Chapter 12 - THE HUNT FOR DANIEL CROWEDaniel Crowe disappeared before investigators could arrest him.
His house was empty.
His bank accounts were closed.
His passport had been flagged.
His office had been cleaned.
Every computer was gone.
But he made one mistake.
He loved expensive cars.
Julian traced a vehicle registered to one of Crowe's shell companies.
A black Aston Martin.
It had been spotted at a private airfield.
Marcus called me.
"We found him."
"Where?"
"Montgomery County."
"Let's go."
The police intercepted Crowe before he could board a private aircraft.
When they brought him in, he looked calm.
Almost amused.
He sat across from me in the interrogation room.
"You look like your father."
I stared.
"You knew him?"
"Of course."
"My father never mentioned you."
"He didn't need to."
"Did you know Chloe?"
"Not personally."
"You monitored her."
"Yes."
"You altered her emergency alert."
He smiled.
"That's what you believe."
"It's documented."
"Documentation can be interpreted."
I leaned forward.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing."
"Then why did you do it?"
He looked at me.
"Because your husband wanted it."
I felt my stomach drop.
"Arthur?"
"Arthur came to me."
"For what?"
"Control."
"Control of what?"
"Your family trust."
I froze.
"Explain."
"Arthur knew he didn't own Sterling Holdings."
I already knew that.
"He wanted control."
"How?"
"He needed leverage."
"Chloe?"
Crowe smiled.
"He believed that if he could create a medical crisis connected to your family, he could pressure you into restructuring the trust."
My blood went cold.
"You are saying he used our daughter."
"He didn't expect her to die."
I stood so quickly the chair moved backward.
"You expect me to believe that?"
Crowe didn't blink.
"Arthur wanted fear."
"He wanted power."
"He wanted you dependent on him."
I shook my head.
"You're lying."
Crowe smiled.
"Ask him."
I left the room.
I called Arthur from the parking lot.
He answered.
"Eleanor?"
"Did you plan to use Chloe to gain control of the trust?"
Silence.
Then:
"No."
"Did you give Crowe access to her medical information?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I was desperate."
"For what?"
"You were planning to leave me."
I laughed bitterly.
"You thought I would leave you?"
"I knew you were becoming independent."
"You were afraid."
"Yes."
"So you manipulated me."
"I made a terrible decision."
"You made thousands."
"I know."
"Did you alter the emergency alert?"
"No."
"Did Crowe?"
"I don't know."
I hung up.
For the first time, I understood something important.
Arthur's evil wasn't supernatural.
It wasn't genius.
It was ordinary selfishness taken to an extraordinary level.
He had been afraid of losing control.
So he tried to control everything.
Even me.
Even our daughter.
Even the truth.
But there was still one question.
Why had Crowe changed the emergency alert?
He finally answered during interrogation.
"Because the research company wanted to bury the failed system."
"Why?"
"Because admitting the failure would destroy them."
"So Chloe died because they were protecting their reputation?"
"No."
He looked down.
"She died because everyone kept choosing themselves."
The sentence stayed with me.
That night, I visited Chloe's grave.
I placed white lilies beside her stone.
"I'm sorry, baby."
The wind moved through the trees.
"I couldn't protect you from them."
For the first time since her death, I allowed myself to cry.
Not as a businesswoman.
Not as a chairwoman.
Not as Arthur's ex-wife.
Just as Chloe's mother.
Then I heard footsteps.
Margaret stood several yards away.
She carried flowers.
"I come here every month," she said.
I didn't ask why.
She placed the flowers down.
"I should have come sooner."
I looked at her.
"Why didn't you?"
"Because I was ashamed."
I looked at Chloe's name.
"She deserved better."
Margaret nodded.
"She did."
Then she handed me an envelope.
"What's this?"
"Your father wrote it."
I froze.
"My father?"
"Before he died."
I opened it.
The letter was addressed to me.
Eleanor,
If you're reading this, then I am gone.
There is something I never told you about the Sterling family.
My heart began pounding.
The next line changed everything.
I never wanted Arthur to inherit my company.
I stared at Margaret.
"What does this mean?"
She whispered:
"Your father knew Arthur was dangerous."
May you like
I looked back at the letter.
And suddenly, I realized my father may have seen the betrayal coming long before I ever did.
