Chapter 39 - The Call They Were Warned Against
Rachel answered.
Celia did not sound surprised.
“Victor has separated from Northline,” she said. “He took Evelyn and the source key.”
“You were in his car this morning.”
“I was following Dr. Cole.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No. I expect you to examine what Victor is doing.”
Celia explained that Northline’s board had divided after the fire-ledger files were discovered. One group wanted to surrender the records and negotiate immunity.
Victor’s group wanted to activate the original Vale trust.
If he controlled the surviving beneficiary and the source key, he could rewrite ownership information before the archive became public.
“Why take Evelyn?”
“Because the trust recognizes her ring.”
“Miriam has the ring.”
“The ring is only one part. Evelyn’s voice, blood record and original signature are the others.”
Rachel looked through the hospital window.
A dark sedan waited across the street.
“Where is she?”
“The old municipal reservoir.”
“That is where Victor told us to bring Miriam.”
“He needs both twins.”
Miriam took the phone.
“What happens if he completes the activation?”
“The source ledger will assign every disputed property to the trust’s current controller.”
“Victor.”
“Yes.”
Tessa asked why Celia had helped build a system capable of doing that.
Celia became quiet.
“We believed one secure owner was safer than hundreds of vulnerable families.”
“You stole their homes to protect them?” Rachel asked.
“We preserved evidence until the law was ready.”
“The law was ready thirty years ago.”
“No,” Celia replied. “The law was already working for Victor.”
A crash sounded through the phone.
Celia inhaled sharply.
“He found me.”
The call remained connected as footsteps approached her.
Victor’s voice came through clearly.
“You should not have called Rachel.”
The line went dead.
A message arrived one second later.
It contained the reservoir address and a photograph of Evelyn seated beside Celia.
Across both women’s wrists was the same black security band.
Beneath the photograph were the words:
May you like
BRING MIRIAM AND THE HOUSE KEY.
MARCUS COMES TOO.
