.
The police rushed in.
Victor tried to run.
He was stopped immediately.
As they handcuffed him, he shouted:
“You think this ends with me?”
I walked toward him.
“It ends with you.”
He smiled.
“No.”
He leaned closer.
“There is one person you haven't found.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
Victor whispered:
“Your father's daughter.”
I froze.
I looked at my mother.
She turned pale.
May you like
Victor smiled.
And for the first time in my life, I saw fear in my mother's eyes.