Chapter 5 - The Friend Inside the Trap
Emma remained behind the chair until Adrian and Vincent left the library.
Every memory she had of Vincent changed shape.
He had attended birthdays.
He had repaired her first bicycle.
He had sat beside Helena at school ceremonies when other children arrived with fathers.
Now Emma replayed his words.
Our arrangement depends on Helena believing I’m helping her.
She wanted to believe there was another explanation.
The black ledger in Adrian’s hand suggested otherwise.
Emma returned to the blue room before the guards noticed she was gone. She placed the key card beneath the mattress and lay awake until morning.
When Owen delivered breakfast, she asked whether Adrian had left the property.
“His car is still here,” Owen whispered.
“What about the older man who visited last night?”
Owen froze.
“You saw him?”
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Does Adrian trust him?”
“No one trusts anyone here.”
Emma pushed the tray aside.
“I need to send another message.”
“You already called your mother.”
“And Adrian used the call to track her.”
Owen stared at the floor.
“He said she took the bait.”
Emma felt a coldness spread through her chest.
The photograph threatening Helena had been prepared before Emma arrived.
Adrian wanted her mother at the mansion.
Emma had never been the final target.
She was leverage.
“Get me paper,” Emma said.
“I can’t.”
“Then tell my mother one sentence.”
“How?”
“The fundraiser. Someone will have a phone.”
“There are cameras everywhere.”
“Then use the cameras.”
Owen looked confused.
Emma leaned closer.
“Adrian wants my mother to see what happens here. He will have a live feed ready. Find the control room and place a message inside the signal.”
“I don’t know how.”
“You don’t need to. Find someone who does.”
Owen left without promising anything.
Several miles away, Helena stood in the warehouse while Vincent connected the prop rifle’s transmitter to a secure laptop.
The device would perform three functions.
First, it would record everything from the moment Helena removed it from the sedan.
Second, it would connect to the mansion’s wireless security network.
Third, it would send a burst signal to undercover agents waiting beyond the estate boundary.
There was one complication.
Helena did not know whether the agents could be trusted.
The local police were compromised. Federal contacts had ignored earlier warnings about the Crowes. Anyone arriving too soon might protect Adrian instead of arresting him.
That was why Helena needed the live stream.
Once the evidence became public, it would be harder to erase.
Mara entered carrying a bag of clothing.
“You can’t wear tactical gear,” she said. “Adrian expects aggression.”
Helena examined the black hooded coat.
“What does he expect this to be?”
“A costume.”
The fundraiser’s theme was cinema history. Wealthy donors would arrive dressed as famous characters. Adrian had designed the event around a collection of movie props he intended to auction.
Helena’s coat, glasses, and gloves would not appear unusual.
Neither would the prop rifle in the sedan’s trunk.
“You arranged the vehicle permit?” Helena asked.
Mara nodded.
“Leon entered it as an auction delivery. Security will scan the license plate and allow it onto the lower driveway.”
Vincent looked up from the laptop.
“Adrian will still know the moment Helena enters the property.”
“He needs to,” Helena said.
Mara placed a floor plan on the table.
“Once he brings Emma outside, he will position guards here and here. The lower drive gives him the height advantage.”
“He wants control of the image,” Vincent said.
“He wants me frightened,” Helena replied.
Her secure phone vibrated.
A video feed appeared without warning.
Emma sat in the blue room. Adrian stood beside her.
“Helena,” Adrian said through the speaker, “we should stop pretending we do not understand each other.”
Helena did not answer.
Adrian placed a hand on Emma’s shoulder.
“Bring the Crownshield archive.”
“I have no archive.”
“Your husband created one before he disappeared.”
“My husband is dead.”
Emma looked directly into the camera.
Her eyes moved once toward the ceiling, twice toward the door, then once toward Adrian.
A childhood code.
One, two, one.
Lie, danger, lie.
Adrian was lying.
Someone dangerous was near him.
And another lie had been spoken.
Helena replayed the last sentence in her mind.
Your husband created one before he disappeared.
The code might refer to Daniel’s disappearance.
Emma was telling her that Adrian knew Daniel had not died.
“Eight thirty,” Adrian continued. “Come alone. Bring everything you kept. If I see police, your daughter will be transported before you reach the gate.”
The feed ended.
Vincent looked at Helena.
“You cannot give him the original Crownshield file.”
“There is nothing in it he does not already know.”
“He may not know which officials Daniel identified.”
Helena opened the folder.
Several pages had been removed years earlier. Daniel hid them before he vanished. Helena never found them.
Vincent touched the empty section.
“What if Adrian believes you have those pages?”
“Then he will keep Emma alive until he searches every copy.”
“Unless he decides she is no longer useful.”
Helena studied him.
Vincent looked away first.
The movement was small.
Too small for anyone who had not known him for nearly thirty years.
Helena closed the folder.
“When did you last enter Crowe House?”
“I told you. Never.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Vincent frowned.
“Why are you questioning me?”
“Because Emma used the old code.”
“We don’t know what she meant.”
“She meant Adrian lied twice and someone near him was dangerous.”
“That could be a guard.”
“It could.”
Helena held his gaze.
Vincent’s face remained calm.
But his right hand moved toward the secure phone on the table.
Helena drew a small device from her pocket and pressed a button.
Every screen in the warehouse went dark.
The exits locked.
Mara stepped backward.
“What are you doing?”
“Testing a theory.”
Vincent’s expression hardened.
“You’re wasting time.”
Helena removed her glasses.
“Daniel suspected someone inside the Crownshield team.”
“Daniel suspected everyone.”
“He was right.”
Vincent took one step toward the door.
Helena blocked him.
“Tell me why Adrian knows the archive survived.”
“I don’t know.”
“Tell me why the photograph of Emma was added to a file only three people knew existed.”
Vincent said nothing.
Mara looked between them.
“Helena?”
A hidden phone began ringing inside Vincent’s jacket.
No one moved.
It rang again.
Helena reached for it.
Vincent caught her wrist.
For a second, they stood frozen.
Then Mara struck the emergency alarm on the wall.
A steel partition dropped between Vincent and the exit.
Vincent released Helena and backed away.
The phone continued ringing.
Helena took it from his jacket.
May you like
The screen displayed a single word.
ADRIAN.
