Chapter 15 - Five Thirty
At 4:55 a.m., every road into Waukegan Regional Airport had an unmarked police car on it.
The charter company insisted nobody matching Victoria's description had arrived.
Then Elena noticed a catering van moving toward a private hangar.
"That logo is wrong."
Ruiz looked at her.
"What?"
"Mercer events used that company last year. Their vans are blue. That one is white."
Police stopped it.
The driver ran.
He made it thirty yards.
Inside the van were two suitcases, children's clothes in Clara's size, and a locked metal case containing cash.
No Victoria.
"Decoy," Ruiz said.
Mark's phone rang.
Margaret.
He almost ignored it.
"What?"
His mother's voice was shaking.
"She's here."
Mark froze.
"Who?"
"Victoria."
"Where are you?"
"My hotel. She came through the service elevator. She has a gun."
The line went silent.
Mark shouted her name.
Then Victoria came on.
"Good morning, darling."
His entire body went cold.
"Where is my mother?"
"Alive. For now."
"What do you want?"
"The trust reset. The complaint withdrawn. And a car."
"You're not getting any of that."
Victoria laughed softly.
"You still think this is about money."
"You tried to kill a child for money."
"I tried to survive your family."
"By dropping Clara?"
Silence.
Then Victoria's voice sharpened.
"Bring Elena."
Elena looked up.
Mark immediately said, "No."
"Then Margaret loses a finger before breakfast."
Mark closed his eyes.
Victoria continued.
"Elena is the reason everything failed. I want her to tell me why she couldn't just mind her own business."
Elena took the phone from Mark.
"Because Clara was falling."
Victoria stopped speaking.
Elena's voice steadied.
"And you were standing there watching her fall."
May you like
A long pause.
Then Victoria whispered, "Come ask me what else I watched."
