Chapter 3 - Every Cup of Coffee Was a Weapon
By 4:06 a.m., Hayes Global had become a locked box.
No elevators.
No outgoing calls.
No employees allowed to leave.
Declan stood in the center of the executive floor while Ronan sat in a chair with his shoulder bandaged.
“You sure you can stay conscious?”
Ronan looked annoyed.
“I’ve had worse.”
Elias handed him a bottle of water.
Declan immediately took it from his hand.
“No one drinks anything in this building.”
Elias looked at the bottle.
Then at Declan.
“Right.”
Victoria sat near Sarah’s desk, pale and furious.
“You cannot detain me here.”
Declan ignored her.
“You cannot detain anyone here.”
Still nothing.
“Declan.”
He finally looked at her.
“You knew Sarah was pregnant.”
“I told you why.”
“You gave me a weak story.”
“It was the truth.”
“You expect me to believe an ultrasound simply fell from her purse in front of you?”
Victoria’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
Elias stepped closer.
“What exactly did you see?”
Victoria looked at him.
“An ultrasound.”
“Anything written on it?”
“No.”
“Name?”
“Sarah’s.”
“Gestational age?”
“I didn’t check.”
Declan folded his arms.
“So you knew she was pregnant but not how far along.”
“Yes.”
“And you never said anything.”
“It was none of my business.”
Declan stared at her.
Victoria gave a humorless laugh.
“I know that sounds strange coming from me.”
“It sounds impossible.”
“It’s not.”
Ronan spoke from behind them.
“Declan.”
He turned.
Ronan had pulled up security records on a backup laptop.
“The blackout wasn’t random.”
“Go on.”
“Someone triggered the emergency power shutdown through the building management system.”
“Remote access?”
“No.”
Declan’s expression sharpened.
Ronan continued.
“The command came from inside the building.”
Elias asked, “Which terminal?”
“I’m tracing it.”
Victoria looked toward the darkened hallway.
“Whoever did this may still be here.”
Declan replied, “They are.”
Silence followed.
He looked at Elias.
“Seal the stairwells.”
“Already done.”
“Basement?”
“Marcus is covering it.”
“Garage?”
“Locked.”
Declan turned to Ronan.
“Find the terminal.”
Ronan typed quickly.
Then stopped.
His face changed.
“What?”
“The command was sent from executive office twelve.”
Victoria frowned.
“That’s empty.”
Declan knew the room.
It had belonged to former legal counsel Frederick Lang until he left the company three months ago.
“Who has access?”
Ronan shook his head.
“Officially? Nobody.”
“Unofficially?”
“Anyone with a master badge.”
Declan looked at Victoria.
Then Elias.
Then Ronan.
Every one of them had one.
Declan took out his gun.
“Let’s go.”
Executive office twelve smelled stale.
Unused furniture had been covered with white cloth. Boxes of old legal files lined one wall.
Declan entered first.
Elias followed.
Ronan remained behind with Victoria.
“Lights.”
Elias found a portable lamp and switched it on.
Declan examined the desk.
Computer powered off.
Keyboard dusty.
Nothing obvious.
Then Elias crouched.
“Here.”
A fresh boot print marked the carpet behind the desk.
Declan moved closer.
Elias pointed at a cable connected beneath the workstation.
“Someone installed a network bridge.”
Declan’s eyes narrowed.
“Recently?”
“Looks like it.”
A small black device had been taped beneath the desk.
Declan pulled on gloves and removed it.
“Can it route calls?”
Elias nodded.
“Calls. Data. Surveillance. Anything on the internal network.”
“So our mystery caller could be anywhere.”
“Potentially.”
Declan glanced toward the boxes.
“Search everything.”
They worked in silence for five minutes.
Then Elias stopped.
“Declan.”
He held up a disposable coffee cup.
Sarah’s name was written across the side.
Declan walked over.
The cup was empty.
A dried brown stain remained around the rim.
“What is that doing here?”
Elias placed it in an evidence bag.
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
Declan stared at Sarah’s name.
“Test it.”
“Immediately.”
“And fingerprints.”
“Yes.”
Declan scanned the room.
A person had used this office to access the network.
A cup belonging to Sarah had been hidden here.
Too neat.
Too convenient.
Another planted clue?
Or the first real mistake?
His phone rang.
Doctor Bell.
Declan answered.
“How is she?”
“Stable.”
“And the baby?”
“Heartbeat remains normal.”
Declan’s jaw loosened slightly.
Bell continued.
“But Sarah wants to leave.”
“No.”
“I told her you would say that.”
“Then why are we having this conversation?”
“Because she is threatening to remove her own IV.”
Declan closed his eyes.
“Put her on.”
A moment later Sarah answered.
“I am not staying here all day.”
