Chapter 9 - The Gala That Never Happened
Grant ordered the helicopter back to the estate.
Victor sent local police after the vehicle carrying my mother, but I refused to remain behind.
Every instinct told me to follow her.
Every fact told me Renata wanted exactly that.
The bathroom recording was still on the cracked phone in my pocket. Renata needed it destroyed because it contained Lily’s unedited voice.
Grant created three encrypted copies during the flight and sent them to separate attorneys.
“If anything happens to us, the recording becomes public,” he said.
Lily sat between us holding Olivia’s locket.
She had spoken more in one night than in the previous two years, yet every word cost her something.
I watched her conserve them.
Not silence from inability.
Silence from survival.
Victor received an update from police.
The vehicle carrying my mother had been found outside an abandoned warehouse.
It was empty.
The medical staff member who moved her used forged credentials.
No one knew where she had been taken.
I felt panic rising.
Grant placed a hand over mine.
“Renata needs leverage. That keeps Catherine alive.”
“You do not know that.”
“No.”
He did not lie to comfort me.
Strangely, that helped.
The helicopter landed behind the Callahan estate shortly after midnight.
The gala decorations remained untouched.
White roses lined the marble entrance. Crystal chandeliers illuminated tables set for guests who had been sent home.
The house looked ready for celebration.
That made it more disturbing.
Victor’s loyal officers entered through the service wing.
Several guards were missing.
One had disabled the main camera system.
The ballroom doors stood closed.
Music played inside.
The same orchestra recording chosen for the gala.
Grant opened the doors.
Olivia sat at the center table beneath the chandelier.
She wore a pale hospital gown, and her wrists were tied to the chair.
Renata stood behind her wearing the black evening gown she had planned to wear while announcing her engagement.
Dr. Kessler waited beside the stage.
My mother sat in a wheelchair near the buffet.
She was conscious.
“Emma,” she whispered.
I started toward her.
Renata raised a gun.
“Not yet.”
Lily stepped beside Grant.
Olivia saw her.
The expression on her scarred face held two years of grief.
“Baby.”
Lily began crying.
“Mommy.”
Grant’s body shook once, but he remained still.
Renata looked almost offended by the reunion.
“You should thank me. I kept Olivia alive.”
“You kept her imprisoned,” Grant said.
“I prevented the board from killing her.”
“Which board members?”
“Men who will destroy Callahan Industrial if the foundation records become public.”
“Let them.”
“You say that because you do not understand what collapse looks like. Thousands lose jobs. Pension accounts vanish. Hospitals lose funding.”
“You tortured a child to protect a company.”
“I trained her to remain quiet.”
Olivia looked at Grant.
“She is not protecting the company.”
Renata pressed the gun against her shoulder.
“Stop.”
Olivia continued.
“She wants the foundation accounts.”
Grant looked at Kessler.
The doctor appeared terrified.
Renata had outlived his usefulness.
“Why?” Grant asked.
Olivia nodded toward the stage.
“The gala was meant to complete the transfer.”
A legal folder rested beside the microphone.
Renata planned to have Grant announce a new charitable merger before two hundred witnesses. Hidden inside the documents was authority over Callahan Industrial’s voting shares if Grant became medically incapacitated.
Dr. Kessler had prepared the diagnosis.
He would claim Grant suffered from dangerous paranoia after prolonged grief.
Renata would become temporary executive guardian.
The confrontation with Lily had interrupted everything.
Grant looked at Kessler.
“You planned to declare me incompetent.”
The doctor swallowed.
“They threatened my family.”
Renata laughed.
“Everyone has a family when they need an excuse.”
She ordered me to place the cracked phone on the table.
I obeyed.
My mother watched me with frightened eyes.
Renata picked it up.
“Unlock it.”
I entered the code.
She deleted the recording.
Grant said nothing.
Renata smiled.
“You copied it.”
“Of course.”
“Then you understand why this evening needs a cleaner ending.”
The ballroom doors locked.
Gas began hissing through the ventilation system.
The same sweet smell from Cedar Vale filled the room.
Renata wore a thin transparent filter beneath her diamond necklace.
Kessler did not.
He realized too late.
“You said we were leaving together.”
Renata stepped away from him.
“I lie when necessary.”
He rushed toward her.
She fired once.
Kessler fell beside the stage.
My mother screamed.
Grant moved toward Lily, but his balance failed.
The gas worked quickly.
I pulled a tablecloth over Lily’s face.
Olivia struggled against the restraints.
Renata walked toward the ballroom exit.
“By morning, the story will be simple. A grieving father became violent. The housekeeper interfered. A tragic gas leak killed everyone.”
Grant collapsed to one knee.
Before Renata reached the door, Olivia freed one hand.
She had been cutting the rope against a broken metal edge beneath the chair.
She seized Renata’s gown.
Renata turned and struck her.
Lily ran forward.
“No!”
Renata pointed the gun toward the child.
Grant moved despite the gas.
A second gunshot filled the ballroom.
May you like
The chandelier lights went dark.
Continue to the next part: A gunshot tears through the poisoned ballroom as Renata attempts to silence Lily permanently.
