Chapter 6 - They Offered Her Ten Million Dollars to Betray the Man Who Saved Her—But She Discovered the Deal Was Hiding Something Far More Dangerous
Ten million dollars.
That was the price Arthur Voss put on my silence.
Ten million dollars to walk away from Wyatt Thorne.
Ten million dollars to surrender the East Pass.
Ten million dollars to forget that my father had died trying to protect the mountain.
And ten million dollars to pretend I didn't know my grandfather was being held somewhere against his will.
The offer came the morning after Grandpa's desperate phone call.
I was sitting at the kitchen table with Wyatt and Sheriff Maddox when a black sedan pulled into the driveway.
A woman stepped out.
She wore a cream-colored coat, black gloves, and heels that looked completely impractical for a Vermont winter.
I recognized her immediately.
Evelyn Cross.
The woman in the old photograph.
The woman connected to my father's final investigation.
And Northline's chief legal officer.
She walked toward the porch carrying a leather briefcase.
Sheriff Maddox stood.
"Stay here."
I watched through the window as the sheriff met her outside.
They spoke for several minutes.
Then Evelyn looked directly toward me.
Her expression was calm.
Almost sympathetic.
I hated her immediately.
When Sheriff Maddox returned, she looked furious.
"Ms. Cross says she represents Northline Mountain Group."
Wyatt crossed his arms.
"Of course she does."
"She wants to speak with Nora."
I stood.
"About what?"
"She says she has a proposal."
Wyatt's expression darkened.
"Tell her to leave."
I looked at him.
"No."
He turned.
"Nora—"
"I want to hear what she has to say."
He studied me.
Then nodded.
"Your choice."
I looked at Sheriff Maddox.
"Can you stay?"
"Absolutely."
Evelyn entered the kitchen five minutes later.
She looked around at the worn cabinets, the old wooden table, and the boots drying beside the stove.
For a moment, I thought I saw contempt in her eyes.
Then she smiled.
"Miss Bellamy."
I didn't smile back.
"Ms. Cross."
She sat only after I gestured toward a chair.
"First, let me say how sorry I am about your grandfather."
My hands tightened.
"Do you know where he is?"
Her expression remained calm.
"No."
"Then don't pretend you're here to help him."
She blinked.
Wyatt stood beside the window.
Sheriff Maddox remained near the door.
Evelyn folded her hands.
"I understand you're upset."
I laughed bitterly.
"That's a popular phrase around here."
She continued as though I hadn't spoken.
"Northline has been interested in the East Pass for years. Unfortunately, recent events have created unnecessary conflict."
I stared at her.
"My grandfather is missing."
"Yes."
"Someone forged my signature."
"Those allegations are under review."
"And you call that unnecessary conflict?"
Her smile tightened.
"Miss Bellamy, I'm here to offer you a way forward."
She opened her briefcase.
Removed a folder.
And slid it across the table.
I didn't touch it.
"What is that?"
"A purchase agreement."
Wyatt stepped closer.
Evelyn glanced at him.
"Mr. Thorne."
He nodded coldly.
"Evelyn."
She smiled.
"I see you're still involving yourself in matters that don't concern you."
Wyatt's expression didn't change.
"Funny. I was about to say the same thing."
I looked between them.
"You know each other."
Evelyn laughed softly.
"Of course. Wyatt and I go back a long way."
My stomach tightened.
"How long?"
She looked at him.
"Twenty years, give or take."
Wyatt said nothing.
I felt another wave of exhaustion.
Another connection.
Another secret.
Evelyn turned back to me.
"Northline is prepared to offer ten million dollars for the development rights across East Pass."
I stared at her.
Ten million.
The number seemed unreal.
Our farm had never been worth anything close to that on paper.
I looked at the folder.
"And what do you want in return?"
"Your agreement to grant the necessary access rights."
I waited.
"And?"
"A confidentiality provision."
I laughed.
"Of course."
She continued.
"And a statement clarifying that your previous allegations against Mr. Royce were the result of a misunderstanding."
My stomach turned.
"You want me to say Caleb didn't lie."
"We want to avoid unnecessary reputational damage."
I stared at her.
"You want me to lie."
Evelyn's expression hardened slightly.
"We want everyone to move forward."
I looked toward Wyatt.
He was watching me carefully.
Not telling me what to do.
Not reaching for the folder.
Just waiting.
I turned back.
"What about my grandfather?"
Evelyn sighed.
"Miss Bellamy, Northline has no involvement in his disappearance."
"Then why are you here instead of helping find him?"
She didn't answer.
I pushed the folder back.
"No."
Her smile disappeared.
"You haven't even read the terms."
"I don't need to."
