Chapter 9 - THE SON WHO CHANGED SIDES
Claire moved before she could think.
She threw open the truck door and shouted, "Daniel, get down!"
Grace rammed the SUV in reverse.
The impact knocked Thomas off balance. Daniel tackled him, and the rifle slid beneath the bridge rail.
Father and son fought in the mud.
Thomas was older, but rage made him strong. He drove Daniel against the guardrail and wrapped both hands around his throat.
Claire grabbed a tire iron from Grace's truck and struck the rail beside Thomas's head.
"Let him go."
Thomas looked at her, almost amused. "You still care about him."
"I care about not becoming you."
Sirens sounded in the distance.
Thomas released Daniel and ran toward the riverbank. A hidden motorboat waited below the bridge.
He jumped aboard and vanished through the fog.
Federal agents arrived moments later.
Daniel was handcuffed.
Claire stood near him, soaked and shaking.
"Why did you stop him?" she asked.
Daniel stared at the road. "Because he was going to kill you."
"You helped him destroy me."
"I thought he only wanted the shares."
"You watched Vanessa hit me. You helped drug me. You knew enough."
Daniel closed his eyes. "You're right."
The answer hurt more than an excuse would have.
An agent approached Grace. "We received the video. Thomas Cole is now wanted on federal charges. But there's a problem."
He handed Claire a recovered page from the ledger.
It listed dozens of payments to judges, police officers, and corporate executives.
At the bottom was Richard Hale's name.
Next to it was a figure: $12,000,000.
Claire stared at the number.
"My father was paid by Thomas?"
Grace studied the code beside the entry.
"No," she said. "This wasn't a payment."
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She looked up.
"It was a ransom.