“You nearly died.”
“I did not nearly die.”
“You have poison in your bloodstream.”
“I am aware.”
“You’re staying.”
“I need my laptop.”
“No.”
“My work is on it.”
“I own the company.”
“Then you should understand deadlines.”
Declan almost lost patience.
“Sarah.”
“Declan.”
Elias looked away, hiding a smile.
Declan stepped into the hallway.
“Someone fired at us twenty minutes after I took you to Bell.”
Sarah went silent.
“That changes nothing?”
“It changes plenty.”
“Then stop trying to leave.”
“I don’t like being helpless.”
“You are not helpless.”
“It feels like it.”
Declan lowered his voice.
“I found one of your coffee cups in an abandoned office.”
Silence.
“What?”
“Someone hid it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Sarah’s tone changed.
“Which office?”
“Twelve.”
She thought for a second.
“That used to be Lang’s.”
“Yes.”
“I haven’t been inside that office in months.”
“Who brought you coffee recently?”
“Emily. Victoria. Sometimes Daniel.”
Declan stopped.
“Daniel Cross?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t mention him.”
“You asked about people who regularly brought coffee.”
“How often did Cross?”
“Twice. Maybe three times.”
“When?”
“One was last week.”
“Why?”
“He said he was already in the kitchen.”
Declan looked back toward Elias.
“Stay there.”
“Again, you know how I feel about orders.”
“Sarah.”
“Fine.”
He ended the call.
Elias already knew from his expression.
“Cross?”
“Find him.”
Daniel Cross arrived on the executive floor forty minutes later.
Tall, polished and fifty years old, the chief financial officer looked irritated rather than afraid.
“This better be important.”
Declan stared at him.
“You were difficult to reach.”
“I was sleeping.”
“Where?”
“My apartment.”
“Alone?”
Daniel frowned.
“I don’t see how that is relevant.”
Declan smiled faintly.
“It becomes relevant when I decide whether you are lying.”
Daniel looked around.
He saw Ronan’s bandaged shoulder.
Victoria.
Armed security.
His irritation disappeared.
“What happened?”
Declan placed Sarah’s coffee cup on the desk between them.
“You recognize this?”
Daniel looked down.
“No.”
“Sarah’s cup.”
“I can read.”
“Have you ever brought her coffee?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Sometimes.”
“How often?”
“Maybe a few times.”
“Recently?”
“Yes.”
Victoria looked at him.
“You never mentioned that.”
Daniel turned.
“No one asked me.”
Declan leaned forward.
“What do you put in it?”
Daniel looked back at him.
“Excuse me?”
“Her coffee.”
“Milk.”
“Sugar?”
“No.”
“Poison?”
Daniel froze.
Declan watched every movement.
“What?”
“Someone has been poisoning Sarah.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“That’s insane.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“She has thallium and arsenic in her blood.”
Daniel slowly shook his head.
“I had nothing to do with that.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Because someone hid one of her cups in an abandoned office used to hack my network.”
Daniel looked at the bag.
“I didn’t put it there.”
Declan nodded.
“Good.”
Daniel frowned.
“Good?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I haven’t told you which abandoned office.”
Daniel’s face went blank.
No one spoke.
Declan continued.
“Yet you looked toward office twelve when I said it.”
Daniel’s eyes shifted.
A mistake.
Tiny.
Fatal.
Elias moved to block the hallway.
Daniel stepped back.
“This is ridiculous.”
Declan’s voice became very calm.
“How did you know?”
“I guessed.”
“There are seven unused offices on this floor.”
Daniel said nothing.
Victoria slowly stood.
“Daniel?”
He looked at her.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Get involved.”
Declan’s expression changed.
“Interesting choice of words.”
Daniel turned toward him.
“You have no proof.”
Ronan called from the desk.
“I might.”
Everyone looked at him.
Ronan had just received a file.
“The coffee cup test came back.”
Declan walked over.
Ronan read the result.
“Trace thallium residue.”
Sarah’s cup had carried poison.
Daniel backed away.
Elias reached for him.
Daniel moved first.
He drew a small pistol from inside his coat.
Victoria screamed.
Declan grabbed her and pulled her down.
Daniel fired once.
The bullet struck the wall.
Elias lunged.
Daniel slammed the gun into Elias’s face and ran toward the stairwell.
Declan followed.
“Cross!”
Daniel pushed through the fire door.
Declan chased him down two flights.
Daniel fired blindly over his shoulder.
Declan ducked.
“Stop!”
Daniel laughed.
“You think this ends with me?”
Declan fired.
The bullet struck Daniel’s leg.
He fell hard.
His gun slid across the landing.
Declan reached him and kicked it away.
Daniel groaned.
Declan grabbed him by the collar.
“Who are you working for?”
