Chapter 8
The Harrington gala began at seven.
By seven fifteen, Ryan was already inside.
He wore a tuxedo and moved through the ballroom as if he had not beaten his wife, shot a man, and kidnapped two women.
People shook his hand.
Several board members listened while he described Dad as a dangerous liar.
Ryan had always known how to look innocent.
That was his greatest weapon.
Sophie and I entered through the catering area.
Marcus monitored the security cameras from a van across the street.
Dad remained at the hospital with Mom and Victor.
It was the hardest order he had ever followed.
“The buyer is in the private conference room upstairs,” Marcus said through my earpiece. “Ryan has the control unit.”
Sophie wore a volunteer badge from her time at the foundation.
No one questioned her as she led me through the service corridor.
We reached the stairs.
Then Diane stepped into our path.
She was supposed to be in custody.
She wore a dark dress and a bandage across her forehead.
“How did you get out?” I asked.
“Ryan’s lawyer posted my bail.”
“He left you bleeding on a warehouse floor.”
“He was under pressure.”
Sophie stared at her.
“You helped him kidnap me.”
Diane’s face remained cold.
“I protected my son.”
“You created him,” I said.
She slapped me.
The sound echoed through the corridor.
I did not move.
Diane raised her hand again.
Sophie caught her wrist.
“No more.”
Diane tried to pull free, but Sophie held on.
For the first time, I saw fear in my mother-in-law’s eyes.
I took Diane’s access card and locked her inside a supply room.
She shouted and pounded on the door.
We kept moving.
Upstairs, Ryan was presenting the control unit to three buyers.
One was a board member named Charles Voss.
He had voted to remove Dad that morning.
Ryan connected the unit to a large screen.
A map appeared.
Dozens of red lights blinked across it.
Each light represented a Ruby prototype.
Ryan had activated the tracking network.
“He found the master key,” I whispered.
Marcus answered through my earpiece.
“That’s impossible.”
Then I saw one red light moving through the ballroom below.
Another was inside the hospital.
Dad had hidden the master access in Mom’s medical alert bracelet.
Ryan must have copied it while she was his hostage.
On the screen, the hospital signal stopped moving.
Ryan pointed to it.
“That is Colonel Carter.”
The buyers leaned closer.
“With this network,” Ryan said, “you can locate every protected target before they know they’ve been compromised.”
I stepped into the conference room.
“Or you can go to prison.”
Everyone turned.
Ryan stared at me.
Then he smiled.
“My confused wife.”
“I’m not confused anymore.”
Charles Voss reached for the control unit.
Ryan stopped him.
“Payment first.”
I held up my phone.
“You’re being recorded.”
Ryan laughed.
“By whom? Your father’s disgraced security team?”
“By every reporter downstairs.”
Sophie had connected Marcus to the ballroom’s presentation system.
The conference room audio was now playing through every speaker in the building.
Guests were hearing Ryan describe the stolen network.
His smile vanished.
Charles Voss moved toward the door.
Sophie stepped in front of him.
Police officers entered from the stairs.
For one second, I believed it was over.
Then the lights went out.
Marcus shouted through my earpiece.
“Someone cut the building power!”
Emergency lights flashed red.
Ryan grabbed the control unit and pulled a gun from beneath the table.
He fired toward the ceiling.
People screamed downstairs.
He caught Sophie by the hair and dragged her against him.
“Everyone back!”
I froze.
The gun pressed against my sister’s neck.
Ryan looked at me through the red light.
“You should have stayed afraid.”
He forced Sophie toward the roof exit.
I followed.
“Take me instead.”
“That was always the plan.”
When we reached the roof, a helicopter was waiting.
Its blades were already turning.
Ryan pushed Sophie toward the open door.
Then a second man stepped from the helicopter.
May you like
Uncle Victor.
He was pale, wounded, and holding a gun.
