Chapter 9 - Uncle Victor
My mother saw Victor and immediately moved toward my bedroom.
Nathaniel stopped her.
“Elena.”
“He knows Ruby is here.”
Victor smiled.
“I have known for months.”
I stepped fully into the hallway.
My mother stared at me.
“You were supposed to be sleeping.”
“I’m bad at that.”
Victor looked at me carefully.
He had silver hair and the same dark eyes as Nathaniel.
“So that is Ruby.”
Nathaniel positioned himself between us.
“Why did you order the eviction?”
Victor poured himself a drink.
“To force Elena to move.”
“Why?”
“Because Calder found her.”
My mother frowned.
“You were trying to protect us?”
Victor looked amused.
“No.”
The room changed instantly.
Nathaniel’s voice became cold.
“Explain.”
Victor took one slow sip.
“Your father built an empire.”
“You nearly abandoned it for her.”
He nodded toward my mother.
“Then she produced exactly what I feared.”
“An heir you would love more than power.”
Nathaniel took a step forward.
“You knew she was pregnant.”
“I suspected.”
“Calder confirmed it eventually.”
My mother whispered.
“You were working together.”
“Sometimes.”
Victor smiled.
“Calder believed he was using me.”
“Why bring Ruby here?”
Victor looked at me.
“I didn’t.”
“The eviction was supposed to frighten Elena into leaving the city.”
“Ruby returning your wallet was an accident.”
Nathaniel pulled the wallet from his coat.
“You put this at the bus stop.”
Victor’s smile vanished.
Nathaniel continued.
“I haven’t used cash in years.”
“You knew that.”
“So why was my wallet sitting under a bench eight blocks from Ruby’s school?”
Victor said nothing.
Dante suddenly understood.
“It wasn’t Victor.”
Nathaniel turned.
“Then who?”
A security alarm sounded.
One screen on the wall activated automatically.
Calder appeared.
He was supposed to be in federal custody.
Instead, he was sitting inside a moving vehicle.
“Surprised?”
Nathaniel stared.
“How did you get out?”
Calder smiled.
“Ask your federal friends.”
The camera shifted.
An unconscious agent lay on the floor.
My mother covered my eyes.
I pushed her hand away.
Calder spoke again.
“Victor is lying to you.”
Victor’s face remained calm.
Calder laughed.
“He didn’t put the wallet there.”
“I did.”
My stomach dropped.
Nathaniel clenched his fists.
“Why?”
“Because I needed Ruby to walk into Graves Tower carrying the eviction notice.”
Everyone became silent.
Calder continued.
“You weren’t supposed to notice the bracelet.”
“That was luck.”
“What did you want?”
Nathaniel asked.
Calder leaned toward the camera.
“To start a war.”
The screen split into several security feeds.
Explosions suddenly struck three Graves warehouses across the city.
Flames filled the monitors.
Dante grabbed his phone.
Calder smiled.
“Your captains will assume Victor betrayed you.”
“Victor’s people will assume you ordered the retaliation.”
“And by sunrise, every Graves crew in the country will be choosing sides.”
Nathaniel turned toward Victor.
“Call your men.”
Victor shook his head.
“My phone has no signal.”
Every device in the apartment lost connection.
Calder had jammed the tower again.
Then the emergency speakers activated.
Calder’s voice filled all eighty-seven floors.
“Nathaniel.”
“You have one hour.”
“Hand over Victor Graves.”
“Or the next building I destroy will have Ruby’s mother inside it.”
My mother turned pale.
Her restaurant.
May you like
Calder knew where she worked.
And more than thirty innocent people were still inside.