"Ten million dollars is a significant amount of money."
"So is a life."
She studied me.
Then her eyes moved toward Wyatt.
"You're making this decision because of him."
I felt anger rise.
"I'm making it because it's my land."
Evelyn leaned forward.
"Your grandfather's farm is in financial trouble. Your veterinary clinic is barely profitable. Your buildings need repairs."
I stared at her.
She knew everything.
The overdue equipment payments.
The leaking barn roof.
The veterinary clinic's expenses.
Every private worry Caleb had promised to help me solve.
Evelyn continued.
"Ten million dollars could change your life."
I looked directly into her eyes.
"It would change my life."
She smiled.
"Exactly."
I leaned forward.
"But not in a way I could live with."
Evelyn left without another word.
At least, I thought she had.
Ten minutes later, Wyatt found an envelope tucked beneath the windshield wiper of my truck.
Inside was a single photograph.
Grandpa.
He was sitting in a wooden chair.
His hands were bound.
His red scarf hung loosely around his neck.
My knees nearly gave out.
Wyatt caught my arm.
On the back was a message.
The offer expires at midnight.
I stared at it.
Sheriff Maddox took the photograph.
Her expression darkened.
"Now we have a direct threat."
I looked at her.
"Then find him."
"We're working on it."
I shook my head.
"That's not enough."
Wyatt stepped closer.
"Nora."
I turned.
"Don't tell me to calm down."
"I wasn't going to."
I stared at him.
He continued.
"I'm going to help you find him."
My throat tightened.
"How?"
He looked toward the window.
"By finding out where Evelyn came from."
Wyatt's company had access to property records, commercial satellite imagery, and public infrastructure data.
He also had employees who knew how to investigate complicated ownership structures.
Within hours, his team had identified several properties connected to Northline's subsidiaries.
An abandoned processing facility.
A storage warehouse.
A private hunting lodge.
And an old research station near the eastern ridge.
I studied the map.
"Which one?"
Wyatt pointed toward the research station.
"This property was recently leased through a shell company."
My heart pounded.
"Who owns the company?"
He looked at me.
"Leonard Price."
The retired deputy.
The man who had investigated my parents' accident.
The man Grandpa had said was holding him.
I grabbed my coat.
"Let's go."
Wyatt caught my wrist gently.
"Nora, wait."
I turned.
"We know where he is."
"We have a lead. That's not the same thing."
I stared at him.
"He could be dying."
"I know."
"Then why are we standing here?"
Wyatt's voice softened.
"Because if we rush in without a plan, we might make things worse."
I wanted to argue.
Then I remembered Grandpa's voice on the phone.
The fear.
The footsteps.
The line going dead.
I closed my eyes.
"Okay."
Wyatt released my wrist.
"We'll give everything to Sheriff Maddox."
I nodded.
Then he added, "And we'll keep looking."
That evening, Lucy came to the farm.
She brought sandwiches and a folder full of documents she'd found while researching Northline.
I stared at her.
"When do you sleep?"
She shrugged.
"Sleep is for people whose best friends aren't fighting billionaires."
Despite everything, I smiled.
She sat beside me.
"I found something weird."
I sighed.
"Of course you did."
She opened the folder.
"Northline's original acquisition plan included more than a ski corridor."
I leaned closer.
"What else?"
"A private utility route."
Wyatt looked up.
"What kind?"
"Water infrastructure."
His expression changed.
Lucy pointed to a map.
"There's a proposed pipeline running beneath East Pass."
I stared at it.
"Why would a ski resort need that?"
Wyatt leaned forward.
"Snowmaking requires water, but this route doesn't connect to the main resort reservoir."
He studied the map.
Then went still.
"Nora."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"This isn't a snowmaking pipeline."
My stomach tightened.
"Then what is it?"
He pointed toward the abandoned processing facility.
"It connects the contaminated industrial site to a planned treatment and discharge area."
I stared at the lines.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning Northline may be trying to acquire a route for moving contaminated water or managing industrial runoff under the cover of a resort expansion."
Lucy looked horrified.
"Would that be legal?"
"Not without extensive permits and disclosure," Wyatt said. "And even then, there would be major environmental questions."
I looked at the map.
The proposed route crossed our lower pasture.
Passed beneath Bellamy Creek.
And continued toward the old Harrington crossing.
Wyatt's land.
My stomach turned.
"That's why they need both properties."
Wyatt nodded.
"Yes."
I stared at him.
"Caleb wasn't just trying to build a ski road."
"No."
"He was trying to get me to sign away access for a project that could poison our water."
Wyatt's expression was grim.
"That's what the documents suggest."
I felt sick.
Then Lucy pointed to a small notation near the bottom of the map.
