Chapter 1 - ELEVEN MINUTES UNTIL MIDNIGHT
“Someone has given me a deadline,” Julian Vale said. “And if I miss it, I lose something I can't replace.”
I stared at him.
The clock above the conference-room doors read 11:49 P.M.
“Your company?”
“No.”
“Your money?”
“No.”
I folded my arms.
“Then what?”
Julian looked toward the windows overlooking Manhattan.
“My brother.”
The answer surprised me.
I had expected a business merger.
An inheritance.
Some ridiculous billionaire problem involving private jets and stock prices.
Not a brother.
“What happened to him?”
Julian hesitated.
Then answered:
“He's been missing for fourteen months.”
My stomach tightened.
“Missing?”
He nodded.
“His name is Nicholas.”
I looked at him.
“And marrying me will bring him back?”
“No.”
Julian's expression darkened.
“But it may stop the people who took him from destroying the only evidence I have.”
I stared.
“Mr. Vale, none of this makes sense.”
“I know.”
He glanced at the clock.
11:50.
Then he continued.
“My father's estate contains a private trust. The trust controls a collection of documents connected to Nicholas's disappearance.”
I frowned.
“Why would your marriage matter?”
Julian took a breath.
“Because the trust's emergency-control clause expires tonight.”
“And?”
“If I'm legally married before midnight, the documents transfer to an independent family-beneficiary account that my aunt cannot access.”
I stared.
“Your aunt?”
He nodded.
“Victoria Vale.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why would she want the documents?”
Julian's expression hardened.
“Because I think she knows what happened to Nicholas.”
Silence.
Then I whispered:
“Why don't you call the police?”
“I have.”
“And?”
“The evidence isn't enough.”
I looked toward the clock.
11:51.
Then back at him.
“Mr. Vale.”
“Yes?”
May you like
“Even if I agree, how exactly do you expect us to get legally married in nine minutes?”
For the first time, Julian Vale looked genuinely helpless.
