Chapter 6: The Agreement
I stared at Victoria.
“What does that mean?””
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she walked toward the fireplace and placed the second photograph on the mantel.
“Ask yourself why Ryan approached you.””
“He didn't.””
“Then why did he?””
“We met by accident.””
Victoria smiled faintly.
“Did you?””
I remembered the coffee shop.
The rain.
The spilled coffee.
His paperwork.
His smile.
I remembered thinking it was fate.
“What are you saying?””
“I'm saying Ryan knew who you were before you ever met him.””
My stomach twisted.
“No.””
Victoria opened her purse and removed a thin folder.
She handed it to me.
Inside was a photograph of me leaving my office three years earlier.
Another showed me entering Bennett Holdings.
Another showed Ryan sitting across from Charles in a restaurant.
The final one showed the coffee shop.
Ryan was already there.
Waiting.
I looked closer.
The timestamp was forty-two minutes before I arrived.
My hands went numb.
“He was waiting for me.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“To identify you.””
I looked up.
“Identify me for what?””
“Northstar.””
I shook my head.
“He didn't know I owned Northstar.””
“He knew you had influence.””
“That isn't the same thing.””
“No.””
Victoria's voice softened.
“But it was enough.””
I walked toward the window.
Everything I thought I knew about the last eleven months suddenly looked different.
The first date.
The gifts.
The quiet dinners.
The way Ryan remembered my favorite tea.
The way he always seemed to know when I was stressed.
Had any of it been real?
Victoria said,
“He wasn't supposed to love you.””
I turned.
“Did he?””
She didn't answer.
“Did he ever love me?””
“I don't know.””
“You're lying.””
“I don't know.””
“Then find out.””
Victoria looked at me for a long moment.
“I think he did.””
My heart clenched.
“But that doesn't erase what he did.””
“No.””
I looked down at the acquisition agreement.
“Why did the Whitmores need Northstar so badly?””
Victoria's expression changed.
“Because Northstar owns something they can't create.””
“What?””
“Evidence.””
I frowned.
“Evidence of what?””
She sat down.
“Your mother discovered that Charles was moving money through companies controlled by the Whitmore family.””
I stared at her.
“Money laundering?””
“Yes.””
“And my father knew?””
“Your father discovered it after Elise did.””
“Then why didn't they go to the police?””
“Because Elise was pregnant.””
I froze.
“With Daniel.””
Victoria nodded.
“She was going to testify.””
“Against Charles?””
“Yes.””
“Then what happened?””
“Your father tried to protect her.””
I looked at the old medical records.
“She was listed as a protected witness.””
“She was.””
“What about Daniel?””
Victoria looked down.
“Charles found out.””
A cold silence settled between us.
“He threatened your father,” she continued.
“He told him that if Elise testified, Daniel would disappear.””
“And my father believed him.””
“He had no choice.””
I shook my head.
“There is always a choice.””
Victoria looked at me.
“Your father chose you.””
I stopped.
“What?””
“You were two years old.””
My throat tightened.
“He believed Charles would kill both children.””
“So what did he do?””
“He sent Daniel away.””
“Where?””
“I don't know.””
“But you said he died.””
“He was believed to have died.””
I stared at her.
“Believed?””
Victoria didn't respond.
My pulse raced.
“Victoria.””
She looked at me.
“Is Daniel alive?””
“I don't know.””
“Then why did you say he died?””
“Because that's what the records say.””
“Who wrote them?””
She looked away.
“Charles.””
I felt sick.
My phone buzzed again.
Ryan.
I answered.
“Where are you?””
“Maya, listen to me.””
“Did you know who I was before we met?””
Silence.
That silence was my answer.
“You did.””
“I knew your name.””
“You knew everything.””
“No.””
“Did your father send you to me?””
“Maya—”
“Did he?””
Ryan's voice broke.
“Yes.””
I closed my eyes.
For a moment, I couldn't hear anything.
Only my mother's voice from a memory I barely remembered.
Don't be afraid, sweetheart.
I opened my eyes.
“What was your assignment?””
“To get close to you.””
“Why?””
“To find out whether you controlled Northstar.””
“And once you knew?””
“I was supposed to convince you to sell.””
I laughed once.
It sounded broken.
“Did you ever plan to tell me?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Before the wedding.””
My heart stopped.
“What wedding?””
“Our wedding.””
I leaned against the wall.
“We never discussed a wedding.””
“My father had already spoken to yours.””
I stared at Victoria.
She didn't look surprised.
“Your father knew?””
“No.””
Ryan continued.
“I was going to tell you everything.””
“After you proposed?””
“Yes.””
“So you could propose to the daughter of the man whose company you were trying to destroy.””
“I wasn't trying to destroy it.””
“You signed an acquisition agreement.””
“I signed a preliminary document.””
“You were selling me.””
“No.””
“Then what was I?””
Ryan didn't answer.
I whispered,
“An asset?””
“No.””
“An opportunity?””
“No.””
“A target?””
His breathing changed.
“Maya, I fell in love with you.””
“After you were assigned to me.””
“Yes.””
“How convenient.””
“I know how it sounds.””
“It sounds exactly like what it was.””
He was silent.
Then he said,
“There's something else.””
I almost didn't want to hear it.
“What?””
“My father didn't send me alone.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“There was someone else watching you.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“Ryan.””
“I swear.””
“Then why do you sound afraid?””
“Because I found the original acquisition file.””
“And?””
“Your name wasn't the target.””
My blood ran cold.
“What?””
“The file was created before I met you.””
“Then whose name was on it?””
Ryan took a shaky breath.
“Daniel Bennett.””
I looked at Victoria.
She had gone completely still.
“Ryan,” I whispered, “Daniel is dead.””
“No.””
His voice was barely audible.
“He isn't.””
I couldn't breathe.
“What do you mean?””
“I found a photograph in my father's private safe.””
“Of Daniel?””
“Yes.””
“How old?””
“About two years ago.””
Victoria stood abruptly.
“What did he look like?””
Ryan answered,
“Older. But there's no mistaking him.””
Victoria closed her eyes.
I gripped the phone.
“Where is he?””
“I don't know.””
“Ryan, where is he?””
“I only found one address.””
“Give it to me.””
He hesitated.
“It's in Milwaukee.””
“I'll go.””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because my father knows I found it.””
I looked toward the windows.
“Then we're already too late.””
A sound came from outside.
Gravel crunching beneath tires.
Victoria moved toward the curtain.
She pulled it back slightly.
Her face drained of color.
“What?””
She whispered,
“They found us.””
I stepped beside her.
Three black SUVs were entering the property.
Men were getting out.
Victoria turned toward me.
“There's a tunnel beneath the house.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“It leads to the old boathouse.””
Another car stopped.
A man stepped out.
Charles Whitmore.
He looked directly toward the window.
Then he smiled.
My phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
*48 HOURS WAS GENEROUS.*
A second message followed.
*YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES.*
May you like
And then a third.
*BRING THE AGREEMENT.*
