My Ex-Girlfriend’s Older Sister Got Stood Up At An Art Gallery… So I Asked, “Can I Sit with You ?
Chapter 6
We escaped through the bank’s underground passage.
The lawyer gave us the records.
Amelia carried the documents.
I carried the drive.
We reached the car.
Someone shot at the rear window.
Glass shattered.
Amelia screamed.
I drove.
We didn’t stop for twenty miles.
Finally, we pulled into an abandoned roadside motel.
Amelia was shaking.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
I checked her anyway.
She looked at me.
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
She smiled sadly.
“This is becoming a habit.”
“What?”
“You protecting me.”
I sat beside her.
“Maybe.”
She looked out the window.
“I don’t understand why.”
“Your father trusted mine.”
“That doesn’t mean you owe me.”
“I don’t think I owe you anything.”
“Then why stay?”
I answered honestly.
“Because I want to.”
Her eyes met mine.
The room became very quiet.
“Daniel.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re dangerous.”
I laughed.
“I’m the one being shot at.”
“Not like that.”
She moved closer.
“You were my sister’s boyfriend.”
“I know.”
“And now…”
She stopped.
“Now what?”
“I don’t know.”
Neither of us moved.
Then my phone rang.
Sophie.
“Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“You need to leave.”
“Why?”
“Mom is gone.”
My heart tightened.
“What?”
“Victor took her.”
Amelia stood.
“What happened?”
Sophie continued.
“He called.”
“What did he want?”
“He wants the ledger.”
I looked at Amelia.
“And?”
“He said if we don’t give it to him, Mom dies.”
Silence.
The motel room suddenly felt smaller.
Amelia closed her eyes.
“He has her.”
Sophie whispered,
“Daniel.”
“What?”
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Victor knows about you and Amelia.”
My stomach dropped.
“How?”
“He knows everything.”
The call ended.
Amelia looked at me.
“Then we give him the ledger.”
“No.”
“He has my mother.”
“That’s exactly what he wants.”
“What do you suggest?”
“We find her.”
“How?”
I looked at the memory card.
“Your father left us a map.”
I inserted it into the laptop.
A property appeared.
A private warehouse.
Owned by a shell company.
The name of the company was familiar.
Lucas Grant.
Amelia stared.
“Lucas.”
We drove there.
The warehouse was empty.
But someone had left a chair in the center.
On it was a phone.
It rang.
Amelia answered.
Victor’s voice came through.
“Hello, darling.”
Her face went white.
“Where is my mother?”
“Safe.”
“Let me speak to her.”
“Not yet.”
“What do you want?”
“You know.”
“The ledger.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll give it to you.”
Victor laughed.
“No.”
He paused.
“I want Daniel too.”
I felt cold.
“Why?”
“Because your father left something in him.”
Amelia looked at me.
“What does that mean?”
Victor answered.
“The access code.”
He hung up.
I looked at Amelia.
“My father left a code in me?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t understand.”
Neither did I.
Then I remembered something.
My father used to make me memorize numbers as a child.
I had always thought it was a game.
Now I remembered one sequence.
4-7-1-9-2.
I whispered it.
The laptop beeped.
The encrypted drive unlocked.
Amelia stared.
“You knew it.”
“I didn’t.”
“You remembered.”
“My father had hidden it.”
The files opened.
The first document was a photograph of a vault.
The second was a list of accounts.
The third revealed the true purpose of Blackwater.
It wasn’t just money.
It contained evidence against everyone involved.
Including Victor.
But there was one final file.
AMELIA CARTER — PROTECTED BENEFICIARY.
She stared.
“What?”
I opened it.
Her father’s handwriting appeared.
If anyone comes after my daughter, Daniel Brooks has the authority to protect her.
Amelia looked at me.
“Your father trusted you with my life.”
I shook my head.
“Apparently.”
She reached for my hand.
“I trust you too.”
