Chapter 6 - One Final Test of Trust
Agent Ortiz read Owen’s message twice.
“He’s panicking,” she said.
Matthew looked at the photograph.
“That box doesn’t contain the only records.”
“No,” Ortiz agreed. “But Owen may believe it does.”
My phone rang again.
This time, Owen wanted a video call.
Ortiz motioned for me to answer.
Owen appeared on the screen from inside his car. Darkness surrounded him, but passing lights moved across his face.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“You don’t need to know.”
“You threatened your brother.”
“I offered a trade.”
“You stole from him.”
“Matthew stole first.”
“He didn’t.”
Owen’s expression sharpened.
“He took our father’s company and turned it into a monument to you.”
“The company is still operating.”
“Because I kept it alive while he played hero.”
Matthew stepped into view.
“Owen, pull over.”
Owen laughed bitterly.
“There he is. Emily’s loyal dog.”
“Where are the ledgers?”
“Safe.”
“You don’t need to do this.”
“You’ve been saying that since we were children. You always got the better grades, the praise, the girl next door, Dad’s trust. Even when you wasted millions on a broken building, everyone called you generous.”
“This isn’t about Bellwood.”
“It was always about Bellwood. You chose her promise over our family.”
Matthew’s voice stayed controlled.
“I chose to honor a legal investment you approved.”
“You tricked me.”
“You stopped reading the contracts because you thought I would keep cleaning up after you.”
Owen’s jaw flexed.
I leaned closer to the phone.
“What do you want me to sign?”
He held up a document.
“A statement refusing the foundation transfer and confirming that Bellwood belongs entirely to Hayes Restoration.”
“And then?”
“I return the ledgers and disappear.”
“You expect us to trust you?”
“No. I expect you to protect your husband.”
The irony almost made me laugh.
Twenty-four hours earlier, I had fled because I thought Matthew had trapped me into signing papers.
Now his brother was openly trying to force my signature.
I looked at Ortiz.
She wrote on a pad:
KEEP HIM TALKING. ASK LOCATION.
“I’ll meet you,” I said.
Matthew turned sharply. “No.”
Owen smiled.
“Finally, one intelligent decision.”
“Where?”
“The old North River warehouse. You remember it.”
Matthew shook his head.
“Owen, leave Emily out of this.”
“She’s been at the center of everything since high school.”
The call ended.
“I’m going,” I said.
“No,” Matthew replied.
Ortiz raised a hand. “We can use the meeting.”
Matthew stared at her. “Absolutely not.”
“We’ll control the location.”
“He chose an abandoned warehouse.”
“We already have units nearby.”
“I won’t let you use my wife as bait.”
I faced him.
“You don’t get to decide what I do.”
The words struck both of us.
Matthew’s shoulders lowered.
“You’re right,” he said. “But I’m asking you not to go.”
“I need Owen to believe I’m willing to sign.”
“Why?”
“Because I spent a day doubting you after hearing half a conversation. I’m not letting him use that doubt to destroy our life.”
“Our life?”
I held his gaze.
“I haven’t decided what happens to our marriage. But it belongs to us, not Owen.”
One hour later, Ortiz’s team surrounded the North River warehouse.
A tracking device was hidden in my coat. The document folder in my hand contained blank paper.
Matthew remained in an unmarked vehicle with Noah and Rachel. He had objected until Ortiz threatened to remove him entirely.
I entered through a rusted side door.
Owen stood beneath a hanging work light. The metal filing box rested on a table beside him.
“You came alone?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He searched the darkness behind me.
“Where’s the statement?”
I lifted the folder.
“Where are the ledgers?”
He touched the box.
“Sign first.”
“I want to read it.”
He gave a humorless smile.
“Now you read documents?”
The remark made my skin crawl.
I placed the folder on the table.
“You knew I overheard Matthew.”
“Noah told me.”
“And you used it.”
“I told you the truth.”
“You showed me edited records.”
“I showed you what mattered.”
“You tried to make me believe my husband had manipulated me since high school.”
Owen leaned closer.
“Didn’t he? Look at this building, the foundation, that ridiculous list. Matthew decided what your future should be when he was seventeen. He just happened to love you enough to make control look romantic.”
For one moment, his words found the wound that was still open.
Then I remembered Matthew standing in the Bellwood office, admitting he had been wrong without defending himself.
“Owen, love can become controlling when people stop listening. But Matthew listened when I told him to stop the transfer.”
“He’ll start it again.”
“Only if I ask him.”
Owen’s smile vanished.
I stepped back.
“I’m not signing.”
He grabbed the folder.
When he opened it and saw the blank pages, his face twisted.
“You brought police.”
He seized the metal box and ran toward the rear exit.
Floodlights burst through the broken windows.
“Federal agents!” Ortiz’s voice thundered. “Stop!”
Owen collided with a stack of wooden pallets. The box fell from his hands, spilling documents across the floor.
He reached the door before two agents forced him to the ground.
Matthew entered seconds later despite clear instructions to remain outside.
He ran directly toward me.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
He checked my face and hands before pulling me into his arms.
For a moment, I let him hold me.
Then I whispered, “You ignored Ortiz’s order.”
“I know.”
“You have a serious problem with listening.”
“I know.”
I drew back.
“Tomorrow, no surprises.”
“None.”
“No documents.”
“None.”
“No secret plans.”
“Agreed.”
“And I want to see the Bellwood Center.”
“All of it?”
“All of it.”
A cautious smile appeared.
“Does that mean you’re coming home?”
“It means we start by walking through one building and telling each other the truth.”
“I can do that.”
I looked toward Owen as agents placed him in a vehicle.
“Matthew?”
“Yes?”
“The watch is still at our house.”
He blinked.
“You bought the watch?”
“Don’t become too excited. I haven’t decided whether you deserve it.”
May you like
For the first time since I overheard the call, his smile looked like the boy I had known all my life.
“I’ll earn it,” he said.
