Chapter 6 - THE BETRAYAL AND THE HIDDEN ALLIANCE
For three days Grace hovered between life and death. Police guarded her room. I barely slept. Lily stayed with a trusted family friend, safe and loved but constantly asking when we could all be together again.
I sat by Grace's bed every hour I wasn't with Lily. Holding her hand. Watching the monitors. Talking to her even when she couldn't answer.
Arthur had tried to murder her. In broad daylight. In public. He had shed every remaining shred of caution. He wanted her dead before she could testify. Before she could confirm the records were real. Before she could name him in court.
Victoria sent a message from jail. Arthur had reached out to her. Through a corrupt guard. With a single offer: Recant your statement. Say the documents were forged. Say Nathan forced you to lie. And I will arrange for Grace to survive. Refuse... and the child is next.
I read the note twice. Then crumpled it in my fist.
Arthur was threatening Lily directly. Using Grace's life as leverage. Using Victoria as a messenger. He was desperate. Cornered. Dangerous.
But he had made one fatal mistake. He had assumed Victoria still feared him more than she despised him.
Victoria sent a second note the same evening. Handwritten in shaky letters.
*He told me if Grace dies, the next accident takes Lily. Then you. He doesn't care about the money anymore. He only cares that none of you survive. I told him nothing. But the guard... he works for Arthur. He will report everything I say. I have information. Names. Safe houses. Contacts. Meet me at the lawyer's office tomorrow under maximum security. I will give you everything. I will destroy him. For Elena. For Grace. For Lily.*
I arrived at the meeting the next day with my entire security detail present. Victoria sat across the table, pale but composed. She placed a thick folder on the table.
"Arthur keeps a network of people," she said without preamble. "Mercenaries. Former military. People who don't ask questions. This list has every name. Every contact number. Every safe house he owns or rents under false identities. Including the one he is likely hiding in."
I stared at her. "Why are you doing this? He promised you protection. Immunity. Everything."
Victoria looked me dead in the eye.
"He tried to kill Grace. And he threatened Lily. I may hate you, Nathan. I may despise everything you have. But I am not a monster. That little girl is innocent. And Arthur... he killed Elena. He killed your father. He would have killed me too the moment I served my purpose. I choose to stop him. Whatever the cost."
She slid a photograph across the table. A building on the edge of the city limits. Old warehouse district. Surrounded by high fences. Heavy security.
"He's there," Victoria said. "I know it. I heard him give the address over the phone the night he vanished. He plans to leave the country once Grace is dead and you are arrested for her murder. He has a private jet waiting. Three days from now."
Three days.
We had exactly seventy-two hours before Arthur vanished forever.
"If this is true..." I began.
"It is true," Victoria said. "And Nathan? Be careful. He has enough firepower there to hold off an army. He knows you are coming. He told me to tell you one thing."
She paused. Swallowed hard.
"What did he say?"
Victoria met my gaze.
*'Tell Nathan if he wants a war... I will give him a war. And remind him that I hold all the cards. Including the one he hasn't found yet.'*
"The one he hasn't found yet?" I repeated. "What does that mean?"
Victoria shook her head. "I don't know. But he sounded confident. As if he has one final trick to play. Something none of us know about."
I stood up and tucked the folder beneath my arm.
"You have given us enough to arrest him. Enough to raid the warehouse. Enough to put him away for the rest of his life."
May you like
"Then go," Victoria said quietly. "And make certain he never hurts anyone ever again."
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