Chapter 3 - THE QUESTION THAT SILENCED THE ROOM|
The room became quiet enough for me to hear the fireplace crackle.
Jenna stepped away from Ryan.
"Don't you dare bring my father into this."
Ryan raised both hands, performing innocence for the audience.
"I'm only trying to help. Your boyfriend deserves to know who he's standing beside."
I tightened my arm around her waist, not to restrain her, but to remind her I was there.
"Then tell us," I said.
Ryan studied me.
For a moment, I saw something behind his expression that didn't belong to a jealous ex-fiancé.
Recognition.
He knew exactly who I was, and he had expected me to come.
"Eleven years ago," he began, "Thomas Hart was involved in a financial investigation. He discovered that several prominent businessmen were moving money through shell companies."
Jenna's face had gone pale.
"My father was an accountant."
"Yes. A very good one."
"You're lying."
"Am I?"
Ryan reached into his jacket and removed a folded document.
He handed it to Jenna.
She opened it with trembling fingers.
The paper was an old bank transfer record. Her father's signature appeared at the bottom.
Beside it was the name Daniel Blackwood.
My father.
I took the document from her.
The transaction was dated three days before the warehouse explosion that killed him.
"Where did you get this?" I asked.
"From a man who knew your father better than you ever did."
I stepped closer.
"Careful."
Ryan smiled.
"There's that reputation. Everyone says Evan Blackwood is a monster. But monsters have weaknesses."
His gaze moved toward Jenna.
I felt something cold settle behind my ribs.
"You're making a mistake," I told him.
"No. I'm correcting one."
Jenna stared at the document.
"Why would my father transfer money to Daniel Blackwood?"
"That's the question you should have asked years ago."
"My father never worked for criminals."
Ryan's expression turned almost sympathetic.
"Perhaps he didn't know what the money was for."
"Stop."
"Perhaps he discovered the truth and tried to stop it."
"Stop!"
Her voice cracked across the room.
Everyone fell silent.
Ryan lowered his voice.
"Your father died because he tried to protect someone."
Jenna shook her head.
"You don't know anything about him."
"I know he kept something hidden. Something that disappeared after his death."
I took the document and folded it.
"You're finished."
Ryan laughed quietly.
"Not yet."
He reached into his pocket and placed a small black envelope on the table.
Inside was a photograph.
My father stood outside the warehouse, his face turned toward the camera. Behind him was a second figure, partially obscured by shadow.
The figure wore a distinctive silver ring.
I knew that ring.
Victor Voss had worn one for as long as I could remember.
"Where is Voss?" I asked.
Ryan's smile widened.
"Closer than you think."
The lights flickered.
A waiter entered with a tray of champagne. He moved toward the table, but Marcus appeared from the doorway and caught his wrist before the man could set the tray down.
The waiter dropped the glasses.
One shattered.
Then the room erupted.
Two men near the windows reached beneath their jackets. My security team moved instantly, forcing them against the wall. Guests screamed and scrambled for cover.
I pulled Jenna behind me.
"Stay down."
She grabbed my sleeve.
"Evan, the photograph!"
I glanced back.
The black envelope was gone.
Ryan was gone, too.
A fire alarm began shrieking. Red emergency lights flashed across the walls.
Marcus appeared beside me.
"Boss, the service corridor is compromised."
"Find Ryan."
"We're trying."
Jenna clutched my arm.
"Someone took the envelope."
I looked at her.
"Did you see who?"
She nodded slowly.
"The waiter."
Then she whispered something that made the room seem to tilt.
"I recognized him."
"From where?"
May you like
She swallowed.
"He was standing outside my apartment the night Ryan first threatened me."
