CHAPTER 10 "The Chairman Smiled... Then Revealed the One Person Nora Never Thought Would Betray Her."
The photograph wouldn't stop shaking in Nora's hands.
She had stared at that smiling face for nearly five minutes.
Not because she didn't recognize him.
Because she wished she didn't.
It was William Ashford.
The beloved philanthropist.
The billionaire who had donated millions to children's hospitals.
The man every television network called "America's Most Trusted Business Leader."
And according to the note hidden inside Victor's notebook...
He was The Chairman.
The man who had spent thirty years destroying anyone who stood between him and absolute power.
Adrian slowly folded the photograph.
"We have to disappear."
Nora looked up.
"Disappear?"
"If William knows Victor talked..."
He glanced toward the burning lighthouse.
"...he already knows you're alive."
As if on cue, Adrian's phone vibrated.
One encrypted message appeared.
PACKAGE RETRIEVED. TARGET MOVING.
His expression darkened.
"They're tracking us."
Without another word, they drove into the night.
By sunrise, they had reached an abandoned estate outside the city.
The mansion had belonged to Adrian's grandfather.
Officially, it had burned down twenty years ago.
Unofficially...
It had become the safest place Adrian knew.
Only three people knew it existed.
Nora.
Adrian.
And his oldest friend...
Lucas Grant.
Lucas arrived just before noon carrying medical supplies.
He hugged Adrian tightly.
"I came as fast as I could."
Nora smiled politely.
Something about Lucas felt reassuring.
Calm.
Steady.
The kind of man who always appeared when people needed help.
Adrian trusted him completely.
That trust would last exactly twelve minutes.
While Adrian reviewed Victor's notebook upstairs, Lucas quietly prepared coffee in the kitchen.
Nora noticed his hands.
They never trembled.
Not after the shooting.
Not after the explosions.
Not after hearing about William Ashford.
Almost as if...
None of it surprised him.
She frowned.
"Lucas..."
He looked up.
"Yes?"
"How did you know where this house was?"
He smiled.
"Adrian told me years ago."
Nora froze.
Adrian had once told her something very different.
No one knows this place exists.
A cold feeling spread through her chest.
Before she could speak again...
Her phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
One photograph.
It showed the abandoned mansion...
Taken from outside the front gate.
The message underneath contained only six words.
Tell Lucas I said thank you.
Nora's blood ran cold.
She slowly lifted her eyes toward the kitchen.
Lucas was still smiling.
Holding two cups of coffee.
Waiting.
Upstairs, Adrian finally reached the last pages of Victor's notebook.
Most of them were blank.
Until one folded sheet slipped onto the floor.
Across the top, Victor had written:
If you are reading this, someone close to you has already betrayed you.
Adrian unfolded the page.
There was only one name.
Lucas Grant.
His heart stopped.
He sprinted downstairs.
"Nora!"
The kitchen was empty.
One coffee cup lay shattered on the floor.
The back door stood open.
Outside...
Fresh tire tracks disappeared into the woods.
Adrian's breathing became uneven.
He had protected Nora from billionaires...
From corrupt executives...
From hired killers...
Yet the man who had taken her...
Was the only person he had trusted like a brother.
Hours later, a video arrived on Adrian's encrypted phone.
The screen flickered to life.
Nora sat tied to a chair inside a dimly lit warehouse.
She wasn't crying.
She wasn't screaming.
She was staring directly into the camera.
Then William Ashford stepped into frame.
Elegant.
Calm.
Perfectly dressed.
He smiled as though greeting an old friend.
"Mr. Hale..."
His voice was soft.
"You've spent years searching for The Chairman."
He placed one hand gently on Nora's shoulder.
"You finally found me."
He leaned closer to the camera.
"But if you want her back..."
His smile widened.
"...bring me the only thing your father died protecting."
The screen went black.
Adrian stared at the empty display.
His father had died twenty-two years earlier.
No one...
No one outside his family...
Should have known what his father had hidden.
For the first time in his life...
Adrian realized the truth.
William Ashford hadn't been watching Nora.
May you like
He had been watching him all along.
END OF CHAPTER 10...
