Chapter 8 - LORRAINE'S CONFESSION
“I didn't know what else to do,” Lorraine whispered.
I kept my distance.
“You helped Vincent steal my father's money.”
“No.”
“You watched him.”
“Yes.”
“You humiliated my father.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked down.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Blackridge?”
She nodded.
“They threatened Marissa.”
I stared.
“Your daughter?”
“They said they'd kill her.”
I lowered the gun slightly.
“Who?”
“Arthur Bell.”
I remembered the name.
The man behind Blackridge.
“What did he want?”
“Your father's records.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother kept evidence.”
Lorraine wiped her eyes.
“She hid it somewhere only you could find.”
“Where?”
Lorraine shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Then why bring me here?”
“Because I found this.”
She handed me a key.
It had a small silver apple attached to it.
My mother's favorite symbol.
I recognized it immediately.
“Where did you get this?”
“Vincent gave it to me.”
“Why?”
“He said if anything happened to him, I was supposed to give it to you.”
I stared at the key.
Then I realized what it opened.
My mother's old jewelry box.
The one my father had kept locked for twenty years.
Lorraine grabbed my arm.
“Elise.”
“What?”
“You need to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because Arthur knows you're here.”
A car engine roared outside.
Headlights appeared.
Lorraine screamed.
“Run!”
The station doors burst open.
Two men entered.
I grabbed Lorraine and pulled her behind a pillar.
One man shouted:
“Find the girl!”
We ran through a side exit.
My phone rang.
Vincent.
I answered.
“Where are you?”
“I'm at your father's house.”
“Arthur found us.”
“What?”
“He's there.”
My blood ran cold.
“Is Dad okay?”
Silence.
Then Vincent whispered:
“I don't know.”
The call ended.
I looked at Lorraine.
“We have to go.”
She nodded.
But before we reached the car, she stopped.
“Elise.”
“What?”
“There's one thing I never told you.”
“What?”
“Arthur Bell isn't the only person inside Blackridge.”
May you like
She looked at me.
“Someone in your family is working for him.”
