Chapter 5 - HANNAH WOULD NOT BE BAIT
Gregory contacted Victor five days later.
Burner phone.
Short message.
You want the books. I want safe passage.
Victor showed police.
Then Gregory added:
Bring Hannah. She knows where the duplicate is.
Hannah laughed when Rachel told her.
“No.”
Victor said:
“No.”
Same answer.
Interesting.
Marcus looked between them.
“Good. That was easy.”
Gregory believed Hannah had seen where Victor kept backup copies because she cleaned the study.
She had not.
Victor’s duplicate existed offsite with counsel.
Still, Gregory believed she had knowledge.
Police suggested they could fake her presence.
Hannah agreed only after verifying she would not actually be near the operation.
No child.
No Hannah.
No improvised heroics.
A decoy vehicle left Harrow Point.
Gregory did not appear.
Smart.
Instead, one of his associates accessed an abandoned warehouse.
Arrested.
Phone recovered.
Messages showed Gregory preparing another plan.
Not escape.
Money.
He still had three current shell-company transactions in motion.
If they completed, he could move almost $18 million offshore.
Victor wanted accounts frozen immediately.
Rachel’s forensic team suggested something better.
Monitor.
Let Gregory authenticate the transactions himself.
Victor hated patience.
Again.
Hannah returned to Harrow Point only once during this period.
To collect belongings.
Poppy held her rabbit.
Victor stood in the hall.
“You don't have to leave staff housing immediately.”
Hannah looked at him.
“I know.”
“We changed the rule.”
She frowned.
“What rule?”
“Employment and housing are now separate for sixty days after termination or resignation, except immediate safety cases.”
Her expression softened slightly.
“You changed that because of me?”
“Because it was bad.”
Better answer.
Then:
“I'm not resigning yet.”
Victor looked surprised.
“I need wages.”
Of course.
“And Poppy likes her preschool nearby.”
“Yes.”
“But I’m not staying forever.”
His chest reacted before his face did.
He ignored it.
“Okay.”
Hannah noticed anyway.
She was irritatingly observant.
Then Poppy tugged Victor’s trouser leg.
“Mr. Victor.”
He looked down.
“Yes?”
“Coin.”
He had the lucky coin in his pocket again.
Police returned it after photographing.
Victor held it out.
Poppy shook her head.
“Mama.”
Hannah looked at her daughter.
“Why?”
“Lucky.”
Hannah’s eyes filled.
Victor crouched.
“It belongs to someone else too.”
Poppy frowned.
“Who?”
“My son.”
“Where?”
The question children ask because death has not trained them to avoid it.
Victor answered:
“He died a long time ago.”
Poppy considered.
Then pushed the coin toward him.
“You keep.”
Victor swallowed.
“Okay.”
She patted his hand.
“Still lucky.”
Victor almost laughed.
Maybe she was wrong.
Maybe luck was not surviving every loss.
May you like
Maybe it was still being able to hold something afterward without turning it into a weapon.
---
