Chapter 12 - The Man Behind the Mask
Victor stepped into the boardroom.
Marcus moved beside him.
The masked man did not appear surprised.
Conrad’s assistant backed toward the door, but Marcus blocked him.
“Remove the mask,” Victor said.
The man tilted his head.
“You still give orders as though this company belongs to you.”
“It does.”
“No. It belongs to a story your father created.”
He removed the mask.
Victor had seen the face in family photographs, though it had aged considerably.
Dr. Elias Wren.
Director of Northbridge Behavioral Center.
Former friend of Victor’s father.
One of the five original holders of the silver foundation pin.
“You killed Celeste,” Victor said.
Elias smiled faintly.
“I did not touch her car.”
“You threatened her.”
“I warned her to stop searching.”
“Where is Adrian?”
“Safe.”
“At Northbridge?”
“For now.”
Victor moved closer.
Elias pressed a button on the table.
The screens changed.
A live video showed Adrian sitting in a white room. He appeared thinner, older and exhausted, but alive.
His wrists were not restrained. The door behind him was locked.
“Release him.”
“At noon tomorrow, you will vote to transfer control of the Hale Foundation to the continuity council.”
“There is no continuity council.”
“There will be.”
“And if I refuse?”
Elias changed the screen again.
Ethan remained asleep beneath a blanket.
Lily sat beside the bed.
A small red light blinked inside the smoke detector above them.
Victor understood.
The mansion was still compromised.
“You will not reach my son.”
“I already have.”
Marcus moved toward the control desk.
Conrad’s assistant pulled a pistol from beneath his jacket.
Marcus struck his arm aside. The weapon discharged into the ceiling.
Victor lunged at Elias.
They collided against the table.
Elias dropped a small remote.
The screen showing Ethan turned red.
A countdown appeared.
Ten minutes.
“What did you activate?” Victor demanded.
Elias laughed through the blood at the corner of his mouth.
“Northbridge protocol.”
Marcus restrained the assistant while Victor seized the remote.
There were no visible controls.
Elias looked at the countdown.
“You can arrest me. You can expose Serena. You can even recover Adrian. But you cannot protect a house built by men who sold every secret inside it.”
Victor called Lily.
She answered immediately.
“Get Ethan out of the room.”
“Why?”
“Now.”
Lily lifted the child and ran into the corridor.
The smoke detector released a burst of pale vapor behind them.
A detective pulled the fire alarm.
Victor watched through the live feed as Lily carried Ethan down the staircase and out through the front entrance.
The countdown reached zero.
Nothing else happened.
Elias stopped smiling.
Victor looked at the remote.
“It was designed to make me obey.”
“It was designed to prove you would always choose the child over the foundation.”
“I would.”
“That is why you were never fit to lead.”
Victor glanced at Marcus.
The former security chief had copied the floor’s entire network.
Every file.
Every video.
Every order.
Victor turned back to Elias.
“You built your plan on one mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“You believed loving my son made me weak.”
Sirens approached the building.
Elias looked toward the windows.
May you like
Victor held up the storage drive.
“Love is the reason I came back early.”
Related Stories
