Chapter 9 - THE TICKET TO MONTREAL
The absolute silence in the foyer was broken only by the ticking of the grandfather clock.
"He took Chloe?" I repeated, the horror sinking in. "Why? He paid her to get an abortion. He doesn't want the baby."
Sebastian's mind worked furiously, calculating the angles.
"He doesn't want the baby," Sebastian said, his voice a lethal, quiet rasp. "He wants leverage. He knows his assets are frozen. He knows the murder warrant is active. He needs a hostage to negotiate safe passage out of the country."
"But why take Chloe instead of running immediately?" I asked.
"Because Chloe is carrying his only heir," Sebastian realized, his eyes darkening. "If Graham goes to prison for life, all of his remaining personal trusts and hidden offshore accounts eventually default to his next of kin. If he has a child, the child inherits. If he takes Chloe, he controls the heir, which means he controls the money long-term."
He looked at Daniel. "Where would he take her? He can't use the airports; his name is flagged."
Daniel typed rapidly on his tablet. "Private charter? No, all local airstrips are on lockdown. Train?"
"Union Station," I said suddenly, a memory flashing in my mind.
Both men looked at me.
"Last night, when I found the locked door, I went into his study to look for my keys," I explained quickly. "He had a browser window open on his laptop. He was looking at train schedules. An overnight express line."
"To where?" Sebastian demanded.
"Montreal," I recalled perfectly. "It crosses the border quietly. No TSA, minimal security. If he gets her on that train, they're in Canada by morning, and extradition for a murder charge could take years."
Sebastian grabbed his heavy black overcoat.
"Daniel. Lock down the compound. Nobody in or out."
Sebastian looked at me. "You stay here. You are safe here."
I shook my head, grabbing my own coat. "I'm going with you."
"Mara, it's too dangerous. He's desperate and he has nothing to lose."
"He manipulated me for a year, Sebastian," I said fiercely, my voice steady and resolute. "He tried to destroy my mind. He murdered your brother. And he is holding a terrified, pregnant girl hostage. I am not hiding in a mansion while you finish this."
Sebastian stared at me, seeing the absolute determination in my eyes. The librarian was gone. The CEO was standing in front of him.
He offered a sharp, approving nod. "Let's go."
The drive to Union Station was a blur of rain and speeding tires. Sebastian drove his armored SUV like a tactical missile, weaving through the morning Chicago traffic with terrifying precision.
We arrived at the massive, echoing train terminal just as the 8:15 AM Montreal Express was boarding on Platform 4.
The station was crowded with morning commuters, making it impossible to spot them immediately.
"Split up," Sebastian ordered quietly, handing me a small, encrypted radio earpiece. "If you see him, do not engage. Tell me where he is. I will handle it."
I nodded, slipping the earpiece in.
I moved through the crowd, my eyes scanning the hundreds of faces. I looked for his expensive charcoal suit, but I knew he would try to blend in.
Then, I saw a flash of color near the back of the boarding line for Platform 4.
Red.
A bright red winter coat.
Chloe.
She was standing rigidly, her head down, her hands tucked into her pockets. Standing directly behind her, wearing a generic baseball cap and a dark windbreaker, was Graham.
He had one hand gripped tightly around her upper arm. His other hand was buried deep in his jacket pocket, pressing something hard against her spine.
A gun.
"Sebastian," I whispered into the radio. "Platform 4. Back of the line. He has a gun pressed to her back."
"Copy," Sebastian's voice crackled in my ear. "I have a visual. Move toward the pillar on your left. Stay out of his line of sight."
I moved behind the large marble pillar, watching them.
The boarding line moved forward. They were only ten feet from the train doors. If they stepped onto that train, they were gone.
Suddenly, Sebastian appeared from the crowd.
He didn't run. He didn't draw a weapon. He simply walked with the terrifying, inevitable presence of a predator cornering its prey.
He stepped directly into the boarding line, blocking Graham's path to the train.
Graham froze.
He looked up, seeing Sebastian standing less than three feet away. The arrogance in Graham's eyes vanished, replaced by sheer, animal panic.
"Move," Graham hissed, shoving the gun harder into Chloe's back. Chloe whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "I will kill her right here, Romano. I swear to God."
"No, you won't," Sebastian said, his voice perfectly calm, carrying easily over the noise of the platform. "Because if you pull that trigger, the crowd panics. The police swarm. And you don't make the train. You die on this platform."
Graham's hand shook. "Get out of my way."
"You murdered my brother for a stadium contract," Sebastian continued, taking one slow step forward. "You poisoned your wife for a company. And now you're hiding behind a pregnant girl because you are fundamentally a coward."
"Shut up!" Graham screamed, the panic breaking his composure.
People in line finally realized what was happening and began screaming, scattering away from the platform. Within seconds, a massive circle of empty space formed around them.
I stepped out from behind the pillar.
"Graham," I called out.
Graham's head snapped toward me.
"Mara?" he gasped, his focus breaking for a fraction of a second.
That was all Sebastian needed.
Sebastian moved with explosive violence. He lunged forward, grabbing the wrist of the hand holding the gun in Graham's pocket. He twisted it sharply backward.
A sickening crack echoed on the platform as Graham's wrist broke.
Graham screamed in agony, dropping the weapon inside his jacket.
Sebastian didn't stop. He grabbed Graham by the throat—just as he had done in the restaurant—and slammed him violently onto the concrete platform.
Graham hit the ground hard, the fight completely knocked out of him.
Chloe collapsed to her knees, sobbing hysterically. I rushed forward, wrapping my arms around her, shielding her as the station security and police officers flooded the platform, their weapons drawn.
Sebastian stood over Graham, breathing heavily, his dark eyes burning with vengeance.
The police tackled Graham, snapping handcuffs onto his uninjured wrist.
As they dragged him to his feet, Graham looked at me. His face was bruised, his windbreaker torn.
"You ruined me," Graham spat, blood on his teeth.
I looked at the man who had tried to erase my existence.
"No, Graham," I said coldly. "I just woke up."
They dragged him away.
The platform was secure. Chloe was safe.
Sebastian turned to me, the lethal tension leaving his body. He let out a long breath, looking at the empty space where my husband had stood.
"It's finished," Sebastian said quietly.
I nodded, feeling the exhaustion finally hit me.
But as I looked down at the concrete platform, my heart skipped a beat.
Lying on the ground, having fallen out of Chloe's pocket when she collapsed, was a small, familiar object.
It was my missing cell phone.
I picked it up, my brow furrowing in confusion.
"Chloe," I asked gently, holding up the phone. "Why do you have my cell phone? Graham took this weeks ago."
Chloe looked up, her eyes wide with fresh terror. She wiped her tears, looking at Sebastian, then back to me.
"Graham didn't take your phone, Mara," Chloe whispered, her voice shaking. "I took it."
Sebastian frowned, stepping closer. "Why?"
Chloe swallowed hard.
"Because I found something on it. A voicemail. From the night you fell down the stairs."
She reached out with a trembling hand and pressed play on the screen.
The voicemail echoed from the tiny speaker.
It wasn't Graham's voice.
It was a woman's voice. Cold, calculating, and unmistakably clear.
"Graham, the pills aren't working fast enough. She's starting to ask questions. You need to push her down the stairs tonight, or the conservatorship deal is off. I want my cut of the firm by Friday."
I stared at the phone, the blood freezing in my veins.
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The voice on the recording didn't belong to a mistress.
It belonged to Louise.
