Chapter 7 - THE BOATHOUSE
The emergency lights flickered on.
Claire turned and struck the man behind her with the heavy hotel brochure she had been holding. He stumbled, releasing her arm. A security officer rushed from the reception desk and forced him to the floor.
Lily was crying beneath the table.
Claire dropped beside her.
“Look at me, sweetheart. Are you hurt?”
Lily shook her head.
Elise stood near the elevator, pale and motionless.
The man was carrying a photograph of Lily.
On the back, someone had written:
BRING THE FILE OR THE CHILD DISAPPEARS.
Matteo arrived within minutes. He took the photograph, arranged for the attacker to be handed to local police, and moved Claire and Lily to a secure location.
Nathan was waiting when they arrived.
He looked at Lily first.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head and ran to him.
Nathan held her carefully.
“I was scared,” she whispered.
“So was I.”
Claire stood nearby, her hands still trembling.
“Elise told me about the boathouse.”
Nathan looked at his former fiancée.
“Is it true?”
Elise nodded.
“I gave Grant information. I thought it would force you out of the business. I didn't know he planned to have you killed.”
Nathan's eyes were empty.
“You watched me learn how to use a wheelchair. You watched me lose the woman I thought I would marry. And you knew why it happened.”
“I was afraid.”
“So was I.”
Elise lowered her head.
Matteo interrupted. “We need to move. The boathouse could be a trap.”
Nathan looked at Claire.
“You don't have to come.”
“My daughter was threatened because of this. I'm not waiting in another room while men decide what happens next.”
Nathan nodded.
They reached the old boathouse shortly before midnight. The structure stood at the edge of the lake, half hidden by bare trees. Matteo's team searched the perimeter before Nathan entered.
Inside, a metal cabinet had been bolted beneath the workbench.
The key was taped to the underside.
Nathan opened it.
Inside was page eighteen, wrapped in plastic.
The route authorization carried Grant Holloway's signature.
Below it was a second signature.
Owen Mercer.
And a handwritten note:
CHANGE THE ROUTE. MAKE IT LOOK LIKE VANES DID IT. N.C. MUST BE REMOVED BEFORE THE BOARD MEETING.
Nathan read the final line twice.
N.C.
Nathan Caldwell.
The plan had never been about taking over gradually.
It had been about removing him permanently.
A floorboard creaked behind them.
May you like
Grant stepped into the doorway.
“Put the page down, Nathan.”
