Chapter 12 - THE LAST GAME
Security doubled.
Lily hated it.
“Why does Mr. Sam follow us?”
“Because he likes walking.”
She looked at the six-foot-four former Marine behind us.
“No he doesn’t.”
I almost laughed.
Nathaniel moved us into the main house.
Separate rooms.
More cameras.
More guards.
Victor disappeared.
Police monitored airports.
Train stations.
Known properties.
Nothing.
Then Cross Meridian’s annual shareholder meeting approached.
Nathaniel wanted to cancel.
Margaret argued against it.
“If you disappear, markets panic.”
I said:
“Then don’t disappear.”
Everyone looked at me.
Nathaniel frowned.
“Elena.”
“Victor wants you afraid.”
“He threatened you.”
“Yes.”
“That changes things.”
“No.”
My voice hardened.
“It changes precautions. Not who gets to control our lives.”
Nathaniel stared at me.
Then Adrian smiled.
“I like her.”
Nathaniel replied dryly, “I had noticed.”
The meeting proceeded.
Security transformed the Chicago headquarters into a fortress.
I attended because the employee standards initiative was on the agenda.
It was the first time I entered Cross Meridian’s boardroom without a cleaning cart.
I wore a navy suit Margaret helped me choose.
I felt like an impostor.
Then Denise, Marcus, and six other workers entered.
Suddenly I remembered why I was there.
Nathaniel presented reforms.
Independent grievance channels.
Wage audits.
Board-level employee protection committee.
Scholarship programs for workers’ children.
A requirement that executive compensation partially depend on labor compliance.
One director objected.
“We are a hospitality company, not a social experiment.”
Nathaniel answered:
“Then we should understand hospitality begins with how we treat the people serving it.”
The proposal passed.
Afterward, applause filled the room.
Then the fire alarm sounded.
Security moved instantly.
Nathaniel looked at me.
“Stay with Sam.”
Smoke appeared in the corridor.
People evacuated toward stairwells.
Then lights failed.
Emergency systems activated.
Sam guided Lily and me toward a secure elevator.
The doors opened.
Empty.
We entered.
The doors closed.
Then Sam’s radio crackled.
He frowned.
“What?”
Static.
The elevator stopped between floors.
Lily grabbed my hand.
The emergency light flickered.
Then the speaker activated.
Victor’s voice filled the elevator.
“Hello, Elena.”
My blood went cold.
Sam reached for the control panel.
Dead.
Victor continued.
“Nathaniel built his whole life believing money gave him control.”
Lily pressed against me.
“He’s about to learn it doesn’t.”
Then the elevator dropped.
Only three feet.
But Lily screamed.
I held her.
Sam pried at the doors.
Nothing.
Victor’s voice returned.
“Tell Nathaniel to come to the old ballroom at the Cross estate.”
I frowned.
The estate?
“Alone.”
Then silence.
Sam’s phone buzzed.
A live video appeared.
Thomas was tied to a chair.
Behind him stood Victor.
At the Cross estate ballroom.
Nathaniel’s home.
Victor smiled into the camera.
“Thirty minutes.”
Then he held up a detonator.
May you like
And behind Thomas, I saw red lights blinking beneath the champagne table.
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