Chapter 7: The Woman Holding the Gun
For several seconds, I couldn't take my eyes off the photograph.
Vanessa stood outside the original Hayes factory, wearing a black coat. Her blonde hair was tied behind her head, and her right hand held what appeared to be a handgun.
Beside her stood a man I had never met.
My half-brother.
Adrian Hayes.
He was taller than me, with dark hair, a sharp jawline, and the same gray eyes I remembered from my father's photographs.
Daniel spoke through the phone.
“Marcus, are you listening?””
“Yes.””
“Do not go to that factory. The police are already responding.””
I looked at my mother.
She had seen the photograph over my shoulder.
All the color had disappeared from her face.
“That's Adrian,” she whispered.
“I know.””
“And Vanessa?””
“My wife.””
She covered her mouth.
“Oh, God.””
I looked at the brass key in my hand.
“What exactly is inside that ledger?””
My mother shook her head.
“Everything your father knew.””
“That's not an answer.””
She stepped toward me.
“Marcus, your father discovered that several people had been using the company to move money for years. He found false invoices, fake suppliers, and payments to accounts that didn't exist.””
“Who was involved?””
“I don't know all the names.””
“But you know some.””
She hesitated.
“Adrian. Derrick. And possibly someone inside the police department.””
Daniel was still on the phone.
“Marcus, I'm sending officers to your location. Stay where you are.””
I looked at the photograph again.
Vanessa wasn't simply standing beside Adrian.
She was holding a weapon.
“Daniel, I think she's planning something.””
“That's exactly why you must stay away.””
I ended the call.
My mother grabbed my arm.
“Where are you going?””
“To get the ledger.””
“No!””
Her voice echoed through the study.
“Marcus, you don't understand. Adrian is dangerous.””
I looked at her.
“You knew he was dangerous, and you let him near my father?””
She flinched.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“By hiding him?””
“By keeping him away from you.””
I shook my head.
“You failed.””
I walked toward the front door.
My mother followed.
“Please, Marcus. Let the police handle this.””
I stopped at the doorway.
“Do you remember what Father used to say about the company?””
She looked confused.
“He said it was built on trust.””
I opened the door.
“And he was wrong. It was built on secrets.””
The original factory was forty minutes outside the city.
It had been closed for nearly a decade, but my father had refused to sell it. He said the building contained too many memories.
I remembered being seven years old and following him through the workshop while he explained how machines worked.
He would lift me onto a wooden crate and let me watch the workers assemble steel components.
“Someday, Marcus,” he used to say, “you'll understand that a company isn't its buildings or its money. It's the people who trust you.””
I had believed him.
Now I wondered how many of those people had betrayed him.
Daniel caught up with me ten minutes before we reached the factory.
He arrived in a second vehicle with two security officers.
“Are you out of your mind?”” he demanded.
“Probably.””
“You cannot keep making decisions like this.””
“I have the key.””
“And the police have the information.””
“Then let's work together.””
Daniel studied my face.
Finally, he nodded.
“Stay behind us.””
We approached the factory from the eastern entrance.
The security lights were on.
A dark SUV stood near the loading bay.
Daniel signaled for everyone to stop.
Then we heard a crash from inside.
A woman's voice followed.
“Open it, Adrian!””
I recognized Vanessa immediately.
Daniel whispered, “We're not entering until the officers arrive.””
I looked through a broken window.
Adrian was standing near the old production office.
Vanessa was pointing the gun at him.
“You said the ledger was here!”” she shouted.
Adrian calmly adjusted his jacket.
“I said I knew where it was.””
“Then find it!””
“You're becoming very impatient.””
“You promised me my money!””
Adrian smiled.
“You already received more than enough.””
Vanessa shook the gun.
“You promised me twenty million dollars!””
“And you promised to make sure Marcus never recovered.””
I felt my blood turn cold.
Adrian continued.
“You failed at the only thing I needed you to do.””
Vanessa's voice broke.
“He survived because the driver didn't follow your instructions!””
Adrian stepped closer.
“Lower the gun.””
“No!””
“Vanessa, think carefully. If you shoot me, you'll never find the ledger.””
She hesitated.
That was when Daniel's phone vibrated.
The police had arrived.
He whispered into his radio.
“Two suspects inside. One armed female. Proceed carefully.””
A moment later, the factory lights went out.
Someone screamed.
Then a gunshot exploded through the building.
I instinctively ducked.
Daniel grabbed my shoulder.
“Stay down!””
A second shot followed.
Then silence.
We entered behind the officers.
Vanessa was standing near the production office, her gun pointed at the floor.
Adrian was gone.
A broken window swung open behind him.
One officer rushed outside.
Another approached Vanessa.
“Drop the weapon!””
She looked toward me.
For a moment, her face changed.
She looked like the woman who had once sat beside my hospital bed and promised to stay forever.
Then she dropped the gun.
“Marcus,” she whispered.
I didn't move.
“Where is Adrian?””
She shook her head.
“He escaped.””
“Why were you here?””
She looked down.
“He has something that belongs to me.””
“What?””
“My money.””
I stared at her.
“That's what matters to you right now?””
She started crying.
“He promised he would give me enough to disappear. I didn't know he would turn against me.””
I walked closer.
“You were holding a gun.””
“He was going to kill me.””
“And you were going to do what? Kill him first?””
She said nothing.
Daniel approached the production office.
“Marcus.””
I followed him.
Behind a metal filing cabinet was a small safe.
Its door was open.
The inside was empty.
But a torn piece of paper lay on the floor.
I picked it up.
There was one sentence written in my father's handwriting.
If Adrian finds the ledger, the truth about Eleanor will never come out.
I stared at the words.
My mother.
What truth?
Daniel examined the paper.
“Marcus, I think we need to get your mother somewhere safe.””
Before I could answer, an officer came running from the entrance.
“Mr. Hayes!””
“What?””
He held up a phone.
“We found this in the suspect's vehicle.””
It was an old recording device.
The screen showed a single audio file.
The title read:
*ELEANOR CONFESSION.*
I pressed play.
My mother's voice filled the factory.
“If anything happens to Marcus, I will make sure Adrian gets what he deserves.””
Then another voice spoke.
My father's.
“Eleanor, you don't understand what you've done.””
May you like
And the final sentence made my entire body go cold.
“Because Adrian isn't the only son you've been hiding.””
