Chapter 5 - THE HOSTAGE
They found Eleanor in the sanctuary.
She was sitting alone in the front pew.
No guards.
No Charles.
No weapon.
Nora rushed toward her.
"Mom!"
Eleanor stood.
"I'm okay."
Nora hugged her.
"Where's Dad?"
Her mother whispered.
"He's gone."
David looked around.
"Where?"
"He left a message."
She handed him a folded paper.
David read it.
Then his face hardened.
"What?"
Nora asked.
He handed it to her.
Bring Julian to the old harbor warehouse.
Come alone.
Or Eleanor dies.
Nora looked at Julian.
"No."
Julian shook his head.
"He's expecting me."
"I'm not letting you go."
"If I don't, he'll kill her."
David stepped between them.
"We're not playing his game."
Julian looked at him.
"What choice do we have?"
"We make our own."
Richard appeared behind them.
"There is one choice."
Everyone turned.
Richard held up the small key.
"The vault."
Nora stared.
"What's inside?"
"Evidence."
"Enough to put him away?"
"Enough to put several people away."
David asked.
"Where is it?"
"Below the dealership."
Julian shook his head.
"Charles knows we'd go there."
"Exactly."
Richard looked at Nora.
"That's why he doesn't think you'll go."
"Because I'm his daughter."
"Because he believes you're still afraid of him."
Nora looked toward the sanctuary doors.
For twenty-four years, she had been afraid of disappointing her father.
Afraid of his anger.
His judgment.
His approval.
She suddenly realized something.
That fear had been the strongest chain he'd ever placed around her.
She took a breath.
"I'm done being afraid."
Julian took her hand.
Richard nodded.
"Good."
David looked at his watch.
"We have forty minutes."
They left the church through a side entrance.
A black federal SUV waited outside.
The Charleston streets were crowded.
Tourists walked beneath the old buildings.
Cars passed.
Nobody knew what was happening.
Nora sat beside Julian.
"You should have told me."
"I know."
"You almost died."
"I know."
"My father tried to destroy you."
"I know."
She looked at him.
"Why did you stay?"
Julian smiled sadly.
"Because leaving would have been easier."
"And?"
"I don't want easy."
Nora's eyes filled.
"I don't know who I am anymore."
Julian squeezed her hand.
"You don't have to know today."
She looked at him.
"But I know one thing."
"What?"
"I still want to marry you."
Julian's eyes softened.
"Even after all this?"
"Especially after all this."
They arrived at Montgomery Motors.
The dealership looked normal.
Glass walls.
Luxury vehicles.
Perfect landscaping.
A huge sign bearing the Montgomery name.
Richard stared at it.
"That's where it begins."
They entered through a service door.
David and two agents moved ahead.
Richard led them down a staircase.
At the bottom was a steel door.
He inserted the key.
It opened.
Inside was a vault.
Not like the one from the wedding.
This was larger.
Rows of filing cabinets.
Servers.
Boxes.
Cash.
Passport books.
Nora stared.
"How long has this been here?"
"Twenty years."
David opened a cabinet.
Inside were photographs.
He pulled out one.
His expression changed.
"What?"
He handed it to Nora.
It showed her father.
Her uncle Richard.
And a third man.
Nora recognized him immediately.
Daniel Price.
She stared.
"That's the federal agent."
David looked at the photograph.
"How old is this?"
Richard answered.
"Twenty-two years."
Nora's blood ran cold.
"That's impossible."
Richard shook his head.
"No."
He pointed at the photograph.
"What's impossible is that you still believe everyone wearing a badge is on your side."
The room went silent.
Then Daniel Price's voice came from behind them.
"Put your hands where I can see them."
Everyone turned.
Price stood in the doorway.
May you like
His gun was pointed directly at Nora.
And he was smiling.
