Chapter 7 - Victoria's Version)
Marcus returned to Chicago before midnight.
He did not go to the police.
Not yet.
If Aurelia had survived for decades with judges, doctors and executives involved, Marcus had no idea whom he could trust.
Instead, he went to the one place Victoria would not expect.
His father's old office.
The building had been closed for renovation for months.
Charles Thorne's private suite remained untouched because Marcus could never decide what to do with it.
Now he understood why Victoria had repeatedly suggested demolishing the entire floor.
Rebecca entered behind him.
"What are we looking for?"
"My father knew Elena."
Marcus turned on the desk lamp.
"If he was helping her, there has to be something here."
For two hours they searched.
Nothing.
At 1:43 a.m., Nathan called.
"Lily's safe."
Marcus exhaled.
"And Victoria?"
"Back at the estate."
Marcus stopped.
"What?"
"She came back twenty minutes ago."
"From Milwaukee?"
"Private helicopter could do it."
Marcus looked at Rebecca.
"She's acting like nothing happened?"
"She's asking the staff why you took Lily."
Marcus's anger became almost admiration.
Victoria had always been terrifyingly disciplined.
"Keep Lily away from her."
"Obviously."
Marcus ended the call.
Rebecca studied a bookshelf.
"Your father liked hidden compartments?"
"He liked showing people how clever he was."
"Meaning?"
"He would never hide something where nobody could find it."
Marcus looked around.
Then he remembered a childhood argument.
Charles had once told him:
The best secrets are displayed openly. People don't notice what they think they understand.
Marcus looked at the enormous portrait behind the desk.
Charles Thorne standing beside Victoria.
Painted twenty-three years earlier.
He lifted it.
Nothing.
Then Rebecca pointed.
"The frame."
A crystal emblem was embedded in one corner.
Three circles.
One vertical line.
Aurelia.
Marcus inserted Lily's broken pendant into the center.
Click.
A compartment opened beneath the frame.
Inside was a black ledger and a small recorder.
Marcus pressed play.
His father's voice filled the room.
"If you're hearing this, then either I failed or Victoria finally decided you deserved the truth."
Marcus's throat tightened.
Charles continued.
"Aurelia began as medicine. We wanted to understand why certain children recovered from neurological trauma better than others. Then money arrived."
A pause.
"Money always asks science to become obedient."
Marcus sat down.
"Elias Vale became obsessed with inheritance. Graham Cole became obsessed with applications. Victoria became obsessed with legacy."
Rebecca closed her eyes.
Charles continued.
"I tried to shut the program down after Subject Seven nearly died."
Marcus looked at Rebecca.
"Elena," she whispered.
"I helped Rebecca Lane remove the girl. I falsified records. Years later, Elena returned under a new identity. I expected revenge. Instead she offered evidence."
The recording crackled.
"She had discovered Aurelia's second generation program."
Marcus clenched his jaw.
"Children of former subjects were being monitored."
Charles's voice became strained.
"I believed my wife had stopped participating. I was wrong."
Marcus stared at the portrait of Victoria.
"If anything happens to me, understand this: Victoria believes the Thorne bloodline is an asset to be protected at any cost."
The recording ended.
Marcus immediately restarted it.
Nothing else.
Rebecca opened the ledger.
Financial transfers.
Doctors.
Politicians.
Shell companies.
Adrian Cole's family.
And several entries coded V.T.
Victoria.
Marcus flipped forward.
A date four years earlier.
November eighteenth.
ELENA EXTRACTION.
AUTHORIZED: V.T.
Marcus's vision blurred with rage.
"She ordered it."
Rebecca nodded.
Then Marcus found another line.
FUNERAL SUBSTITUTE ACQUIRED.
He stopped breathing.
"What does that mean?"
Rebecca looked sick.
"They used another body."
Marcus closed the ledger.
For four years he had visited a grave containing a stranger.
His phone rang.
Victoria.
Marcus answered.
"Where is Elena?"
No greeting.
No hesitation.
His mother sighed.
"Come home."
"Tell me."
"Come home alone and I will explain everything."
Marcus laughed bitterly.
"You had my wife kidnapped."
"I prevented something worse."
"You put another woman in Elena's coffin."
Silence.
Victoria now knew he had found Charles's records.
"Marcus."
"I want her location."
"You cannot rescue Elena by behaving emotionally."
"My daughter has a scar because of your people."
"Adrian exceeded his authority."
"His authority?"
Marcus nearly shouted.
"You gave him authority over my child?"
Victoria's voice sharpened.
"I protected Lily from men far more dangerous than Adrian."
Marcus looked at Rebecca.
"Who?"
"If you want the truth, come home."
The call ended.
Rebecca shook her head.
"Trap."
"Of course."
"You cannot go."
Marcus picked up the ledger.
"I'm absolutely going."
"Why?"
"Because she thinks I'm still her son before I'm Lily's father."
May you like
He slipped the recorder into his jacket.
"Tonight she learns which one matters more."
