Chapter 5 - THE SISTER IN THE WEDDING DRESS
Mave grabbed the phone.
“Gideon.”
Silence.
Then:
“Mave?”
“You sound disappointed.”
A soft laugh.
“I heard Declan's men made a mistake.”
“They did.”
“Put Arthur back on.”
“No.”
“Mave.”
“Where's Chloe?”
“Safe.”
“Let me hear her.”
A rustle.
Then Chloe:
“Mave?”
Her voice was shaking.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Chloe, listen—”
Gideon took the phone.
“Ledger. Pier 19. One hour.”
The call ended.
Arthur wanted to go.
Declan wanted a trap.
Mave wanted Chloe alive.
“You're not taking the real ledger,” Declan said.
“If Gideon checks—”
“He won't have time.”
“You don't know that.”
“I know men like him.”
Mave looked at him.
“And men like you?”
Declan accepted the hit.
“Yes.”
“Then tell me what he'd do.”
“He'll keep Chloe alive until he knows the ledger is genuine.”
“And afterward?”
Declan didn't answer.
Mave did.
“He doesn't need her anymore.”
The wedding had failed.
The Collins terminals could no longer be transferred cleanly through marriage.
Chloe had become expendable.
They made a copy.
Mave went to Pier 19 with Arthur.
Declan's men remained out of sight.
Gideon stood inside a container warehouse.
Chloe still wore her wedding gown.
Mud stained the hem.
Mascara streaked her face.
When she saw Mave, she began crying.
For once, Chloe didn't look polished.
Or superior.
Or like the sister their father had chosen.
She looked terrified.
“Mave.”
Gideon smiled.
“The correct sister finally arrived.”
Mave held up the case.
“Let her go.”
“First the ledger.”
“No.”
“You don't negotiate.”
“Apparently I do now.”
Gideon's smile disappeared.
Arthur whispered:
“Don't antagonize him.”
Mave looked at her father.
“That's been your strategy for eleven years.”
Arthur went quiet.
Gideon stepped closer.
“You've changed.”
“No.”
Mave's hands stopped shaking.
“I just found out being obedient never kept me safe.”
Gideon looked almost impressed.
He released Chloe.
She ran toward Mave.
Halfway across the floor, Gideon drew a gun.
Declan's men moved.
Chaos.
Mave pulled Chloe behind a forklift.
Shots struck metal.
Arthur screamed.
Then silence.
Gideon had escaped through a loading door.
Arthur lay on the floor.
Blood spread beneath his shoulder.
Not fatal.
Painful.
Mave pressed fabric against the wound.
Her father stared at her.
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why are you helping me?”
She pressed harder.
He gasped.
“Because I'm not you.”
Paramedics arrived.
Chloe sat beside Mave outside.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Chloe whispered:
“I knew.”
Mave looked at her.
“Knew what?”
“That Dad sent you to the lake house.”
Everything inside Mave stopped.
“You knew?”
“Not then.”
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
“When you started dating Gideon.”
Chloe began crying again.
“Gideon told me.”
“And you stayed with him?”
“He said Patrick acted alone. He said Dad was trapped. He said Sean Hayes was dead.”
“You knew Dad chose me because you were more valuable.”
Chloe covered her face.
“Yes.”
Mave stood.
“Mave—”
“No.”
“Please.”
“I spent eleven years thinking I was weak because I couldn't get over that fire.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
Mave's voice shook.
“I thought my memories were false. I thought the man who saved me wasn't real. I thought Dad loved us equally and something inside me was simply too damaged to feel it.”
Chloe sobbed.
“I was scared.”
“So was I.”
“I loved Gideon.”
“And I loved you.”
That silenced her.
Mave walked away.
Declan was waiting.
He didn't tell her to forgive Chloe.
Didn't tell her family was family.
Didn't tell her anger would poison her.
He simply opened the passenger door.
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For the first time since being kidnapped, Mave got into Declan Hayes's car because she chose to.
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