Daniel smiled through the pain.
“You really don’t know.”
Declan tightened his grip.
“Tell me.”
Daniel’s smile widened.
“You’re protecting the wrong person.”
Declan’s eyes darkened.
“What does that mean?”
“Sarah isn’t the target.”
“You poisoned her.”
“Yes.”
The admission came so easily that Declan almost thought he had misheard.
Daniel continued.
“But killing her was never the point.”
Declan went very still.
“The baby.”
Daniel laughed.
“Now you understand.”
Declan hit him once.
Hard.
Daniel’s head struck the wall.
“Who ordered it?”
Daniel coughed blood.
“You should ask your family.”
Declan froze.
“What family?”
Daniel looked straight into his eyes.
“The Hayes family.”
Then he collapsed.
Thirty minutes later, Declan stood beside the conference table while a doctor treated Daniel’s gunshot wound under armed guard.
Elias held an ice pack to his cheek.
Victoria paced.
Ronan searched Daniel’s devices.
Declan said nothing.
Sarah’s baby had been deliberately targeted.
And Daniel had claimed the order came from inside the Hayes family.
The problem was simple.
Declan had very little family left.
His younger brother, Connor Hayes.
His uncle, Patrick.
And his widowed aunt, Margaret.
All of them had benefited from Declan having no heir.
Elias approached.
“You believe Cross?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“I believe he wanted me to believe him.”
Elias nodded.
“Which means family could be real or another misdirection.”
Declan looked toward Daniel.
“Either way, I’m done guessing.”
His phone rang.
Sarah.
He answered.
“You should be resting.”
“Bell told me about Daniel.”
Declan’s face hardened.
“He talks too much.”
“I threatened him.”
“That explains it.”
Sarah paused.
“Declan, there’s something I never told you.”
He immediately became alert.
“What?”
“When I found out I was pregnant, someone sent me flowers.”
“Who?”
“There was no name.”
Declan’s jaw tightened.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought they were from the hospital.”
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“What kind?”
“White lilies.”
Declan stopped breathing for half a second.
Elias noticed.
Sarah continued.
“What?”
Declan’s voice changed.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
White lilies.
A Hayes family tradition.
Used at funerals.
Used as warnings.
Used for one message only.
Someone was going to die.
Declan whispered, “Where is the card?”
“I kept it.”
“Where?”
“In my apartment.”
Declan looked at Elias.
“Get Marcus. Two cars.”
Sarah heard him.
“What are you doing?”
“Going to your apartment.”
“Declan—”
“Stay with Bell.”
“You keep saying that.”
“And one day you may listen.”
He hung up.
Sarah’s apartment had been broken into.
Not forced.
Entered cleanly.
The locks were intact.
Nothing obvious had been stolen.
Declan moved through the living room with his pistol raised.
Elias checked the bedroom.
“Clear.”
Declan entered Sarah’s small office.
Drawers open.
Papers scattered.
Then he saw the box on the desk.
Black cardboard.
No markings.
He opened it.
Inside lay a single white lily.
Fresh.
Beneath it was a photograph.
Declan picked it up.
Sarah leaving Bell’s clinic.
Taken less than one hour earlier.
Someone had been watching her.
On the back, a message had been written in black ink.
YOU CAN’T GUARD TWO HEARTBEATS FOREVER.
Elias read over his shoulder.
“This was delivered tonight.”
Declan nodded.
His phone rang.
He answered immediately.
It was Bell.
His voice was frantic.
“Declan.”
“What?”
“Sarah’s gone.”
Declan felt every muscle in his body lock.
“What do you mean gone?”
“She was here ten minutes ago.”
“Where are your guards?”
“Two were found unconscious.”
Declan’s blood turned cold.
“Cameras?”
“Cut.”
“Car?”
“Nothing.”
Declan turned toward Elias.
Bell continued.
“We found her IV line on the floor.”
Declan closed his eyes.
The photograph dropped from his hand.
Then a new message appeared on his phone.
A video.
He opened it.
Sarah sat inside a moving vehicle.
Her wrists were tied.
A hooded man stood behind her.
Sarah looked frightened, but conscious.
The man leaned toward the camera.
“Boston Harbor.”
He held up a clock.
“Sunrise.”
Then he placed one hand over Sarah’s stomach.
Declan’s face became terrifyingly calm.
The man continued.
“Come alone if you want both of them alive.”
The video ended.
Elias waited.
“Declan?”
Declan checked the time.
5:28 a.m.
Sunrise was less than an hour away.
He picked up the photograph.
Then the lily.
And finally his gun.
“No.”
Elias frowned.
“No what?”
Declan chambered a round.
“I am not going alone.”
May you like
He looked out across Boston.
“I’m bringing everyone.”
