Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Marianne Hale was alive.
And she was still working with Adrian Cross.
Maxwell studied the photograph.
Olivia appeared thin and exhausted.
But she was standing.
Walking.
Alive.
His hands trembled.
For eighteen months, he had mourned a woman who had never died.
Now she was somewhere in San Francisco, possibly only miles away.
Audrey watched his face.
The powerful man who terrified restaurant owners and businessmen suddenly looked like an ordinary husband desperate to bring his wife home.
"She's alive," he whispered.
Charlie, sitting nearby, looked up.
Audrey signed:
"YOUR MOM IS ALIVE."
The boy stared at her.
Then his hands moved.
"CAN WE GET HER?"
Audrey swallowed.
"WE ARE TRYING."
Maxwell crouched beside his son.
He struggled to form the signs.
Slowly, awkwardly, he signed:
"I LOVE YOU."
Charlie froze.
It was the first complete sentence his father had ever signed directly to him.
Then Charlie threw his arms around Maxwell's neck.
Maxwell held him tightly.
Across the room, Audrey wiped away a tear.
But the reunion was interrupted by Raymond.
"We traced the vehicle."
"Where?"
"An office building near the Embarcadero."
Maxwell stood.
"Let's move."
Police units coordinated an operation while Maxwell remained nearby with Audrey and Charlie in a secure location.
They couldn't risk another confrontation.
Not with Olivia's life at stake.
An hour later, officers entered the office building.
They found Marianne Hale.
Alone.
Sitting beside a suitcase filled with cash.
When investigators questioned her, she initially refused to speak.
Then they showed her surveillance footage from the rehabilitation center.
Her confidence collapsed.
Marianne admitted that Adrian had been keeping Olivia heavily monitored and isolated.
He had threatened to harm Charlie if Olivia attempted to escape.
Marianne claimed she had helped move Olivia because Adrian promised to release her.
But something had gone wrong.
"Where is Olivia now?" an investigator demanded.
Marianne began crying.
"Adrian took her."
"Where?"
"To the old waterfront warehouse."
"Which warehouse?"
Marianne whispered an address.
Then she looked directly into the camera recording her interview.
"Tell Maxwell Gallow something."
The investigator waited.
Marianne's voice trembled.
"His wife didn't disappear because she found financial fraud."
"Then why?"
Marianne stared at the table.
"Because she discovered who was really controlling his empire."
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And then she spoke a name that stunned everyone.
Raymond Cole.
