Chapter 4 - the man who brought him water)
Noah did not scream.
He wanted to.
Instead he pressed himself against the cold wall.
"Who's there?"
A flashlight switched on.
The beam pointed toward the floor.
A man sat six feet away.
He was older than Graham, perhaps fifty.
His hair was gray.
There was dried blood on his temple.
Noah recognized him.
"Peter?"
Peter Shaw nodded.
The maintenance supervisor looked exhausted.
"They said you moved."
"They lie about a lot of things."
"Where are we?"
"Under the east wing."
"Inside the wall?"
"Partly."
Noah looked around.
They were in a narrow service chamber connected to the old passage.
Metal pipes ran along the ceiling.
A vent provided a small amount of air.
A steel door stood at one end.
"Why don't we leave?"
"Because that door locks from outside."
Noah immediately pulled the recorder from his jacket.
Peter's eyes widened.
"You kept it?"
Noah nodded.
"Does Helen know?"
"I don't think so."
Peter moved closer.
"Then hide it."
"Why?"
"Because that recorder might be the only reason either of us gets out."
Noah swallowed.
"My mom is alive."
Peter looked away.
"You saw the pictures."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"You work here."
"I worked here. That is not the same thing."
Noah began to cry.
Not loudly.
He hated crying in front of adults.
Peter waited.
Finally Noah whispered, "Dad thinks she's dead."
"I know."
"Did you know?"
Peter closed his eyes.
"For a while."
"Why didn't you tell him?"
"Because I was afraid."
Noah stared at him with an anger that made Peter look ashamed.
Peter explained slowly.
Fourteen months earlier, while replacing wiring behind the east hall, he discovered that someone had reopened the old servant passage.
Helen told him the foundation needed secure archive storage.
At first Peter believed her.
Then he found medical equipment.
Sedatives.
Fake identification cards.
A locked room containing Laura Vale's belongings.
He confronted Helen.
Two days later, Peter's teenage daughter received photographs of herself walking home from school.
Peter understood the warning.
He stayed silent.
"But Mom died before that."
Peter hesitated.
"Your mother's car went off the cliff. The vehicle burned. The body was identified through dental records."
"Then how can she be alive?"
"I don't know."
Noah knew Peter was still hiding something.
"What happened to her before the crash?"
Peter rubbed both hands over his face.
"She was investigating money disappearing from the foundation."
"What money?"
"A lot."
"Did Helen steal it?"
"I think Helen was helping someone move it. But Laura discovered something worse than money."
"What?"
"I never found out."
A lock turned outside.
Peter switched off the flashlight.
The steel door opened.
Caleb entered carrying water and food.
He set them on the floor.
"You've got five minutes."
Peter stared at him.
"The kid needs a doctor."
Caleb shrugged.
"He can stand."
"He was unconscious for hours."
"Not my problem."
Noah watched him.
"Are you going to kill us?"
Caleb looked at Noah.
Something uncertain crossed his face.
"No."
"Then let us out."
"I can't."
"Why?"
Caleb looked toward the hall.
"Because there are people I am more afraid of than your father."
He left.
The lock closed.
Peter waited several seconds.
Then he whispered, "Record everything."
Noah pressed the button.
From that moment forward, the recorder rarely stopped.
He recorded Peter describing the hidden corridors.
He recorded Caleb's visits.
He recorded footsteps.
He recorded voices beyond vents.
He recorded Helen speaking with another person whose voice Peter did not recognize.
And on the fourth night, Noah captured something that changed everything.
Helen stood outside their chamber.
Another woman was with her.
The second woman was crying.
"You promised no one would hurt him," she said.
Helen answered coldly.
"You were paid to keep Graham distracted."
"I agreed to get close to Graham. I never agreed to this."
Noah knew the crying voice.
Marianne.
He pressed the recorder closer to the door.
Marianne whispered, "If Graham finds out why I came here, he will hate me."
May you like
Helen replied.
"If Graham finds out everything, hatred will be the least of your problems."
