Chapter 5 - Nolan Pierce
Nolan did not reach for his weapon.
He did not order the screen turned off.
He simply watched Henry’s frozen face.
Margaret recovered first.
“Well, Mr. Pierce?”
Nolan faced Elena.
“I worked for your father before I joined hotel security.”
Elena had never seen him before that night.
“In what capacity?”
“I investigated internal theft at Vale Biomedical.”
“Why would my father warn me about you?”
“Because he believed someone had compromised my team.”
“That is not what he said.”
“No.”
Nolan reached slowly into his jacket.
Several guards raised their weapons.
He removed an old identification card and placed it on the table.
The photograph showed Nolan standing beside Henry Vale twelve years earlier.
“We discovered money moving from your father’s research division into a network of private accounts,” Nolan said. “The trail ended with Whitmore Development.”
Margaret remained silent.
“Your father planned to confront them,” Nolan continued. “Before he could, my wife and son disappeared.”
Elena’s anger shifted into uncertainty.
“You think my father was responsible?”
“I thought he was using them to ensure my silence.”
“And now?”
“Now I think someone wanted both of us to distrust him.”
Ryan looked toward the locked doors.
“Margaret is delaying us.”
Everyone turned toward her.
Margaret smiled faintly.
“You still believe the police are coming.”
Nolan checked his radio.
Only static answered.
One of the ballroom windows suddenly shattered.
Guests screamed as the chandeliers went dark.
Emergency lights illuminated the room in deep red.
Armed men entered through the service corridor wearing hotel uniforms.
Nolan drew his weapon and pulled Elena behind a stone pillar.
“Stay down.”
Gunfire struck the security screen.
Ryan knocked one of the guards aside and ran toward Elena.
Nolan aimed at him.
“Elena has the key.”
“I am trying to protect her.”
“You had an unusual way of showing it.”
Ryan reached inside his jacket and produced no weapon.
“I helped build the trap because Margaret threatened to kill Henry if I refused.”
Elena stared at him.
“You knew my father was alive.”
“I suspected. I did not know where.”
“You gave them my medical records.”
“I gave them copies with altered information.”
“You forged my signature.”
“I delayed the transfer three times.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“You let them put their hands on me.”
Ryan looked away.
That was the one accusation he could not reshape.
Across the ballroom, Celeste crawled beneath a table while Tessa helped guests reach the kitchen.
Margaret stood near the stage, untouched by the armed men.
She raised one hand.
The attackers stopped firing.
“Bring me the drive,” she ordered.
Elena looked at Nolan.
The flash drive was no longer beside the laptop.
May you like
Nolan’s hand moved toward his pocket.
Continue to the next part: Elena must decide whether Nolan stole the archive to protect it or to complete the betrayal her father warned her about.
