Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN IN HIS OFFICE
Ortiz drew her weapon.
Vivian lifted both hands.
“This isn’t what you think.”
“That sentence has never improved a situation,” Ortiz said.
Ethan stared at the ring.
“You’ve worn that for years.”
“Claire gave it to me.”
“Why?”
“Because I worked for her before I worked for you.”
Nora looked between them. “You told me you met my mother only twice.”
“I lied.”
Vivian’s voice shook, but she did not look frightened of the gun. She looked frightened of Ethan.
“I helped Claire copy the Lantern records. I moved money from Adrian’s shell companies into accounts he couldn’t reach. When she disappeared, I stayed near you because she believed you would eventually remember.”
“You watched me spend twelve years doing nothing.”
“You spent twelve years building systems that Adrian used.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You refused to know.”
The words landed with painful accuracy.
Ortiz gestured toward the chair.
“Sit down.”
Vivian obeyed.
“Are you the Architect?” Nora asked.
“No.”
“Then why did Mom say the Architect was someone Dad saw every day?”
“Because it was true when she recorded the message.”
“Who was it?”
Vivian looked at Ethan.
“Your former business partner, Marcus Vale.”
Ethan’s brother had died seven years earlier.
Or so Ethan had believed.
Marcus had been the financial mind behind Vale International. He and Ethan built the company together, but their relationship collapsed after Claire’s death. Marcus moved overseas, then reportedly died during a boating accident near Greece.
“There was no body,” Ethan said.
“Only a burned boat,” Vivian replied.
Nora’s eyes narrowed. “Adrian handled the identification.”
“Yes.”
Ortiz lowered her weapon slightly but did not put it away.
“Why should we believe you?”
Vivian removed the ring.
“Because this opens Node 2.”
The ring separated at the center, revealing a miniature access blade.
“Claire created the symbol,” Vivian said. “The Architect stole it. She gave three rings to people she trusted. One to me. One to Thomas Mercer. One to Samuel Reed’s son.”
“Daniel,” Nora said.
“If Daniel is alive, he may still have the third key.”
Ethan walked toward the window.
Marcus had always believed security was more valuable than freedom. He argued that people surrendered privacy willingly whenever they were frightened enough.
Ethan had dismissed those opinions as ambition.
Claire had called them dangerous.
“Why would Marcus target Nora?” Ethan asked.
“Because Claire divided the master archive,” Vivian said. “Nora’s biological signature opens one part. Yours opens another.”
“What do you mean by biological signature?”
“Voice, fingerprints and retinal patterns. Lantern was designed by you and Claire together. The system recognizes your family.”
Nora folded her arms.
“So they spent years manipulating me because they needed me alive.”
“Yes.”
“That’s comforting.”
Vivian looked at her. “It also means they will not kill you unless they have another method of opening the archive.”
Ortiz’s phone rang.
She listened for several seconds, then switched the call to speaker.
A forensic technician spoke.
“We recovered hidden data from Claire’s drive. There’s a scheduled transmission set for tomorrow at midnight.”
“What kind of transmission?” Ortiz asked.
“An automatic release of the Lantern records to multiple news organizations. But it requires final verification from Nora Vale.”
Nora looked at the clock.
They had twenty-three hours.
“If I verify it,” she said, “everything becomes public.”
Vivian shook her head.
“Not everything. Claire would have protected innocent people.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Adrian or Marcus will erase it.”
Ethan faced Ortiz.
“We go to Node 2.”
Ortiz shook her head. “We obtain a warrant.”
“If Lantern has people inside law enforcement, a warrant will warn them.”
“I’m not leading civilians into an unknown facility.”
Nora took the ring from the table.
“You don’t have to lead us.”
Ethan blocked her path.
“You are not going.”
She looked him directly in the eyes.
“You chose the company instead of Mom. You chose silence instead of me. You don’t get to choose this for me too.”
“I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“Then stand beside me.”
Before Ethan could answer, every screen in the office displayed the same message.
MIDNIGHT VERIFICATION CANCELED.
AUTHORIZED BY: NORA VALE.
Nora stared at it.
“I didn’t cancel anything.”
The office camera moved toward her.
A voice came through the speaker.
May you like
It was her own voice.
“Yes, you did.”
