CHAPTER 14 : THE LAST LIGHTHOUSE
The tracking device inside Noah’s boat had been removed.
But Noah had learned from Claire.
He had hidden a second device inside the hem of his jacket.
The signal led south along the coast.
Claire, Rosa, and Mateo followed it to the abandoned Lighthouse Point research center.
The building had belonged to Claire’s mother.
Now it stood empty above the cliffs.
Claire entered alone.
Vanessa waited inside the central laboratory with Noah.
He ran to Claire immediately.
“Mom!”
Claire held him tightly.
Vanessa remained near the window.
“You took my son.”
“Cross was coming for him.”
“You could have warned me.”
“Your phones were monitored.”
“You terrified him.”
“I know.”
Noah pulled away.
“She told me it was a rescue.”
Claire looked at Vanessa.
“Was it?”
Vanessa placed a radio on the table.
Cross’s voice came through the speaker.
Teams were approaching from the north and east.
“He needs Noah alive,” Vanessa explained. “Noah is the legal beneficiary of three trusts Malcolm tried to steal.”
“Where did you get the radio?”
“From the man Cross sent to kill me.”
Headlights appeared beyond the windows.
Claire searched for an exit.
Vanessa shook her head.
“The tunnels were sealed years ago.”
A vehicle stopped outside.
Nathaniel stepped from the passenger side.
Claire stared.
“How did you get out?”
“The independent investigators reviewed the tapes. Cross’s arrest warrant was fraudulent.”
Nathaniel entered with two state investigators who had remained outside the compromised task force.
Before they could move Noah, Cross’s men surrounded the building.
Cross entered through the main doors.
He held no federal badge now.
Only a weapon.
“Give me the recordings,” he said.
Claire stood in front of Noah.
“They’ve already been released.”
“Not Judge Voss’s original ledger.”
Claire realized the truth.
The letter contained more than a warning.
The ink used to write her name had concealed microfilm beneath the envelope lining.
Vanessa smiled.
“You never found it.”
Cross’s expression changed.
“You did?”
“I spent fourteen years opening Malcolm’s mail.”
Cross aimed at her.
Nathaniel moved between them.
“You will not take another person from this family.”
Cross laughed.
“You gave Malcolm permission before I ever worked for him.”
Nathaniel did not deny it.
“Yes.”
The answer confused Cross.
Nathaniel continued.
“And I will spend the rest of my life repairing what I helped begin.”
A loud mechanical sound echoed through the laboratory.
Mateo had activated the old emergency broadcast system.
Every word inside the room was being transmitted through a satellite connection to the state investigators outside.
Cross’s confession had been recorded.
Sirens approached.
His remaining men lowered their weapons.
Cross tried to run toward the cliff exit.
Rosa blocked the door.
“You moved my brother through three clinics,” she said.
Cross lunged past her.
Nathaniel tackled him before he reached the stairs.
For several seconds, Nathaniel stood over the man responsible for helping imprison Claire.
Cross smiled through blood on his lip.
“Do it. Prove you’re still a Blackwood.”
Nathaniel slowly stepped away.
“No.”
State officers arrested Cross.
At the same moment, news helicopters surrounded Senator Vale’s private airfield.
Judge Voss had come out of hiding.
She had delivered the original ledger to federal prosecutors.
Gideon Vale was arrested before his plane left the runway.
Vanessa watched the police vehicles arrive at Lighthouse Point.
“They’ll arrest me too.”
Claire looked at her.
“You committed crimes.”
“I know.”
“Helping us does not erase them.”
“I know.”
For the first time, Vanessa appeared relieved.
She handed Claire the final missing ledger.
May you like
“I don’t want them erased.”
Then she walked outside and surrendered.
