Chapter 3 - The Hartwell Gala
Gideon lived in a penthouse overlooking the river.
I had expected something cold.
Steel.
Black marble.
Furniture selected by architects who believed chairs should resemble sculptures.
Instead, his home was warm.
Dark wood.
Bookshelves.
A piano.
A framed photograph of a woman with Gideon’s eyes sat beside a lamp.
His mother, I assumed.
I did not ask.
Rafe remained downstairs.
Kyle had reluctantly returned to the lab after Gideon placed two security men outside the building.
I stood in Gideon’s study while he unlocked a hidden compartment behind a bookcase.
“You actually have a hidden safe behind a bookcase.”
He glanced at me.
“I’m aware of how it looks.”
“A little dramatic.”
“You’re standing in the home of a man you keep calling a crime boss.”
“I’ve never called you that.”
“Not aloud.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
Then he opened the safe.
The mood changed.
Inside were three leather-bound books.
No digital files.
No cloud backups.
Paper.
He removed one.
“What is this?”
“A record of transactions between people who prefer transactions not to exist.”
“You keep handwritten evidence of crimes?”
“Not mine.”
I stared at him.
“That distinction does not reassure me.”
“It wasn’t meant to.”
He opened the ledger.
Names.
Dates.
Companies.
Amounts.
Initials.
I recognized some businesses from financial news.
Others meant nothing.
Then I saw it.
M.S.H.
Meridian Strategic Holdings.
Beside it were transfers totaling millions.
One line contained Kyle’s company.
NASH BIO.
My stomach tightened.
“Where did you get this?”
“From a man named Victor Dane.”
“Who is Victor Dane?”
“He was Senator Pemberton’s financial intermediary for twelve years.”
“Was?”
“He disappeared eighteen months ago.”
“Dead?”
Gideon met my eyes.
“No.”
That answer somehow sounded worse.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No. I expect you to decide what you believe based on evidence.”
I flipped another page.
Alister’s name appeared twice.
A.P.
Beside one entry:
NB leverage structure approved.
I felt sick.
“He planned it.”
“Yes.”
“He knew Kyle was vulnerable.”
“Yes.”
“He paid the debt intentionally.”
“Yes.”
“And then he proposed to me.”
Gideon said nothing.
I closed the ledger.
“Why?”
“You know why.”
“No. I know he wants Kyle’s technology. Why marry me?”
Gideon’s expression softened in a way I had rarely seen.
“Because leverage works better when the person being leveraged believes it’s love.”
The sentence hurt.
Because it made sense.
My phone rang.
Alister.
I rejected it.
He called again.
Rejected.
Then a message.
We need to end this childishness. Saturday remains unchanged.
I showed Gideon.
“You still want me not to go?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m going.”
His eyebrows drew together.
“What?”
“If he believes everything is normal, he won’t know we know.”
“No.”
“You don’t get to order me either.”
“I’m not ordering you.”
“You said no like you own the dictionary.”
He looked away briefly.
“Fair.”
“I go to Hartwell. Kyle stays protected. I make Alister believe I’m still deciding.”
“And then?”
“We find proof that would stand up in court.”
Gideon’s eyes narrowed.
“You’ve been my executive strategist for five years and somehow decided tonight was the appropriate time to become suicidal.”
“Good training.”
“You’re not funny.”
“I’m a little funny.”
He nearly smiled.
Then his face became serious.
“The gala is controlled by Pemberton security.”
“So?”
“So my people won’t be able to stay beside you.”
“You’ll be there.”
He was silent.
I knew enough about the social world surrounding Alister to understand the significance.
“Were you invited?”
“No.”
“Then how—”
“Emery.”
Of course.
Gideon Ferris did not require invitations.
Saturday arrived too quickly.
I wore the midnight-blue gown.
Not because Alister had told me to.
Because I decided I liked it.
That distinction mattered.
At 5:40 p.m., a black sedan delivered me to the Hartwell Hotel.
Alister was waiting in the lobby.
His smile appeared instantly when he saw me.
“There she is.”
He kissed my cheek.
I did not move.
His eyes dropped to my hand.
The ring was back.
His shoulders loosened.
I had put it on for exactly one reason.
Camouflage.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“You had me worried Wednesday.”
“Wednesday was emotional.”
He touched my waist.
“Ferris gets inside people’s heads.”
I smiled softly.
