Chapter 7 - the tape from the dead
The old cassette was taken to a private media laboratory owned by Adrian’s university friend, Marcus Hale.
Lily recognized Marcus as the stranger from Ruth’s house.
Adrian did not.
They met after midnight in a secured editing room beneath an independent television studio.
Marcus connected the cassette to a restoration machine.
“You followed Lily,” Adrian said.
“I followed Celeste.”
“You allowed my daughter to enter an abandoned house.”
“I arrived after she did.”
“You should have called me.”
“I tried six years ago. Your mother made certain I never reached you.”
Adrian looked toward Margaret, who had not been invited to the meeting.
Marcus adjusted the audio levels.
“I was investigating forged property transfers linked to Victor Marrow. Evelyn contacted me shortly before the accident.”
“Why didn’t you come forward after she died?”
“Because the evidence disappeared. Ruth was threatened. My editor was attacked. And someone sent me a photograph of my own daughter leaving school.”
Lily looked at him.
“What happened to her?”
“She is safe now. Far from here.”
The machine clicked.
Evelyn appeared on the monitor.
She sat in the west nursery, younger and visibly frightened. The date on the recording was October 14, only hours before the accident.
Adrian moved closer.
Evelyn looked directly into the camera.
“Adrian, if you are watching this, I failed to return.”
He covered his mouth.
Lily had seen photographs of Evelyn, but she barely remembered her voice.
On the screen, Evelyn continued.
“I need you to understand that Lily was never abandoned. Claire asked me to protect her. She believed someone was watching her and that the Vale name placed the baby in danger.”
Adrian whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Evelyn answered as though she could hear him.
“I wanted to tell you every day. Your father begged me to wait until he could identify everyone involved. He believed the forged adoptions were connected to the family trust.”
The image distorted.
Marcus slowed the playback.
Evelyn held up a document.
“Claire discovered children were being placed with wealthy families using altered identities. Some families were innocent. Others paid for silence. Victor Marrow managed the records. But he did not work alone.”
Lily gripped Adrian’s hand.
“Claire intended to testify,” Evelyn said. “She disappeared the morning Lily was born. Ruth found the baby in the west nursery with a note telling us to keep her hidden.”
Evelyn looked toward someone outside the frame.
A faint voice spoke.
“Hurry. Margaret is coming.”
The camera shifted.
For a single second, the person beside Evelyn appeared in a mirror.
Celeste.
She was much younger, perhaps seventeen.
Adrian stared at the screen.
Evelyn continued.
“Celeste says she wants to help. She claims her father used her to deliver documents. I don’t know whether I can trust her, but she brought proof that Claire may still be alive.”
The video stopped.
The final section of tape had been physically cut away.
Marcus examined the cassette.
“Someone removed approximately seven minutes.”
“Who had access?” Adrian asked.
“Ruth. Evelyn. Your parents. Celeste.”
“And Julian’s father,” Lily added.
Marcus nodded.
Adrian paced across the room.
“Celeste was helping Evelyn.”
“Or pretending to,” Marcus said.
Lily replayed the mirrored image.
Young Celeste appeared terrified.
She was not wearing expensive clothes. Her cheek was bruised, and she kept looking toward the door.
“She was scared of someone,” Lily said.
Adrian crouched beside her.
“Being afraid then does not excuse what she is doing now.”
“No. But maybe she didn’t start it.”
Marcus inserted the cassette again.
“There may be data beneath the damaged section. Give me time.”
The lights flickered.
A warning sounded from the security system.
Someone had entered the building.
Marcus checked the surveillance feed.
A hooded figure moved through the lower hallway carrying a metal container.
“Fire accelerant,” Marcus said.
Adrian lifted Lily and headed toward the emergency exit.
Smoke appeared beneath the editing-room door.
Marcus removed the cassette from the machine and placed it inside his coat.
They reached the stairwell as flames spread through the hallway.
Outside, Adrian called the police.
Lily looked toward the roof.
A figure stood at the edge of the neighboring building.
The hood fell back.
May you like
Margaret Vale watched the smoke rise.
Then she turned and disappeared.
