Chapter 23 - The Woman from NorthstarEleanor Vale sat across from us in a deserted conference room while rain struck the broken windows.
She did not look like someone who had come to threaten us.
That made me trust her less.
“Your brother?” I asked.
“Adrian. The man in the photograph.”
“What does Northstar have to do with my father?”
“Everything.”
She placed a small metal case on the table.
Inside was a reel of old film and a handwritten ledger.
“Your father and Adrian built Carter Meridian together,” she said. “But Adrian provided the original capital. Northstar was a private investment trust, created to fund companies that were considered too controversial or too risky for traditional banks.”
“What kind of companies?”
“Medical research. Defense technology. Energy systems. Things that could change the world—or damage it.”
Noah frowned.
“Why hide it?”
“Because your father discovered that Adrian had begun using Northstar to finance operations outside the law.”
I looked at the ledger.
“Money laundering?”
“Among other things.”
“Then why did my father stay?”
Eleanor's expression tightened.
“Because he believed he could separate the company from the people behind it. He was wrong.”
She opened the ledger.
Several pages had been marked with red tabs.
One contained payments to Marcus Hale.
Another listed shell companies connected to Elliot Price.
A third carried Vanessa's name.
“She was never just your wife,” Eleanor said. “She was recruited years before you met her.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“No.”
“She worked for a consulting firm controlled by Northstar. Her assignment was to marry into the Carter family and gain access to the trust structure.”
Noah stood abruptly.
“She married Uncle Dan for money?”
Eleanor looked at him.
“For access. Money was secondary.”
I thought of every dinner. Every argument. Every time Vanessa had told me Claire was unstable, selfish, dangerous.
Every time she had placed herself between my sister and me.
“Why tell me now?”
“Because Adrian is dead. Your father is dead. Claire is dead. And the people who remain are preparing to activate the final clause.”
“What final clause?”
Eleanor's eyes moved to Noah.
“The one that gives Northstar control of Carter Meridian when the last legitimate heir turns thirteen.”
The room went cold.
Noah's birthday had been four days before the cane.
Four days before the death certificate.
Four days before we found the key.
“You knew Claire was investigating this,” I said.
“Yes.”
“Did you know she was in danger?”
Eleanor looked down.
“I warned her to stop.”
“That's not what I asked.”
She did not answer.
Outside, a car engine started.
Eleanor's face changed.
“They found us.”
She pushed the metal case toward me.
“Take this. And whatever you do, do not open the film until you know who is watching.”
May you like
The windows shattered.
Gunfire tore through the room.
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