Chapter 6 - FRANK’S LAST LIE
Police vehicles raced toward the abandoned concrete plant.
Grace, Robert, and Katherine were ordered to remain at the house.
Caleb was taken to the station because of his confrontation with Frank and his knowledge of Hale Construction’s properties.
For nearly two hours, no one heard anything.
Dawn spread pale light across the ruined wedding garden.
Katherine changed out of her dress and placed it inside a black trash bag.
Grace watched her tie the bag shut.
“Do you want me to keep it somewhere?” she asked.
“No.”
Katherine stared at the bag.
“That dress belonged to a woman who thought she was starting a life. I don’t know who she is anymore.”
Grace had no answer.
At 7:30, Sergeant Ortiz called.
Beatrice had been rescued.
She was frightened and dehydrated but alive.
Frank had also been found near the plant with a gunshot wound to his shoulder. The wound was not life-threatening.
Victor Hale was gone.
So was Frank’s daughter.
Ortiz asked Grace and Katherine to come to the hospital.
Beatrice lay in a secured room with an officer outside the door. When Katherine entered, Beatrice reached for her.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“They took me because I returned.”
“They took you because they are afraid of the truth.”
Grace remained near the foot of the bed.
“Did you see Frank’s daughter?”
Beatrice nodded.
“Her name is Lily.”
“How old is she?”
“Twenty-six.”
Grace calculated silently.
Frank had told the family his infant daughter died twenty-six years earlier following a sudden illness. Afterward, his marriage collapsed, and his wife left Virginia.
“Why would he lie about her death?” Grace asked.
“Because Lily is Victor Hale’s daughter.”
Robert, who had just entered, stopped in the doorway.
Beatrice explained that Frank’s wife had worked for Victor before marrying Frank. When Lily was born, Victor used his influence to hide the paternity and paid Frank to raise the child.
Years later, Frank began demanding more money.
Victor responded by taking control of Lily’s life.
“He paid for her schools, her apartment, and her job,” Beatrice said. “Then he used her to keep Frank obedient.”
Katherine’s eyes narrowed.
“What job?”
“She worked in the records department at Hale Construction.”
Grace understood.
“Lily changed the reports.”
“No,” Beatrice said. “Victor forced her to upload the altered pages. She was the one who sent me the wedding invitation.”
Lily had spent years collecting evidence against her biological father. She had also placed the tracker in Beatrice’s scarf after learning Victor intended to abduct her.
“Where is she now?” Robert asked.
“Victor took her before the police arrived.”
The door opened.
Caleb entered with Sergeant Ortiz.
He looked first at Beatrice, then at Katherine.
“I won’t come closer,” he said.
Katherine gave a small nod.
Ortiz placed a file on the hospital table.
“We searched Frank’s vehicle. We found financial ledgers, burner phones, and photographs connecting Victor to several county officials.”
“Will it be enough?” Grace asked.
“It will be a beginning.”
Caleb opened his backpack and removed a company laptop.
“This may be the rest.”
After leaving the house, he had accessed Hale Construction’s remote server using his executive credentials. Victor had forgotten to revoke them.
The laptop contained project archives, payment records, security footage, and internal messages.
Ortiz looked stunned.
“Did you copy these legally?”
“No.”
“Then they may not be admissible.”
“But they can tell you where to look.”
Caleb opened a map of company-owned properties.
One location had received an unusually large security payment that morning.
A mountain lodge forty miles west of Oakhaven Springs.
“Victor is there,” Caleb said.
“How can you be sure?”
“Because it’s the only property with a private helicopter pad.”
Ortiz immediately contacted state police.
Katherine studied the payment records.
“Wait.”
She pointed to another line.
A transfer of fifty thousand dollars had been made at 2:06 that morning.
The recipient was listed as C. WARD.
Caleb’s expression changed.
“Who is C. Ward?” Grace asked.
“My supervisor.”
Katherine zoomed in on the account details.
The money had not been sent to Caleb’s supervisor.
It had been sent to Caleb Ward.
Caleb stared at the screen.
“That’s my employee identification.”
Ortiz turned toward him.
“Victor transferred money into an account under your name.”
“I never opened that account.”
“He is framing you,” Katherine said.
The timeline became obvious.
Victor intended to make it appear that Caleb had paid to kidnap Beatrice and Lily. Caleb’s wedding-night actions would make the story believable.
A vengeful former fiancé had married a witness, terrorized her, kidnapped his supposedly dead lover, and attempted to silence everyone connected to the collapse.
Caleb sank into the nearest chair.
“I gave him everything he needed.”
Grace wanted to comfort her son, but she stopped herself.
His guilt was real.
Yet so was his responsibility.
Sergeant Ortiz received another call.
Her face tightened as she listened.
“What happened?” Robert asked.
Ortiz lowered the phone.
“The state police reached the mountain lodge.”
“And Victor?”
“He was already gone.”
“Lily?”
“They found her locked inside a storage room.”
Grace released a breath.
“She’s alive?”
“Yes.”
Ortiz looked at Caleb.
“But the helicopter pilot said Victor forced him to fly east.”
“Toward Richmond?” Caleb asked.
“No.”
Ortiz unfolded a regional map.
“He was heading toward the Dunmore River.”
Katherine went pale.
“The overpass.”
Caleb stood.
“There’s a demolition ceremony today.”
Grace remembered the local news.
The remains of the Dunmore structure were scheduled to be demolished at noon.
Hundreds of people would be gathered nearby.
Caleb looked at the clock.
It was 10:41.
May you like
Katherine whispered the question no one wanted to ask.
“What is Victor planning to destroy this time?”
