Chapter 16 - THE WOMAN THEY THOUGHT NO ONE WOULD MISS|
Delphine had worked at the Ashmore building for twenty-seven years. She knew which doors stuck during humid weather, which pipes rattled when the air-conditioning started, and which guests left expensive jewelry behind after a party.
She also knew Camille.
She had been the first person to notice that Camille skipped meals. She had quietly left food in the staff kitchen, taught her how to remove wax from marble without damaging the stone, and listened when Camille spoke about her father.
To the people who had taken her, Delphine was an easy target.
They were about to discover how wrong they were.
Gideon wanted to send a team to Warehouse 4 immediately. Camille refused to wait.
“Delphine has no idea what your men are planning,” she said. “She'll be terrified.”
“She is probably terrified already.”
“Then don't make her wait any longer.”
Gideon studied her.
“We go in together, but you stay behind me.”
“I'll stay where I can see her.”
Tobias had traced the message to a storage complex near the river. Warehouse 4 stood behind a chain-link fence, its loading doors closed and its security lights switched off. Two vehicles were parked outside.
Gideon's men took positions around the property.
He and Camille entered through a side door.
Inside, a single lamp illuminated a folding table. Delphine sat in a chair with her hands tied. A man stood behind her, holding a phone.
When he saw Gideon, he smiled.
“Mr. Ferraro. I wondered how long it would take.”
“Untie her.”
“Not until we get the ledger.”
Camille stepped forward.
“Delphine.”
The older woman lifted her head.
“Baby, don't.”
The man pressed a hand against her shoulder.
“Tell him where the original documents are.”
“I don't know what you're talking about,” Delphine replied.
The man struck the table.
“Don't play games.”
Camille's anger rose, but she kept her voice steady.
“She's not part of this. Let her go.”
The man looked at Camille.
“You're the one they want. The woman who can read the old records.”
“I can read them. I can't make you understand what they say.”
He frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you can take every page, every photograph, and every ledger. But if you don't know how the documents connect, you won't know which ones are real.”
Gideon glanced at her, understanding.
Camille continued.
“My father left a system of references. The documents aren't arranged by date. They're arranged by the old port codes. If you take the wrong pages, you'll destroy the evidence you're trying to steal.”
The man hesitated.
“Show me.”
“Untie her first.”
He laughed.
“You think you're negotiating?”
“No. I'm telling you what you need.”
A second man emerged from behind the loading crates.
“She's stalling.”
He raised his weapon.
Gideon moved, but Camille was already reaching toward the folding table. She swept a metal lamp onto the floor. The sudden crash made the man flinch. Gideon pulled her behind a stack of boxes as Tobias and the security team entered from the opposite side.
The warehouse erupted into shouting.
The two kidnappers were disarmed. One tried to escape through the loading bay but was stopped outside.
Gideon cut Delphine's restraints.
Camille dropped beside her.
“Are you hurt?”
“My wrists. Nothing else.”
Camille hugged her.
Delphine held her tightly.
“I told you not to come.”
“And I didn't listen.”
“Stubborn girl.”
Camille laughed through her tears.
Then Delphine pulled back and looked at Gideon.
“Are you the man who's been keeping her safe?”
Gideon paused.
“I'm trying.”
“Try harder. She deserves better than people who make promises.”
“I agree.”
Delphine nodded, apparently satisfied.
But the moment did not last.
Tobias approached with a phone recovered from one of the kidnappers.
“Mr. Ferraro, you need to see this.”
The screen displayed a message from Victor Sloane.
The old woman was only a warning. Tomorrow night, the ledger goes to the river. Bring Camille alone.
Gideon read it.
“Tomorrow night?”
Tobias nodded.
“There's a second message.”
He opened an audio file.
A man's voice spoke in a tired whisper.
“Camille, if you're hearing this, I've failed to reach you. I'm at the place where the river bends. Come before midnight.”
Camille recognized the voice immediately.
Her knees weakened.
“Dad?”
The recording continued.
May you like
“Don't trust Gideon with the final page.”
Then it ended.
