Chapter 17 - MIDNIGHT AT THE SOLMERE
Charlotte woke in the Solmere penthouse.
Her wrists were secured to a chair.
Eleanor sat across from her.
Adrian stood beside the windows overlooking the city.
The hotel had been evacuated.
Police vehicles remained outside, but the penthouse windows were covered with electronic privacy glass.
Mara Quinn was unconscious near the fireplace.
Adrian placed the metal box on the desk.
“You made me work much harder than expected.”
Charlotte tested the restraints.
“Conrad will tell the police everything.”
“Conrad knows only what I allowed him to know.”
Adrian activated a wall screen.
A digital transfer platform appeared.
The amount displayed was eight hundred ninety-four million dollars.
A camera turned toward Charlotte.
A green scanning light moved across her face.
Adrian played a recording of her voice taken during the gala.
The system accepted the sample.
“Facial authorization verified.”
He attached a small sensor to Charlotte’s finger.
“Living pulse confirmed.”
Eleanor struggled against her restraints.
“You will never leave the country.”
“I do not need to.”
Adrian smiled.
“I purchased a country.”
The clock reached 11:57 p.m.
Charlotte looked at the transfer screen.
The destination account appeared under the name Margaret Stone.
Adrian had used Eleanor’s secret identity.
Even if the transfer was discovered, Eleanor would appear responsible.
“You planned this before the accident.”
“I planned opportunities.”
He entered the final code.
Charlotte studied the desk.
Her mother’s silver ring lay beside the metal box.
Adrian had removed it from her hand.
The ring was not merely a vault key.
It also contained the emergency override for every original Solmere system.
Charlotte looked at Eleanor.
Her mother followed her gaze.
At 11:59, the penthouse door opened.
Bianca entered in a hospital gown beneath a long coat.
A bandage covered her side.
Adrian raised his weapon.
“You should be dead.”
Bianca leaned against the doorframe.
“My father paid you very well.”
“He paid me to solve problems.”
She held up her phone.
“And he recorded every problem you solved.”
Adrian fired.
Bianca dropped to the floor.
The bullet struck the wall behind her.
Mason rushed through the doorway and tackled Adrian.
The weapon slid beneath the desk.
Charlotte knocked her chair sideways.
Her bound hands reached the silver ring.
She pressed it against the hidden sensor beneath the desk.
The wall screen turned red.
OWNER OVERRIDE ACTIVATED.
The transfer froze at ninety-nine percent.
Adrian threw Mason against the window.
He grabbed the gun.
Eleanor moved her chair into his path.
Adrian stumbled.
Charlotte broke the weakened chair leg and freed one hand.
She reached the keyboard.
The system requested a command.
Charlotte typed three words.
May you like
RETURN EVERY DOLLAR.
The clock struck midnight.
