Chapter 11 - Claire’s Warning.
Mara called the number back before the disconnected tone had fully disappeared.
The call failed.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Ethan reached for his own phone.
“Don’t.”
Mara turned toward him.
“What?”
“Don’t call anyone yet.”
“My sister just called me after two years.”
“I know.”
“She said not to go to your office.”
“I heard her.”
“And you’re still thinking about going.”
“Yes.”
Mara stared at him.
“That’s your response?”
“My response is that someone can imitate a voice, spoof a number, or force a person to say something.”
“That was Claire.”
“I believe you.”
“Then why ignore her?”
“I didn’t say I would ignore her.”
Ethan looked at the dark office tower visible several blocks away.
“I said I want to understand why she warned us about the acquisition files specifically.”
Mara replayed the call in her head.
Do not go to the office with Ethan.
Don’t let him open the acquisition files.
The second warning was stranger than the first.
If Claire feared Daniel, she should have wanted Ethan to see the files.
Unless the files themselves were dangerous for another reason.
“Where are the acquisition files?” Mara asked.
“Some are digital.”
“And the rest?”
“A secured review room at headquarters.”
“Who has access?”
“Me, Daniel, legal, finance, and two board representatives.”
“Northstar documents are in there?”
“Yes.”
“Originals?”
“Copies provided by the seller.”
Mara leaned back.
“Maybe they’re fake.”
“Possible.”
“Maybe opening them triggers something in your system.”
“Also possible.”
“Maybe Claire put something inside.”
Ethan looked at her.
“That’s the first possibility I don’t like.”
Mara’s phone buzzed again.
A text message from the same unknown number appeared.
SHE REMEMBERS THE GREEN UMBRELLA.
Mara’s eyes filled before she could stop them.
Ethan said nothing.
“What does that mean?”
“When we were kids, Claire stole Mom’s green umbrella and took me six blocks in a thunderstorm because she promised me the ice cream store would still be open.”
Mara smiled despite herself.
“We got there soaked, the store was closed, and she made me swear we’d never tell Mom where the umbrella went.”
“No one else knows?”
“Not that phrase.”
A second text arrived.
OLD CENTRAL STATION.
LOCKER 214.
COME ALONE, MARA.
Mara looked at Ethan.
“No.”
She almost laughed.
“I didn’t ask.”
“You’re not going alone.”
“She specifically said alone.”
“Which is exactly why you’re not going alone.”
Mara folded her arms.
“You have a remarkable talent for making concern sound arrogant.”
“I’ve been practicing.”
Despite the tension, she laughed once.
Then she looked at the text again.
Old Central Station had been closed to passenger service for almost a decade.
Most of the building had been converted into retail space, but a bank of original rental lockers remained in a public historical corridor.
It was open until midnight.
They drove there without calling Daniel, Victor, or Serena.
Ethan parked two blocks away.
“You stay in the car,” Mara said.
“No.”
“You said I shouldn’t go alone.”
“I can be fifty feet away and still not be beside you.”
“That sounds like a lawyer’s answer.”
“It’s a chairman’s compromise.”
They entered through separate doors.
Mara walked ahead.
Ethan kept enough distance that a casual observer might not connect them.
Locker 214 sat near the far wall beneath an old brass clock.
Mara approached it slowly.
There was no keypad.
Only a key slot.
She stared at it.
Her phone buzzed.
LOOK UNDER THE BENCH.
Mara crouched beside a wooden bench twenty feet away.
A strip of tape held a small brass key beneath the seat.
She peeled it free.
Ethan watched from near a coffee kiosk.
Mara returned to the locker.
The key turned easily.
Inside sat a plain canvas tote bag.
No person.
No dramatic message.
Just a bag.
Mara opened it.
The first thing inside was Claire’s old red scarf.
Mara pressed it against her mouth for a second.
Beneath it was a black notebook, a sealed envelope, and a small external hard drive.
A handwritten note rested on top.
MARA, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, THEN I FAILED TO KEEP YOU OUT OF IT.
Mara’s hands shook.
Ethan moved closer despite their plan.
She did not tell him to stop.
The note continued.
DO NOT TRUST THE FIRST PERSON WHO CONFESSES.
DO NOT TRUST THE PERSON WHO LOOKS MOST GUILTY.
AND DO NOT LET ETHAN COLE SIGN THE AURELIA DEAL.
Ethan read the final sentence over Mara’s shoulder.
He looked at her.
“That is remarkably specific.”
Mara pulled out the black notebook.
Every page was filled with dates, initials, room numbers, and payment codes.
Some entries had blue circles beside them.
Others had red squares.
One date made Ethan’s expression change.
It was tomorrow.
Beside it were the initials EC.
May you like
Next to those initials Claire had written two words.
FINAL LEVERAGE.
