Chapter 7 - THE PRISON ABOVE THE CITY
Owen’s team intercepted Marcus’s men before they entered the café.
The confrontation lasted less than a minute, but it confirmed what Evelyn had feared.
Marcus was no longer trying merely to frighten her.
He was willing to have her taken.
One of the men carried a prepared medical authorization claiming Evelyn was suffering from a mental breakdown. The document requested immediate transport to a private treatment facility.
It bore Marcus’s signature.
It also bore the signature of Victor Vale.
“They planned to declare you unstable before the board vote,” Naomi said.
“And keep me somewhere I couldn’t object.”
“Exactly.”
Evelyn looked toward the upper floors of the Aurelia Grand, visible across the river.
Marcus had accused her of abandoning the hotel.
In reality, he had been building a prison around her name.
Owen used Celeste’s keycard to access the private elevator after midnight.
Evelyn wore a staff uniform and kept her hair beneath a service cap. Naomi remained in a monitoring van while Arthur waited at a safe location with copies of the ledger.
The elevator opened directly into Suite 1901.
Nothing inside had been preserved.
Lillian’s furniture had been removed. Her paintings were gone. The bookshelves stood empty.
In their place were hospital machines, locked medicine cabinets, and a narrow bed.
Victor Vale lay beneath a gray blanket.
He looked smaller than Evelyn remembered.
An intravenous line ran into his arm. A monitor beside him displayed a steady pulse.
Evelyn crossed the room.
“Father.”
Victor’s eyelids opened slowly.
For several seconds, he seemed unable to recognize her.
Then his fingers moved.
“Evelyn?”
She took his hand.
“What did they do to you?”
His gaze shifted toward the door.
“Marcus.”
“I know.”
“No,” Victor whispered. “You don’t.”
Owen checked the medicine cabinet.
“These labels are false.”
“Can we move him?”
“Not without a doctor.”
Evelyn leaned closer.
“Why did you sign control over to Marcus?”
Victor’s eyes filled with shame.
“He threatened to reveal the archive.”
“What is inside?”
“Proof.”
“Proof of what?”
Victor tried to sit up but lacked the strength.
“Your mother discovered what I had done.”
“You erased Helena.”
His expression revealed the truth before he spoke.
“I thought I was protecting the family.”
“You stole her share.”
“She was going to sell it.”
“That was her right.”
“The hotel would have been broken apart.”
“So you destroyed her life?”
“I paid her to leave.”
“Where did she go?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you know what happened to her daughter?”
Victor turned his face away.
“Father.”
“I was told the child died.”
“By whom?”
Before he could answer, the elevator chimed.
Owen drew Evelyn behind the wall.
Marcus entered with a physician and two guards.
Evelyn and Owen slipped into the hidden space beside the Founder’s Archive just before the suite doors opened.
Through a narrow opening, Evelyn watched Marcus approach Victor’s bed.
“You were told not to speak,” Marcus said.
Victor’s voice was weak.
“My daughter was here.”
Marcus looked around.
“That medication is making you confused.”
“I saw her.”
The physician adjusted Victor’s intravenous line.
Marcus leaned over him.
“Tomorrow you will sign the permanent transfer. After the celebration, we will move you somewhere more comfortable.”
“You promised Evelyn would not be harmed.”
“She refused every opportunity I gave her.”
“You don’t understand the trust.”
“I understand enough.”
“No,” Victor whispered. “You found the false copy.”
Marcus became still.
“What false copy?”
“The document in the safe. Lillian knew someone would come for it. She prepared another.”
“Where is the original?”
Victor closed his eyes.
Marcus grabbed his shoulder.
“Where?”
The monitor alarm increased.
The physician pulled Marcus away.
“Not now. His heart cannot tolerate it.”
Marcus released him.
“Then keep him alive until tomorrow night.”
After Marcus left, Evelyn emerged from the hidden space.
Victor was unconscious.
Owen examined the wall around the archive.
The sapphire mechanism had already been activated.
Only the founder’s seal remained locked.
Someone had opened half the door.
Evelyn raised her ring.
Before she could place it against the seal, a voice spoke through the room’s hidden speaker.
“Do that, and your father dies.”
Celeste appeared on the security screen.
Behind her stood a man holding a remote control connected to Victor’s monitor.
May you like
Celeste looked directly at Evelyn.
“Leave the archive closed.”
