Chapter 5 - The Warehouse
The video had been recorded inside an abandoned warehouse.
Investigators traced the audio.
Adrian went there with police nearby.
He entered alone.
The building smelled of dust, oil, and rust.
“Grace?”
Nothing.
Then a light switched on.
Grace sat tied to a chair.
A man stood behind her.
Adrian recognized him.
Nathan.
His cousin smiled.
“You came.”
Adrian stared at him.
“Let her go.”
Nathan laughed.
“You always thought you were smarter than everyone.”
“I am.”
Nathan's smile disappeared.
“You're still arrogant.”
“You're still stealing.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“You built the company.”
“I did.”
“But you didn't build the family.”
Adrian stared at him.
Nathan explained that Adrian's father had promised him a position in the company.
Adrian had taken everything.
The family.
The company.
The inheritance.
The respect.
Nathan wanted revenge.
Adrian looked at Grace.
“Is she hurt?”
Nathan shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Grace looked at Adrian.
“Don't give him anything.”
Nathan slapped the table.
“Quiet.”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“If you touch her again, you won't leave this building.”
Nathan laughed.
“You think your money scares me?”
“No.”
Adrian took one step forward.
“Your own fear should.”
Nathan pointed a gun toward him.
Grace gasped.
Adrian stopped.
Nathan demanded the company files.
Adrian handed over a drive.
Nathan smiled.
“You actually brought them.”
Adrian nodded.
“What you don't know is that the drive is useless.”
Nathan's face changed.
“You're bluffing.”
“I changed the encryption this morning.”
Nathan grabbed Grace.
Adrian's expression changed.
“Don't.”
Nathan raised the gun.
Then the warehouse lights suddenly went out.
Police shouted from outside.
Nathan panicked.
Grace kicked the chair backward.
It struck Nathan's legs.
He stumbled.
Adrian moved.
He grabbed Grace and pulled her behind a concrete pillar.
A gunshot cracked through the warehouse.
Nobody was hit.
Police stormed inside.
Nathan was arrested.
Grace's ropes were cut.
She stood.
Her face was pale.
Adrian looked at her.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
Then she slapped his shoulder.
Adrian blinked.
“What was that?”
“You said you would protect me.”
“I did.”
“You almost got yourself killed.”
“I was careful.”
“You were stupid.”
Adrian stared at her.
Then, unexpectedly, he laughed.
It was the first genuine laugh Grace had ever heard from him.
She smiled.
For a moment, everything was quiet.
Then Grace noticed something.
“Adrian.”
“What?”
“Your coat.”
She pointed.
A small envelope had fallen from his pocket.
Adrian picked it up.
His face changed.
It contained a photograph.
His father.
Victor.
Nathan's father.
And a fourth man.
Grace looked at the picture.
“Who is that?”
Adrian stared.
He knew.
The fourth man was his family's former attorney.
A man who had supposedly died fifteen years ago.
But the photograph had been taken last month.
Adrian whispered:
“He's alive.”
And suddenly, the entire conspiracy became bigger than Nathan.
Someone else had been controlling the family for years.
Someone who knew every secret.
May you like
Someone who had just watched Nathan get arrested.
Someone who was still free.
