Chapter 16 - The Runway Lights Came Back On.
The private jet's engine whined louder in the darkness while police commands echoed outside the hangar.
Ava felt Nolan's grip disappear from her wrist.
She immediately dropped low, exactly as the officers had instructed before the exchange.
Ruth kicked her chair backward and shouted toward the sound of Ava's movement.
"I'm on your left."
Emergency lights flickered on along the floor.
Gregory Hale was running toward the jet with his leather briefcase clutched against his chest.
Nolan stood between Ava and the side exit, looking wildly from the police lights outside to the aircraft behind him.
"You did this."
Ava stayed where she was.
"You did all of this."
Nolan shook his head.
"I loved you."
The words angered her more than his threats.
"No."
Ava's voice was calm.
"You studied me."
Nolan took one step toward her.
"Ava, listen to me."
"You watched me, isolated me, hurt me, and planned to take what my mother left me."
She looked at the frosting still dried against his collar.
"You loved control."
The hangar doors began rising as tactical officers forced the external mechanism.
Gregory reached the jet stairs.
Ruth stood suddenly.
The ropes around her wrists fell to the floor.
She had loosened Nolan's poor knots minutes earlier.
Gregory stared at her.
"Sit down!"
Ruth grabbed the emergency wheel chock lying beside the chair and shoved it beneath the jet's front tire.
"No."
The pilot inside the aircraft killed the engine and raised both hands where officers could see them through the windshield.
Gregory froze halfway up the stairs.
Police flooded the hangar.
Nolan looked toward the side exit.
James appeared there before he could move.
He did not rush him.
He simply filled the doorway.
Nolan's face twisted.
"You think you're some hero because you wore a uniform?"
James looked at Ava before answering.
"No."
His gaze returned to Nolan.
"I think she told you to let go."
An officer ordered Nolan to his knees.
Nolan hesitated.
Ava watched him calculate whether anyone in the room could still be intimidated.
Then he slowly lowered himself to the concrete.
The officer handcuffed him.
James did not touch him.
That restraint gave Ava a satisfaction the cake never could.
Gregory was arrested beside the jet.
Officers recovered the leather briefcase.
Inside was a handwritten ledger, two passports under false names, cash, and a sealed envelope marked E. MERCER.
Elena arrived with the command vehicle minutes later.
When she saw the envelope, the color left her face.
"That was mine."
The commander opened it under evidence protocol.
Inside were photocopies of letters Elena had written to Ava during confinement.
Every letter carried a red stamp.
DELIVERY DENIED BY GUARDIAN AUTHORITY.
Ava's eyes burned.
"Who was the guardian?"
Elena looked at the final page.
There was a signature beneath the authorization.
James Mercer.
Ava slowly turned toward her father.
He looked as shocked as she felt.
May you like
Nolan laughed from the floor.
"Still think your family has no secrets?"
