Chapter 9 - ROBERT DISAPPEARS
Mary called her father.
No answer.
She called again.
Evelyn picked up on the fifth ring.
“Mary?”
“Where’s Dad?”
“I thought he was with you.”
Mary stood so fast her chair hit the wall.
“What?”
“He said Daniel needed him downtown. A car came for him twenty minutes ago.”
“What car?”
“Black. Company car, I thought.”
Mary’s mouth went dry.
“Mom, lock the doors. Do not open them for anyone.”
“Mary, what’s happening?”
“Just do it.”
Lena pulled the security logs.
No company vehicle had been dispatched to the Caldwell residence.
Mary pressed both hands to the conference table.
Ethan had sent the message: move Robert.
Daniel called the police and the company’s outside investigators.
“If they have Robert, they can force him to authenticate the proxy.”
Mary shook her head. “Dad would never.”
Arthur looked at her. “People sign things when they’re scared.”
Mary hated him for saying it because he was right.
“Dad?”
“Mary, I’m okay.”
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Who’s with you?”
“Ethan.”
Mary’s blood turned cold.
Ethan came on the line.
“You made this ugly.”
“You kidnapped my father.”
“Don’t be dramatic. He got in the car voluntarily.”
Robert shouted something in the background.
Ethan lowered his voice.
“The 8:00 meeting goes forward.”
“No.”
“You attend. You confirm you’re stepping aside for thirty days.”
“Never.”
“Then your father’s little tax problem becomes public.”
“What tax problem?”
Robert shouted again, louder.
“You really don’t know your family, do you?”
Robert Caldwell had spent four decades telling her that reputation was a bank account: hard to fill, easy to empty.
“What tax problem?”
Daniel’s silence answered before his words did.
“I found something tonight,” he said.
May you like
Mary felt the next betrayal before it landed.
“Your father has been paying money to an offshore account for eleven years.”
