Chapter 8 - the dinner that became a trap
Deputy Security Director Owen Shaw had served the Vale family for eleven years.
He had protected Marcus during international trips, supervised Margaret’s residence, and personally investigated the threats that followed Thomas’s death.
Ethan had trusted him with every access code in the house.
That trust had allowed Owen to erase camera footage, divert police units, clone Margaret’s movements, and remove Isabella from a locked room without forcing a single door.
“He knows every blind spot,” Ethan said as the security team searched the residence. “He helped create them.”
Marcus checked the ballroom exits.
“Can he leave the property?”
“Not without passing an armed gate.”
“He may not intend to leave.”
Khloe looked toward the dark windows.
“Isabella still needs the drive.”
Ethan shook his head.
“The drive is secured.”
“She may believe there is another copy.”
Margaret remembered Thomas’s letter.
“It said Aurelia was a vault.”
Julian stood near the fireplace under guard.
“The abandoned hospital.”
Marcus turned toward him.
“What is there?”
“I never entered the lower floors.”
“But you approved the purchase.”
“Thomas told the board it would become a research center. After his death, construction stopped.”
“Why did Aurelia continue receiving money?”
“Someone submitted maintenance invoices.”
“Signed by you.”
“My signature was copied.”
Margaret gave him a cold look.
“That excuse is becoming popular tonight.”
Khloe studied Serena’s recorder.
“The anonymous note sent me toward the archive. The threat now demands the drive at the east gate. Both instructions are designed to move us.”
“Move us where?” Marcus asked.
“Away from the ballroom.”
At that moment, the ballroom doors locked.
The emergency lights activated.
A recorded announcement ordered all remaining guests to stay inside.
Ethan checked his tablet.
“I did not initiate that.”
The large presentation screens behind the stage turned on.
Isabella appeared on a live video feed.
She stood inside a concrete room with Owen beside her.
Owen had removed his security jacket. Beneath it, he wore a dark suit.
On the wall behind them was the faded emblem of the Aurelia pediatric hospital.
Isabella looked frightened.
“Owen brought me here against my will.”
Owen laughed.
“You spent months begging to be included.”
Marcus stepped closer to the screen.
“Owen, release her.”
“You still protect the woman who attacked your wife.”
“I protect the truth. Tell me what you want.”
“The drive.”
“You won’t receive it.”
“Then the entire ballroom will watch Khloe’s medical records, private messages, and financial history appear on these screens.”
Khloe felt every remaining guest turn toward her.
Owen continued.
“They will also see evidence that she accepted payments before meeting Marcus.”
“The payments went to Brighton,” Khloe said.
“Public opinion rarely waits for explanations.”
Marcus looked toward Ethan.
“Can you stop the broadcast?”
“We’re trying to isolate the signal.”
Owen smiled into the camera.
“You have twenty minutes to bring the drive to Aurelia Hospital.”
“That is forty minutes away,” Ethan said.
“Not through the tunnel.”
Margaret went still.
Marcus noticed.
“What tunnel?”
She looked toward the sealed private room.
“The service passage beneath the archive once connected to an emergency transport route. Thomas said it had been closed.”
Owen heard her through the ballroom microphones.
“Thomas said many things.”
A countdown appeared on the screen.
20:00.
19:59.
19:58.
Khloe moved beside Marcus.
“This is a trap.”
“Yes.”
“We still need to go.”
“No.”
“They are using me because they expect you to choose between protecting me and protecting the foundation.”
“I choose you.”
“That is what they want.”
Marcus looked at the guests.
Several were already filming with their phones. If Owen released manipulated records, the lie would reach millions before Ethan’s team could disprove it.
Khloe lowered her voice.
“Take a copy of the drive.”
“The files are encrypted.”
“Then take an empty device.”
“Owen will check.”
“Not immediately. He wants control of the evidence, but more than that, he wants us inside the hospital.”
“Why?”
“Because Thomas left something there.”
Julian spoke from behind them.
“The gold key.”
Margaret touched the velvet box in her document case.
Julian continued.
“Thomas carried that key for years. I assumed it opened a private bank vault.”
“What does it open?” Marcus asked.
“I don’t know. But Owen does.”
The countdown reached eighteen minutes.
Ethan prepared a decoy drive and fitted Marcus with a concealed transmitter. Margaret gave him the gold key.
Khloe stood.
“I’m going with you.”
“No.”
“Owen invited both of us.”
“He asked for the drive.”
“He wants the child whose inheritance threatens them. That means I am already part of the trap.”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“You were nearly hurt tonight.”
“And I am not going to spend the rest of my life hiding because Isabella learned how to lie in front of a camera.”
Margaret stepped forward.
“I will go in Khloe’s place.”
Owen’s voice came through the screen.
“No substitutions.”
The camera widened.
A chair stood in the corner of the concrete room.
Someone was seated in it.
The person lifted his head.
Ethan stared at the screen.
It was the retired pilot who had flown Thomas on the night of the crash.
The man officially declared dead eight years earlier.
Owen placed a hand on the pilot’s shoulder.
“Bring Marcus, Khloe, the drive, and the gold key.”
The missing pilot looked into the camera.
“Do not come,” he whispered. “The plane did not fail.”
The screen went black.
May you like
The ballroom doors unlocked.
Outside, the concealed entrance to the tunnel opened for the first time in eight years.