“He tries.”
Alister relaxed.
Good.
The ballroom glittered with money.
Politicians.
Bankers.
Developers.
Media executives.
People who shook hands while calculating each other’s usefulness.
Alister worked the room effortlessly.
I stood beside him.
Smiled.
Listened.
Watched.
At seven twenty-three, Gideon arrived.
Conversation shifted almost imperceptibly.
Heads turned.
Gideon wore a black tuxedo.
Rafe followed several steps behind.
Alister’s hand tightened around mine.
“He wasn’t invited.”
“Maybe he donated.”
“Ferris doesn’t donate.”
Across the room, Gideon’s gaze found mine.
One second.
Two.
Then he looked away.
Perfect.
Alister leaned toward me.
“Stay away from him tonight.”
I smiled.
“Of course.”
Twenty minutes later, I excused myself to the restroom.
Gideon was waiting in the corridor.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I said.
“Correct.”
“Then why are you?”
“You.”
One word.
It hit harder than it should have.
I lowered my voice.
“Anything?”
“Meridian moved funds this morning.”
“Where?”
“Offshore.”
“Why?”
“Because someone knows the ledger may surface.”
“Alister?”
“Possibly.”
Footsteps approached.
Gideon stepped away just before Alister rounded the corner.
His expression froze.
“Ferris.”
“Pemberton.”
“What are you doing with my fiancée?”
Gideon’s eyes moved to me.
“Ask your fiancée.”
I almost admired him for it.
Alister turned.
“Emery?”
“We ran into each other.”
“Go back to the ballroom.”
My stomach clenched.
“Excuse me?”
His smile remained fixed.
“For the photographs.”
Gideon’s gaze sharpened.
I said quietly, “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Alister looked at me for a beat too long.
Then walked away.
Gideon waited.
“You see it now.”
I hated that he did not need to explain what he meant.
“Yes.”
Before we could continue, my phone vibrated.
Kyle.
I answered.
“Kyle?”
Noise.
Breathing.
Then:
“Emery, someone broke into the lab.”
I went cold.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m outside. Security got me out.”
Gideon was already reaching for his phone.
Kyle continued.
“They didn’t take computers.”
“What did they take?”
A pause.
“The prototype.”
Gideon’s face changed.
“What prototype?” I asked.
“The delivery capsule from trial batch seven.”
“How dangerous is it?”
“By itself? Not very.”
“And with the research?”
Kyle hesitated.
“Emery…”
My heart sank.
“What?”
“With the right modifications, it can carry almost anything through the bloodstream without triggering an immediate immune response.”
I looked at Gideon.
He had heard.
Every trace of warmth disappeared from his expression.
“Get Kyle to my secure location,” he told Rafe over the phone.
Then he looked at me.
“We’re leaving.”
I nodded.
We took three steps.
Alister appeared at the end of the corridor.
Behind him were two security men.
He looked from Gideon to me.
Then at my phone.
His expression changed.
“You spoke to your brother.”
Not a question.
I felt the world narrow.
“How did you know?”
Silence.
That was the answer.
I removed the engagement ring.
This time, I did not hesitate.
I held it out.
Alister stared.
“Put it back on.”
“No.”
“Emery.”
“No.”
People had begun watching from the ballroom entrance.
Alister lowered his voice.
“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
“I finally do.”
His eyes turned cold.
“You walk away from me tonight, and Kyle loses everything.”
“Then you admit it.”
His face remained expressionless.
“You owe me.”
There it was.
The truth.
Not love.
Debt.
Ownership.
Payment.
I opened my hand.
The ring fell onto the marble floor between us.
A dozen nearby conversations stopped.
Alister stared at it.
Then at me.
“You’ll regret that.”
Gideon stepped slightly forward.
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“She won’t.”
Alister smiled.
It was the first time I had ever seen him look openly cruel.
“This isn’t your world, Emery.”
I met his eyes.
“You made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You thought paying my brother’s debt meant you bought me too.”
I turned away.
Gideon followed.
We were halfway to the elevator when Alister called after us.
“You think Ferris is better?”
I stopped.
So did Gideon.
Alister smiled.
“Ask him why Victor Dane disappeared.”
Gideon went very still.
My eyes turned toward him.
For the first time since I had known him, Gideon Ferris looked afraid.
Not for himself.
May you like
Of what I was about to learn.
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