Chapter 11 - The Chairman on Floor Thirty-One
Hale Foundation headquarters stood in the center of the city like a blade of black glass.
Victor arrived shortly after midnight.
Lily remained at the mansion with Ethan and two detectives. Serena and Conrad had been moved to separate interview rooms, but neither had been charged. Their attorneys insisted the audio could have been altered.
Victor carried the storage drive in an inside pocket.
Marcus walked beside him without a security badge.
“You should stay in the car,” Victor said.
“I know the private elevator.”
“You also helped them access it.”
“That is why I need to come.”
The main lobby was empty except for one night guard.
Victor used his executive key.
The elevator panel displayed thirty floors.
Marcus pressed the emergency button twice, then held the door-close control for five seconds.
A new number appeared.
31.
The elevator rose.
When the doors opened, Victor found a corridor that did not exist on any building plan.
The walls were lined with photographs from the foundation’s history. In each image, someone’s face had been removed.
Celeste.
Adrian.
Victor’s father.
Former trustees.
At the end of the corridor stood a steel door marked with the silver fox crest.
Marcus entered a code.
The door opened.
Inside was a second boardroom.
A digital screen covered one wall. It displayed live feeds from the mansion, Ethan’s school, Lily’s apartment and Victor’s private office.
One screen showed Ethan sleeping in the mansion guest room.
Victor’s hands curled into fists.
“They have been watching him for months.”
Marcus approached a control desk.
“These feeds use an independent network.”
“Copy everything.”
Victor searched the table.
Seven leather folders had been arranged around it. Each carried the name of a Hale board member.
The folder marked VICTOR contained copies of his travel schedule, medical records and private messages.
The folder marked ETHAN contained photographs from the child’s birth onward.
The final page was a prepared death announcement.
Victor closed the folder.
It did not specify how Ethan would die.
Only that the statement should be released after the temporary transfer.
He heard movement in the corridor.
Marcus turned off the lights.
Two men entered the room.
Victor recognized Conrad’s assistant.
The second man wore a black mask.
“Serena failed,” the assistant said.
“She was always going to fail,” the masked man replied.
The distorted voice from the recording came from a small device at his throat.
Victor remained behind the half-open storage wall.
“What happens at the hearing?” the assistant asked.
“Serena will blame Conrad. Conrad will blame the maid. The court will authorize Northbridge because confusion favors caution.”
“And Victor?”
“He will be removed as trustee after the board receives proof that he concealed his wife’s instability.”
“Which wife?”
The masked man laughed.
“Both.”
Victor felt Marcus touch his arm, warning him not to move.
The assistant placed a file on the table.
“What about Adrian?”
“He is alive only as long as he remains useful.”
Victor’s heart stopped.
His brother was alive.
“Where is he now?”
“Northbridge.”
The masked man turned toward the dark storage wall.
“Did you hear that, Victor?”
The lights came on.
May you like
The man faced him directly.
“I wondered how long it would take you to find this floor.”
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