Chapter 17 - The Theater Door.
Howard Theater had not hosted an audience in more than a decade.
Dust covered the velvet seats.
The stage curtains hung like dried blood beneath the emergency lights.
Elena entered through the lobby carrying a leather document case.
Reese's team remained outside the block according to Ethan's demand.
At least, that was what Ethan was meant to believe.
A transmitter smaller than a shirt button rested beneath Elena's collar.
Another tracker was sewn into the case handle.
She walked alone toward the stage.
"I'm here."
Her voice echoed through the empty auditorium.
A spotlight snapped on.
Vanessa sat center stage with her wrists tied behind the chair.
Her white dress was dirty and torn at one shoulder.
She looked smaller than Elena had ever seen her.
"I'm sorry."
Elena stopped ten feet away.
"Save it."
A slow clap came from the balcony.
Ethan stepped into view.
He wore a dark coat and held a pistol low at his side.
"The famous Elena Howard."
"Pregnant, betrayed, and still impossible to frighten."
Elena lifted the leather case.
"You wanted the trust."
"Put it on the stage."
She did.
Ethan descended the side stairs slowly.
Vanessa whispered.
"Don't give it to him."
Ethan smiled.
"You see why she became inconvenient?"
He reached the stage and opened the case.
Inside were certified copies of the trust documents.
His smile disappeared.
"Copies."
Elena held his gaze.
"The originals are already with the court."
Ethan raised the gun.
Vanessa flinched.
Elena did not.
"Then you came here with nothing."
"No."
"I came with you talking."
Ethan's eyes moved to her collar.
Elena knew immediately that he had spotted the transmitter.
He crossed the distance in two strides and tore it away.
The tiny device hit the floor.
He crushed it beneath his shoe.
"Police always think technology makes them clever."
Outside, Reese's audio feed died.
Inside, Elena felt suddenly alone.
Ethan dragged Vanessa to her feet and pressed the gun near her side.
"You're both coming downstairs."
Behind the stage was the old office where Eleanor had opened the safe.
Ethan forced them into a hidden corridor Elena had never seen.
At the end waited a steel door.
He unlocked it.
A narrow tunnel extended beneath the theater toward the river.
Vanessa stared at Elena.
"He has a boat."
Ethan shoved her forward.
"Quiet."
Elena looked down at the leather case she still carried.
The tracker in the handle had not been discovered.
A faint vibration against her palm told her it was transmitting.
Then Ethan stopped.
He looked at the case.
Elena's heartbeat slowed.
His hand reached toward the handle.
And the tunnel lights went out.
Before entering the theater, Elena had recorded a statement for her unborn child.
She told Reese to keep it sealed unless she failed to return.
In it, she explained that courage did not mean feeling safe.
It meant refusing to let fear make every decision.
She hated leaving such a message.
May you like
She hated even more that Adrian and Ethan had made it necessary.
When Ethan crushed the transmitter, Elena remembered every word she had recorded and refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing panic.