"What's that?"
Wyatt leaned closer.
His face changed.
I looked at him.
"What?"
He read the notation.
Then whispered, "Good God."
My heart began pounding.
"Wyatt."
He looked at me.
"The proposed discharge area is less than a mile upstream from the Bellamy Farm wells."
I stared at the map.
Our drinking water.
The animals.
The clinic.
The families who lived downstream.
All of it.
And Northline had been prepared to hide the plan inside a refinancing packet.
At nine that night, I received a call from an unknown number.
I answered immediately.
"Grandpa?"
A man laughed softly.
"No, Miss Bellamy."
My blood ran cold.
"Who is this?"
"Someone who wants to help you make the right decision."
I looked at Wyatt.
He moved closer.
I put the call on speaker.
"What do you want?"
"You know what we want."
"Where is my grandfather?"
"Safe."
"Let me talk to him."
A pause.
Then I heard a familiar voice.
"Nora?"
Tears filled my eyes.
"Grandpa!"
"I'm okay, sweetheart."
His voice sounded weak.
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine."
I knew he was lying.
I could hear it.
Then another voice interrupted.
"That's enough."
The line crackled.
The man returned.
"Midnight. Sign the agreement."
I stared at the phone.
"And if I don't?"
Silence.
Then he said, "Your grandfather has lived a long life."
My blood turned cold.
I looked at Wyatt.
His face had gone pale.
I swallowed.
"Okay."
Wyatt's eyes widened.
I raised a hand.
"I'll sign."
The man sounded pleased.
"Good girl."
I felt sick.
"Where?"
"Raven Ridge Lodge. Private conference room. Come alone."
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
Wyatt stepped closer.
"Nora."
I looked at him.
"I'm not signing anything."
He exhaled.
"I know."
"But I'm going."
He shook his head.
"Not alone."
I looked at him.
"They said alone."
"Then we'll make sure they think you are."
The next two hours passed in a blur.
Sheriff Maddox coordinated with state investigators.
Wyatt's team preserved the documents.
Lucy copied everything to secure storage.
I sat at the kitchen table, staring at the photograph of Grandpa.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking.
At eleven thirty, Wyatt entered the room.
He wore a dark coat and carried a small leather folder.
"Ready?"
I looked up.
"No."
He nodded.
"Fair answer."
I stood.
He studied me.
"Nora, you don't have to do this."
I looked at the photograph.
"Yes, I do."
He stepped closer.
"Then listen carefully. Whatever happens tonight, you don't owe those people your land, your silence, or your life."
My throat tightened.
"I know."
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then said quietly, "Your father would be proud of you."
Tears filled my eyes.
I stepped forward.
Before I could think better of it, I hugged him.
Wyatt froze for half a second.
Then wrapped his arms around me.
I pressed my face against his chest.
"Thank you."
He rested his chin lightly against my hair.
"For what?"
"For treating me like I can make my own decisions."
His arms tightened.
"You can."
I pulled back.
Our faces were close.
For one suspended moment, I thought he might kiss me.
I wanted him to.
That realization frightened me.
Because I had only just escaped a man who had lied about loving me.
And now I was beginning to feel something for a man whose honesty scared me more than Caleb's charm ever had.
Wyatt stepped back first.
"Let's bring your grandfather home."
I nodded.
"Let's."
Raven Ridge Lodge glowed against the snowy mountains.
The same building where I had been supposed to marry Caleb.
The same parking lot where I had run barefoot through the snow.
The same service hallway where I had heard my future being sold.
I entered wearing jeans, boots, and my old green winter coat.
No wedding dress.
No flowers.
No diamond ring.
Just me.
Evelyn Cross waited in the private conference room.
Caleb stood beside her.
And at the far end of the table sat an older man with silver hair and a perfectly tailored suit.
Arthur Voss.
Chairman of Northline Mountain Group.
The man whose name had haunted every document connected to my father's death.
He smiled.
"Miss Bellamy."
I stared at him.
"Where's my grandfather?"
He gestured toward a chair.
"Please sit."
I remained standing.
"Where is he?"
Voss sighed.
"You're a very stubborn young woman."
I looked at him.
"Runs in the family."
His smile faded.
Evelyn placed a contract on the table.
"Ten million dollars. The terms are generous."
I looked at the pages.
Then at Caleb.
He couldn't meet my eyes.
I felt a strange calm settle over me.
Four days earlier, I had believed this man loved me.
Now I could barely remember why.
"Did you know?" I asked him.
He looked up.
"Know what?"
"The pipeline."
His face changed.
I nodded.
"You did."
Caleb glanced at Voss.
"Nora, it's not what you think."
I laughed.
