Chapter 11 - The Murder That Never Happened)
Marcus did not believe Adrian.
Not immediately.
Adrian had every reason to turn him against Elena.
But Rebecca's reaction frightened him.
She did not dismiss the claim.
"There was a death at the aquatic clinic," she admitted.
Marcus stared.
"You knew?"
"I knew someone died. I didn't know who."
Nathan pulled archived incident reports.
Nothing.
No police response.
No death certificate connecting Senator Wren's family to the facility.
Then Nathan found a missing-person record.
Thomas Wren.
Age thirty-two.
The senator's only son.
Reported missing four years ago.
Two days after Elena's supposed death.
Marcus stared at the date.
"Adrian says Elena killed him before she disappeared."
Rebecca shook her head.
"Elena wasn't violent."
"People become violent when their child is threatened."
Rebecca looked at Lily.
"Yes."
Marcus returned to Adrian's room.
"Tell me what happened."
Adrian smiled weakly.
"Ready to hear your perfect wife wasn't perfect?"
Marcus grabbed the bed rail.
"Talk."
Adrian exhaled.
"Thomas Wren managed second-generation acquisition."
Marcus's expression hardened.
"Acquisition?"
"Locating children."
"Say kidnapping."
Adrian shrugged.
"Some families cooperated."
"And Lily?"
"Elena brought her to the clinic intentionally."
Marcus stared.
"Why?"
"She wanted to confront Senator Wren."
"With our daughter present?"
"She didn't trust anyone else to watch Lily."
Marcus hated how plausible that sounded.
Adrian continued.
"Thomas arrived. Argument started. He tried to take Lily."
Marcus's hands curled.
"What happened?"
"Elena attacked him."
"With what?"
"Metal instrument."
"Did you see it?"
Adrian hesitated.
"Yes."
Lie.
Marcus knew it.
"Keep going."
"Thomas fell. Blood everywhere."
"And Senator Wren?"
"Arrived ten minutes later."
"What did Elena do?"
"Ran."
"With Lily?"
"Yes."
Marcus leaned closer.
"And somehow four years later Lily remembers you with blood on your shirt."
Adrian's face tightened.
Marcus smiled coldly.
"Interesting."
Adrian said nothing.
Marcus pulled up the old clinic floor plan.
"Where did Thomas die?"
Adrian pointed reluctantly.
"Observation room three."
Marcus sent Nathan to recover archived building records.
Within an hour they found demolition photographs.
Observation room three had been stripped before the clinic closed.
But one photograph showed a section of wall removed.
Behind it was a service corridor.
Marcus zoomed in.
Blood staining was visible.
Not inside the observation room.
In the corridor.
Adrian's story was wrong.
Then Lily remembered something else.
"Mr. Adrian was holding the shiny thing."
"What shiny thing?"
She drew it.
A long metal surgical retractor.
Marcus showed the drawing to Rebecca.
"The murder weapon Adrian described."
Marcus went cold.
That night they confronted him with Lily's drawing.
Adrian stared at it.
His mouth opened.
Marcus said nothing.
He simply waited.
Finally Adrian whispered, "Thomas was going to hurt her."
"Elena?"
"Lily."
Marcus's voice became deadly quiet.
"What did Thomas do?"
"He tried to inject her."
Marcus felt the room disappear around him.
"With what?"
"I don't know."
"Then what happened?"
"Elena fought him."
"And you?"
Adrian looked away.
"I hit Thomas."
Silence.
"Once."
Adrian swallowed.
"Then again."
Marcus stared.
"You killed him."
"It wasn't supposed to happen."
"You spent four years blaming Elena?"
"My father told me we had to."
Marcus stepped backward.
Adrian's voice cracked.
"Senator Wren would have destroyed everyone involved."
"So Graham Cole staged Elena's death."
"Victoria helped."
"And Elena?"
"She refused to cooperate."
"Where did they take her?"
Adrian closed his eyes.
"My father gave her to Wren."
Marcus nearly hit him.
Rebecca grabbed his arm.
"Marcus."
He pulled away.
"Where?"
"I don't know where she is now."
Marcus leaned over Adrian.
"Then give me someone who does."
Adrian breathed heavily.
"Elias Vale."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
Marcus slammed his fist into the wall.
Adrian flinched.
Then Lily, standing behind the observation glass with Claire, suddenly pointed at Adrian's wrist.
She tapped on the glass.
Marcus looked.
Beneath Adrian's hospital bracelet was a tattoo.
Three circles.
The vertical line intact.
Lily whispered through the intercom.
"Daddy."
Marcus turned.
"Grandma's is broken."
Marcus stared.
"What?"
Lily touched the pendant around her neck.
"Grandma has the same picture."
Victoria had an Aurelia symbol.
But according to Elena's recording, the broken vertical line identified Charles's resistance group.
Marcus called his mother.
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
Nathan checked the estate cameras.
Victoria was gone.
Her bedroom had been emptied.
On the mirror she had written a message in lipstick.
May you like
MARCUS, I FOUND ELENA.
DO NOT FOLLOW ME.
