CHAPTER 15 — THE WOMAN EVERYONE HATED
The plan was reckless.
Eleanor would pretend she had turned against me and escaped federal custody through a negotiated release.
Gavin believed she still needed him.
She would lure him into revealing where he stored the files.
Detective Morales opposed using her.
“She has lied every time it benefited her,” Morales said.
“She also knows Gavin better than anyone.”
“That may be another lie.”
Maya overheard part of the discussion.
“I don’t want Eleanor near me.”
“She won’t be.”
“Will people find out about me?”
I sat beside her.
“Some truths may become public.”
“Will they say I’m bad?”
“No.”
“They said that at dinner.”
“Those people were cowards.”
Maya looked at Scout sleeping near her feet.
“Is Eleanor really my mother?”
“She gave you your biology.”
“Sarah gave me everything else.”
“Yes.”
Maya thought for a moment.
“Then Sarah is my mom.”
I kissed her forehead.
“Yes.”
At the gala, hundreds of guests filled the Sterling Museum.
News cameras waited outside.
The company scandal had turned the family into national entertainment.
Eleanor arrived in a black dress under federal surveillance.
Whispers followed her across the room.
Gavin appeared near the stage.
He was free on a technical release after his attorneys challenged the legality of his arrest at Hawthorne House.
He kissed Eleanor’s cheek for the cameras.
“You came back,” he whispered.
“You said we could still win.”
His hand rested at her waist.
From the surveillance van, I listened through the microphone hidden in her necklace.
“Where are the files?” Eleanor asked.
“Safe.”
“You promised me Maya.”
“You’ll have custody once Richard is removed.”
“He resigned.”
“Which makes him look guilty.”
Gavin guided her toward the museum archives.
Morales and I followed through a service corridor.
Behind a locked door, Gavin revealed a portable server.
Every file connected to Maya was scheduled for release at midnight.
Eleanor stepped closer to the control panel.
“What about Charles?”
“He signed the recognition document.”
“You trust him?”
“I trust his fear of prison.”
“And me?”
Gavin smiled.
“I trust your hatred.”
Eleanor looked at him for a long moment.
“You were right about one thing.”
“What?”
“I did hate Richard.”
She removed the hidden microphone.
My stomach dropped.
Morales reached for the door.
Then Eleanor crushed the device beneath her heel.
Gavin smiled.
I realized she had betrayed us.
He kissed her.
“Welcome back.”
The server countdown began.
Thirty seconds.
Morales ordered the team inside.
Before they breached the door, Eleanor pulled a flash drive from Gavin’s pocket.
She drove her elbow into his throat and ran toward us.
“Now!” she shouted.
Police entered.
Gavin reached beneath the table.
A gunshot rang out.
Eleanor fell.
The flash drive slid across the floor toward me.
As officers restrained Gavin, I knelt beside her.
Blood spread across her shoulder.
She looked up at me.
“Tell Maya I stopped him.”
“You can tell her yourself.”
Eleanor shook her head.
Then she whispered:
“The files aren’t the only thing on that drive.”
May you like
“What else?”
“Proof Sarah had another child.”
