Chapter 13 - The Second Glass
Alejandro reached the estate in nine minutes.
The main gates stood open.
Two guards were unconscious near the security station, but both were breathing. Their radios and access cards were missing.
Elena’s call had ended after eleven seconds. Attempts to reconnect failed.
Matteo directed teams toward the residential floor while Alejandro entered through the kitchen corridor.
The security system displayed conflicting images.
One camera showed Elena and Emma inside the safe room.
Another showed the same room empty.
Evelyn had taken control of the surveillance network.
Mara identified a single camera operating without alteration: the hidden device above the private study bookshelves.
Its feed showed Emma standing beside the desk.
Evelyn Voss stood behind her.
The older woman wore a navy medical uniform. A partially removed facial disguise hung near one ear. On the desk were two glasses.
One contained water.
The other contained a cloudy liquid.
Elena was tied to a chair near the bookshelves, conscious but unable to reach her daughter.
Alejandro entered the study alone.
Evelyn placed one hand on Emma’s shoulder.
“Close the door.”
He obeyed.
Emma looked at him with frightened eyes.
“Mr. Moretti, the orange lady came back.”
“I see her.”
Evelyn smiled.
“You were more observant than the adults.”
“Let them go,” Alejandro said.
“Place the rabbit key on the desk.”
He held up the stuffed bunny.
“First, release Elena.”
“You are not negotiating.”
“You need the key. I need them safe. That is a negotiation.”
Evelyn lifted the cloudy glass.
“Emma has a severe peanut allergy.”
Alejandro’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“Put it down.”
“She also has one replacement injector in her backpack.”
Emma glanced toward the rabbit backpack on the floor.
Evelyn kicked it beneath the desk.
“One glass,” Evelyn said. “One injector. A very difficult choice if two people stop breathing.”
Alejandro understood.
The second glass was intended for him.
Evelyn wanted to force Emma to choose whom to save.
“You were supposed to die quickly last night,” Evelyn said. “The child’s medicine disrupted a very precise schedule.”
“Adrian changed the vial?”
“Adrian changes nothing without permission.”
“So you added the allergen.”
“I improved the plan.”
“Why?”
“The transfer required your death. If you remained alive, the banks could reverse it.”
“Then why am I still useful?”
“Your biometric access opens the final Red Archive directory.”
“What is inside?”
“The only record connecting the Patron to the children.”
Alejandro placed the bunny on the desk.
“Take the key.”
Evelyn reached for it.
A soft click sounded inside the toy.
Recording complete.
Evelyn froze.
Alejandro had activated Daniel’s recorder before entering.
Every word had transmitted to Mara, Matteo, and Detective Ward.
Evelyn grabbed Emma and moved toward the hidden service passage behind the bookshelves.
Emma dropped suddenly to the floor, just as Elena had taught her during emergency drills.
Evelyn lost her grip.
Alejandro pulled Emma behind him.
Elena kicked the cloudy glass from the desk. It shattered against the wall.
Matteo and Ward entered from the corridor. Evelyn reached inside her medical jacket, but four officers surrounded her before she could remove anything.
She was taken to the floor and restrained.
Emma ran to her mother.
Alejandro picked up the rabbit backpack and checked the replacement injector.
It was still sealed.
Evelyn lifted her head.
“You think the recording matters?”
“It contains your confession.”
“It contains the voice of a dead woman.”
“You are not dead.”
“On paper, I have been dead for fifteen years.”
Ward pulled her to her feet.
“Then the paperwork will be surprised.”
Evelyn laughed as officers led her away.
At the study doorway, she looked back at Emma.
“Your father also thought a recording would protect him.”
Elena stepped forward.
“What did you do to Daniel?”
Evelyn’s smile disappeared.
“I followed orders.”
“Whose orders?”
Evelyn looked at Alejandro.
“Ask the person who taught you never to open the red door.”
Then she was gone.
On the desk, Alejandro’s phone displayed a message from Detective Ward’s team.
Sofia had confessed.
Adrian had begun talking.
The stolen money had been located.
But beneath the message was another notification.
May you like
The Moretti family cemetery’s alarm system had activated.
Someone had opened Daniel Morales’s grave.
