Chapter 17 - The Real Charlotte SterlingCharlotte had played both sides from the beginning.
Victor believed she was helping him find Mia.
Graham believed she wanted the archive destroyed.
Police believed she was turning against Victor.
Anna hoped fear had finally forced Charlotte into honesty.
All of them were partly right.
That was what made Charlotte dangerous.
She didn't build complete lies.
She built houses from pieces of truth.
Lena had Charlotte removed from the vehicle and cuffed.
“You're done.”
Charlotte laughed.
“Then why don't you have the archive?”
Anna stared.
“Where is it?”
Charlotte looked at Mia.
“I won't tell you.”
Mia hugged the guitar.
“Because it's about you.”
“Yes.”
“What did you do besides chase Dad?”
Charlotte's eyes hardened.
Anna whispered,
“Mia, don't.”
“No.”
Mia stepped closer.
“Everybody keeps deciding what I'm too young to know.”
Charlotte studied her.
Then nodded.
“All right.”
Anna's face tightened.
Charlotte said,
“I didn't tamper with Julian's brakes.”
“We know.”
“Graham did.”
“Yes.”
“But I knew Graham planned to stop Julian that night.”
Anna stopped breathing.
“What?”
Charlotte continued.
“I didn't know how.”
Mia's stomach turned.
“You knew something would happen.”
“Yes.”
“And you followed Dad anyway.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To retrieve the archive.”
Anna's face collapsed.
“You were already working with them.”
Charlotte nodded.
“Julian discovered my transfers.”
“You stole from artists.”
“I authorized contracts.”
“You stole.”
Charlotte looked irritated.
That tiny reaction told Mia more than tears.
Charlotte still believed words could change actions.
She continued.
“Victor told me if Julian reached investigators, I would go to prison.”
“So you chased him.”
“Yes.”
“Then he crashed.”
“Yes.”
“You left him.”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
Charlotte looked toward the ocean.
“I found the dash recorder before Victor did.”
Anna froze.
“You had it.”
“Yes.”
“The recording in Pasadena was a copy.”
“Julian's system uploaded automatically.”
“So what did you take?”
“The storage card from the car.”
“What was on it?”
Charlotte looked at Mia.
“Video from earlier that evening.”
“Of what?”
“Me.”
Silence.
Charlotte continued.
“Julian confronted me in the Blue Room.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him…”
She hesitated.
Mia waited.
“I told him Victor couldn't lose control of the company.”
Anna whispered,
“And?”
Charlotte's voice became almost inaudible.
“I said if Anna disappeared, the problem would disappear with her.”
Mia stared.
Her mother.
Before she was even born.
Charlotte had discussed making Anna disappear.
“Did you mean kill her?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Pay her. Threaten her. I don't know.”
Mia shook her head.
“You knew exactly what family you were in.”
Charlotte flinched.
Good.
Anna asked,
“Where is the archive now?”
Charlotte said nothing.
Lena stepped closer.
“If Graham has it—”
“He doesn't.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
“Then?”
Charlotte smiled faintly.
“I moved it.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
Everyone stared.
She had been in custody.
“How?”
Charlotte looked at Nora.
Nora's face changed.
Mia turned.
“No.”
Nora shook her head.
“I didn't.”
Charlotte laughed.
“Not Nora.”
She looked at the police escort.
One officer went pale.
Lena saw it.
“Officer Grant.”
He reached for his weapon.
Too slow.
Two deputies tackled him.
Chaos.
Charlotte had corrupted law enforcement too.
Grant had moved the archive from Big Sur before the convoy arrived.
Lena shouted,
“Where?”
He refused.
Charlotte smiled.
Mia watched her.
Then remembered the rooftop.
Luxury tables.
Music.
Charlotte freezing.
The first place Charlotte had seen her.
“Beverly Hills.”
Charlotte's smile vanished.
Mia continued.
“You hid it where you found me.”
Anna looked confused.
Mia thought aloud.
“Charlotte likes places that mean something.”
Blue Room.
Julian's piano.
Family photographs.
The rooftop.
Lena understood.
“The building?”
Charlotte said nothing.
Mia looked directly at her.
“The restaurant has private storage.”
Charlotte's silence confirmed it.
Police searched the Beverly Hills rooftop property.
Inside a private wine locker registered to Charlotte Sterling—
they found Julian's archive.
Charlotte's face changed when Lena received the call.
For the first time, she looked defeated.
But Anna wasn't relieved.
“Don't open it yet.”
Lena frowned.
“Why?”
Anna looked at Mia.
“Because if Charlotte finally got the real ending…”
Mia understood.
“She may have changed the files.”
Charlotte smiled again.
May you like
And whispered,
“Now you're thinking like your mother.”