"That's becoming your favorite sentence."
Voss leaned forward.
"Miss Bellamy, we're discussing a legitimate infrastructure project."
I looked directly at him.
"Then why did you hide it?"
Silence.
I continued.
"Why did you falsify the environmental descriptions? Why did you forge my signature? Why did someone pay Leonard Price before my parents died?"
Voss's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
I had finally asked a question he hadn't expected.
He leaned back.
"Your parents' accident was tragic."
I stared at him.
"Was it an accident?"
He said nothing.
I stepped closer.
"Did you order someone to stop my father?"
Evelyn stood.
"Miss Bellamy, these accusations are outrageous."
I ignored her.
"Did you?"
Voss looked at me for a long moment.
Then he smiled.
"You sound very much like Daniel."
My heart stopped.
My father.
He remembered him.
Not as a name in an old report.
Not as a stranger.
He remembered his voice.
His questions.
His refusal to back down.
I stared at Voss.
"What did you do to him?"
The older man's smile disappeared.
"Your father didn't understand how business worked."
My hands tightened.
"He understood right from wrong."
Voss laughed softly.
"An admirable quality. Not always a practical one."
I felt tears sting my eyes.
Then he reached into his jacket.
Removed a small photograph.
And placed it on the table.
Grandpa.
Sitting in a chair.
His eyes closed.
I stopped breathing.
"Where is he?"
Voss looked at the contract.
"Sign."
I stared at the photograph.
Then at the pen.
For a moment, I felt twelve years old again.
Standing in a hospital hallway.
Waiting for someone to tell me my parents were coming home.
Knowing, somehow, that they weren't.
I picked up the pen.
Caleb exhaled.
Evelyn smiled.
Voss leaned back.
Then I looked at the signature line.
And noticed something.
The contract wasn't simply granting Northline access.
It included a transfer of environmental liability.
I read the clause again.
My stomach turned.
Under the agreement, the Bellamy trust would acknowledge responsibility for certain existing site conditions and indemnify Northline for specified claims.
I stared at the page.
They weren't just buying our land.
They were trying to make my family responsible for contamination they had known about for decades.
If I signed, Grandpa and I could lose far more than the East Pass.
We could become the people blamed when the truth finally came out.
I looked up.
Voss smiled.
"Something wrong, Miss Bellamy?"
I placed the pen down.
"Yes."
His smile vanished.
I turned the contract toward him.
"You forgot something."
He frowned.
"What?"
I pointed to the liability clause.
"You forgot to explain why you need a veterinarian and an eighty-two-year-old farmer to take responsibility for your industrial waste."
Silence.
Caleb went pale.
Evelyn reached for the document.
I pulled it back.
Voss's eyes hardened.
"You should be very careful."
I stood straighter.
"Why?"
He leaned forward.
"Because you have no idea how much you stand to lose."
I looked at him.
For the first time, I wasn't afraid of his money.
Or his power.
Or the men waiting outside the room.
I was afraid for Grandpa.
But fear no longer meant I had to surrender.
I met Voss's eyes.
"I already lost my parents."
My voice trembled.
"I nearly lost my future to a man who wanted to use me."
I glanced at Caleb.
He looked away.
Then I turned back to Voss.
"And I'm not giving you the mountain they died trying to protect."
Voss stared at me.
Then slowly smiled.
"Very well."
He pressed a button on the table.
The conference-room door opened.
Two security men stepped inside.
My heart began pounding.
Voss stood.
"Perhaps you'll feel differently after you see what happens to people who refuse my offers."
He gestured toward the door.
"Bring her."
I stepped back.
Then the lights went out.
Every light in the conference room.
Every light in the hallway.
Darkness swallowed the building.
Someone shouted.
A chair crashed.
Then I heard a familiar voice through the chaos.
"Nora!"
Wyatt.
He had come.
But before I could move, someone grabbed my arm.
A hand clamped over my mouth.
And a voice whispered directly into my ear.
"Don't scream. I'm not with Voss."
I froze.
The voice was unfamiliar.
A woman.
She pulled me toward a side door.
"Your grandfather is alive," she whispered.
My heart stopped.
"Who are you?"
She hesitated.
Then said the words that changed everything.
"My name is Caroline Price."
I stared at her.
She continued.
"Leonard Price is my father."
The man who had investigated my parents' accident.
The man who was holding Grandpa.
And now his daughter was standing in the darkness, offering to help me escape.
But then she whispered one more thing.
"Your grandfather isn't the only person Voss has been hiding."
I felt the floor tilt beneath me.
"Who else?"
Caroline looked toward the dark hallway.
May you like
Then said:
"The witness who can prove what happened to your parents."
