Free Web NovelChapter 222: His Innocent Mother
Catherine’s POV
We arrived at the warehouse, which was a skeletal remains of hulking mass of rusted iron and broken glass located at the very edge of the docks. As Julian killed the engine, the silence of the docks felt heavy, punctuated only by the clanking of a buoy.
"Stay behind me. This place could be dangerous," Julian murmured, his hand instinctively reaching for a small knife he kept in the glove box.
"Okay."
We entered through a sliding door that groaned on its tracks. Inside, the space was cavernous, lit only by a single halogen lamp hanging over a scarred wooden table in the center of the floor. Kiera and Dante were already there, Dante was seated while Kiera kept on pacing around. I had never really seen her angry but it looked like I would be witnessing it now.
"Hey, Ki," I greeted, walking over to her. She turned to me, her arms were crossed tightly over her chest. Her hair was pulled back so tight, making her features look more of an elder lady.
At that moment Dante stood up and moved beside her, his expression unreadable. "Hi Catherine."
"You’re late," Kiera snapped, her voice finally let out. "An hour late. Do you have any idea how much exposure we’re sitting in right now?"
"We had a complication," Julian chipped in, his voice flat and unapologetic. "Richard was awake. We almost didn’t make it out at all."
Kiera’s eyes narrowed, darting behind us. "Wow and Gabriel didn’t make it? Guess your "brotherly moment" didn’t work out after all."
I stepped forward, trying to smooth over the rising heat in the room. "That’s not it. Gabriel took the fall for us. Richard caught him in the hallway when I dropped something. Then Richard made him stay back for a word."
Dante’s brow furrowed. "Are you sure Richard didn’t see any of you leave? Are you sure he has no idea and probably had you guys followed?"
"Not at all. He was very much convinced Gabriel was just getting water," I assured him, though my own heart still felt unsteady. "He didn’t even look toward the nook where we were hiding. There is nothing to worry about. You can check around to be certain."
Julian walked up to the table, his eyes fixed on Kiera. "Now, can we get to it? Why the hell are we meeting in a graveyard by the docks at midnight? We could have talked about this at school or over the phone."
Kiera didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she reached into a battered leather satchel and pulled out a thick, black accordion file. She thudded it down onto the wooden table with a thud that made the dust dance in the air.
"It’s because of this," Kiera said, her voice dropping into a low, chilling register. "I didn’t think it would be safe bringing this anywhere near a campus. Too many eyes. You never know where Richard’s donors are lurking."
She slid the file toward Julian. "Read it. All of it."
Julian looked at her for a second before flipping the file open. I moved closer, peering over his shoulder.
The first page was a legal draft, dated fifteen years ago. It was an Incompetency Petition. My breath hitched as I read the words: Madeleine Vaughn... documented history of emotional instability... threat to the well-being of the minors. "He was setting her up," Julian whispered, his voice sounding hollow. "She wasn’t even thinking about leaving yet, and he was already building a medical history to prove she was crazy."
He flipped the page. This one was a Relinquishment Agreement. I saw a signature at the bottom. It looked shaky and forced. It was Madeleine’s. Attached to the back was a typed transcript of a recorded "negotiation."
"If you don’t sign this and leave the country tonight, Madeleine, your father’s firm will be in ashes by morning. I’ll make sure you’re committed to a state ward where the boys will never see your face again. Sign, and they stay safe. Sign, and I’ll let them believe you just didn’t want them."
Julian’s hand started to shake. He flipped through the final section: The P.I. Logs.
It was a chronological list of every attempt his mother had made to contact him over the last decade. June 12: Target attempted to deliver a package to the school gates for the subject’s 12th birthday. Package intercepted. Content: Handwritten letter and a silver watch. Status: Destroyed as per client instructions. October 14: Target spotted in a rental vehicle 500 yards from the subject’s soccer practice. Removed by security.
"He burned my birthday presents," Julian said, his voice so quiet it was terrifying. "She sent me letters. She came to my games. And he told me she never even called."
He looked up at Kiera, his eyes bloodshot and burning with a lethal intensity. "How did you get this? How the fuck do you have access to all these details? Who are you?"
"Calm your nerves, Julian. My family has deep pockets," Kiera replied, her expression softening just a fraction, though her voice remained hard. "We have ways of getting into databases that the police don’t even know exist. Richard isn’t the only one with resources." freewёbnoνel.com
I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. "Julian... this is it," I whispered, pointing to the logs. "This proves your mother didn’t abandon you. Your father has been harassing her. We can take this to the police. We can put him away for this."
Dante let out a sharp laugh, shaking his head. "You are truly so innocent, Catherine. Truly. You think a few logs and an old petition are going to take down a man who is about to become the Mayor of this city?"
"It’s evidence!" I argued.
"It’s allegations," Kiera corrected me, taking the file back. "Richard is a smart man. He’ll say the letters were a threat to the children’s safety. He’ll say the petition was necessary to protect his sons from an ’unstable’ woman. He’s already bought the judges who would hear this case. These papers are a match, but they aren’t the bonfire. They aren’t enough to arrest an evil man like Richard Vaughn."
His cold, calculating stare remained on the file, his fingers forming into a tight fist. "If they aren’t enough to arrest him," his voice vibrated with an angry promise, "then they’re enough to justify what I’m going to do to him instead. He is going to pay!"
He was burning with so much rage, that I could swear if Richard was in front of him, he would punch his face so hard.
