Chapter 7 - The Son Who Answered
They left the building through a freight entrance.
Julian’s driver waited near the loading dock, but Julian refused to use the car.
“My father tracks every Cross Meridian vehicle,” he said.
Audrey called Miriam from a secure phone.
No answer.
She tried Serena.
The call connected, but the voice on the other end belonged to Elias.
“Mom?”
Audrey stopped walking.
“Elias, where is Dr. Serena?”
“She went outside.”
“Why do you have the emergency phone?”
“It rang.”
“Put Noah on.”
“Noah is sleeping.”
Audrey heard a faint mechanical hum behind his voice.
The security gate.
“Elias, lock the upstairs door.”
“It is already locked.”
“Do not open it for anyone.”
“I know.”
Julian turned toward her.
“Is that him?”
Audrey ignored him.
“Where is Miriam?”
“A man came to talk to her.”
“What man?”
“The man from the picture.”
Audrey’s blood ran cold.
“What picture?”
“The red-tie picture.”
Victor often wore red ties.
“Elias, listen carefully. Go into the safe room with Noah. Take the phone.”
“He said you sent him.”
“I did not send anyone.”
A door opened in the background.
Elias whispered, “He is inside.”
The call ended.
Audrey began running.
Julian caught up.
“Tell me where they are.”
“No.”
“Audrey.”
“If your father found them, he may be following you.”
“He already knows I’m with you.”
“Then coming with me will lead him directly to them.”
“He is already inside the house.”
She stopped.
Julian’s face showed no hesitation.
“They are my children too.”
“You have known about them for less than an hour.”
“And I have spent that entire hour understanding what I lost.”
Audrey wanted to hate him.
Hatred would have been easier than recognizing the truth in his expression.
Chloe handed them the keys to a vehicle registered under a Mercer foundation.
“I will distract Victor’s security team.”
Julian looked at her.
“You expect me to trust you?”
“No,” Chloe said. “But Audrey’s sons should not pay for what I did.”
She walked toward the street and called Victor from her personal phone.
Audrey and Julian left in the foundation vehicle.
The drive to the private airfield took twenty minutes.
Julian arranged a charter aircraft through a company unconnected to Cross Meridian. Audrey gave the pilot coordinates for an airstrip near Serena’s home but refused to provide the actual address.
During the flight, Julian sat across from her.
“Tell me their names.”
“You saw their names.”
“Tell me about them.”
“This is not the time.”
“There may never be another time.”
Audrey looked out the window.
“Elias likes puzzles, quiet rooms, and watching storms. Noah likes animals, loud music, and asking questions that have no sensible answers.”
Julian almost smiled.
“Which one looks like you?”
“Noah.”
“And Elias?”
Audrey met his eyes.
“You.”
The answer destroyed his remaining composure.
He leaned forward, pressing his hands together.
“Did you ever plan to tell me?”
“I planned to tell you the night I saw Chloe.”
“After that?”
“I planned to survive.”
“You thought I tried to kill your brother.”
“I heard your voice.”
“You also saw me with Chloe.”
“And both were arranged by your father.”
“Then you know I did not betray you.”
“I know you may not have slept with her.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“No,” Audrey said. “It is not.”
Because Julian had still signed the divorce petition.
He had still allowed Victor to control the investigation.
He had still believed Audrey capable of stealing from her own company.
Even if the worst evidence had been fabricated, years of silence remained real.
The aircraft landed shortly before dawn.
Audrey led Julian through the trees toward Serena’s property.
The front gate stood open.
A black SUV was parked near the house.
Audrey ran across the yard.
Serena lay unconscious on the porch, breathing but injured from a fall.
Miriam was nowhere in sight.
The front door had been forced open.
Audrey rushed upstairs.
The safe-room door remained locked.
She entered the code.
Noah sat beneath a blanket, crying quietly.
Elias stood in front of him holding a metal lamp with both hands.
When he saw Audrey, he lowered it.
“Mom.”
She pulled both children into her arms.
Julian stopped in the doorway.
Elias looked at him.
For several seconds, father and son stared at each other.
Then Elias lifted the emergency phone.
“The man wanted this,” he said.
Audrey took it.
The device contained Project Gemini’s copied files.
“Where is Miriam?” Audrey asked.
Elias pointed toward the open window.
“She followed the man.”
“What did he look like?”
Elias glanced at Julian.
“Like him.”
Audrey looked at Julian.
Elias shook his head.
“Not exactly.”
He reached beneath the blanket and produced a photograph the intruder had dropped.
It showed Victor Cross standing outside the Vale laboratory.
May you like
Beside him was Adrian Vale.
The photograph had been taken six months after Adrian was declared dead.
