Chapter 16 - The Party Raymond Promised to Ruin
Hannah wanted to cancel the engagement party.
Victor refused.
Not out of pride.
Out of strategy.
“If we disappear, Raymond knows he controls our movements.”
“If we stay, he may attack.”
“That is why the guest list changed.”
The original celebration had included two hundred business associates.
Victor reduced it to forty.
Family.
Close friends.
Foundation staff.
Security.
No press.
No politicians.
No old Davis connections.
The party took place at a restored waterfront loft in Brooklyn.
Hannah wore a midnight-blue dress Claire had chosen.
Victor looked almost unfairly handsome in black.
Matthew wore sneakers with his suit because Hannah negotiated a formal exemption.
At seven-thirty, everything seemed normal.
Jazz.
Food.
Laughter.
Claire cried when Victor toasted Hannah.
Matthew stole strawberries from the dessert table.
Marcus looked miserable in formalwear.
Then the lights went out.
Every conversation stopped.
Emergency lighting activated.
Victor reached for Hannah.
Security moved.
Marcus spoke into his radio.
“Status.”
Nothing.
Static.
Victor’s face hardened.
“Raymond.”
A projector suddenly switched on.
A photograph filled the wall.
Dominic Davis.
Young Victor beside him.
Then another.
Cargo docks.
Cash.
Politicians.
A recorded voice played.
Dominic.
“If my son ever claims he was innocent, remember that innocence is simply ignorance with better tailoring.”
Guests stared.
Victor went pale.
The recording continued.
“I taught him everything.”
Hannah felt Victor’s hand tighten.
Matthew stood near Claire.
His face crumpled.
“Turn it off!”
Marcus rushed toward the control room.
Locked.
More footage played.
Victor signing documents.
Victor attending dock meetings.
Victor carrying a weapon at twenty-three.
The intention was obvious.
Humiliate him.
Destroy Hannah’s faith.
Make Matthew fear his father.
Then a final slide appeared.
ASK VICTOR ABOUT PORT 17.
The lights returned.
Silence.
Victor stood frozen.
Hannah walked to him.
“What is Port 17?”
He stared at the floor.
“Hannah.”
“What is it?”
Matthew approached.
“Dad?”
Victor looked around at forty people he loved.
Then made a decision.
“At twenty-four, my father sent me to collect a debt from a dock contractor.”
No one moved.
“The contractor refused.”
Hannah’s heart beat harder.
“What happened?”
“I broke his hand.”
Claire inhaled.
Matthew looked frightened.
Victor continued.
“I also threatened his brother.”
He looked at Hannah.
“I was not always innocent.”
Nobody spoke.
“I told myself I was following orders. I told myself violence was normal in my family. I told myself nobody died, so I was not like my father.”
His voice shook.
“That was cowardice.”
Hannah stepped closer.
“Did you keep doing it?”
“For several years.”
Matthew whispered, “You hurt people?”
Victor looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid of becoming weak.”
“Did you like it?”
Victor’s eyes filled.
“Sometimes.”
That answer shocked everyone.
Hannah understood why he gave it.
No lies.
Not tonight.
Victor looked toward the frozen image of Dominic.
“The worst thing about my father was not that he forced everyone to be cruel.”
He turned back to the room.
“It was that eventually, we stopped needing to be forced.”
The room remained silent.
Then Matthew walked forward.
Victor braced himself.
Matthew asked:
“Are you still like that?”
“No.”
“How do I know?”
Victor swallowed.
“You watch me.”
Matthew thought.
Then hugged him.
“You’re nicer now.”
Laughter broke the tension.
Victor closed his eyes against tears.
Hannah turned toward the guests.
“Well.”
She picked up a champagne glass.
“That was deeply inappropriate entertainment.”
Everyone laughed harder.
The party resumed.
Not because the past disappeared.
Because it failed to destroy the present.
Ten minutes later, Marcus approached Victor.
“We traced the projector feed.”
“Where?”
“An abandoned Davis warehouse.”
“Raymond?”
“Maybe.”
Victor looked at Hannah.
“No.”
She frowned.
“No what?”
“You are not coming.”
She smiled.
“Victor.”
He sighed.
“I knew that was useless.”
They left the party through a side exit.
Matthew remained with Claire and twelve armed guards.
At the warehouse, they found no Raymond.
Only a steel chair.
May you like
A camera.
And Eleanor Vale tied to it.
