Chapter 5 - The Price of a Father
Emily wanted to leave immediately.
Daniel refused to let her go alone.
“You saw the message,” she said. “If they see anyone else, they may hurt him.”
“And if you go alone, they’ll take the key and kill both of you.”
“I’m not risking my father.”
“You think I am?”
The answer silenced her.
Daniel stood near the library windows, one hand pressed against the back of a chair. His anger was not directed at Emily. It was directed at the helplessness of the situation.
Marcus studied the photograph Graham had sent.
“The room number is visible in the reflection,” he said. “Thomas is still at the care facility.”
“How did Graham get inside?” Emily asked.
“He may have help.”
Daniel called the officers assigned to protect Thomas.
Neither answered.
The facility’s front desk claimed the officers had been called away after receiving instructions from Daniel’s office.
Someone had imitated Daniel’s authorization code.
Marcus gathered three trusted guards.
“The message doesn’t include a meeting location.”
A second message arrived thirty seconds later.
The abandoned Saint Catherine’s Hospital.
Midnight.
Emily checked the time.
They had less than two hours.
Saint Catherine’s had closed after a fire in 2006. Most of the original building remained standing, though the surrounding land was scheduled for redevelopment.
Marcus proposed placing a tracking device in Emily’s shoe and hiding officers near the property.
Daniel added another precaution.
He gave Emily a small earpiece.
“If anything feels wrong, say the word fountain.”
“Why fountain?”
“Because you won’t use it accidentally.”
Emily placed the silver key around her neck.
Celeste watched from across the library.
“They will search her,” she said.
Emily faced her. “Then tell us what the key opens.”
Celeste hesitated.
“It does not open a door.”
“We already know that.”
“It activates a mechanical archive. Eleanor designed several hidden systems.”
“Where?”
“I never knew.”
Vanessa laughed softly.
Everyone turned toward her.
“You expect us to believe Mother knows nothing?” Vanessa said. “She spent half her life serving Eleanor.”
Celeste’s eyes narrowed.
“Be quiet.”
Vanessa continued. “She knows where every secret is buried. She simply chooses which ones keep her valuable.”
Daniel studied them both.
“Is Graham working for Vanessa?”
Celeste answered too quickly. “No.”
Vanessa looked offended. “Why would he?”
“Because he planted evidence, disabled cameras, and attacked us after Emily discovered she might be Margaret’s daughter.”
Vanessa stepped toward Daniel.
“You are allowing a servant to turn you against your own family.”
Daniel’s voice remained calm.
“A servant has shown me more loyalty than most of my family.”
The words landed harder than a shout.
Vanessa looked at Emily with pure hatred.
Emily left before the confrontation could grow worse.
At eleven forty-five, she entered the abandoned hospital through the emergency wing.
Broken signs hung from the walls. Rainwater had collected beneath holes in the ceiling. Her footsteps echoed through dark corridors once filled with patients.
The earpiece remained silent.
Marcus and Daniel were outside, tracking her position.
A light appeared at the end of the hall.
Emily followed it into the former maternity ward.
Thomas sat in a wheelchair beneath a hanging lamp. His hands were tied loosely, and his head rested against his chest.
“Dad.”
He looked up slowly.
“Emily?”
She ran toward him.
Graham emerged from behind a curtain holding a pistol.
“Stop.”
Emily froze.
“Give me the key.”
“Let him go first.”
Graham smiled. “You’re in no position to negotiate.”
“Who are you working for?”
“You already know.”
“Vanessa?”
His expression revealed nothing.
Emily removed the key but held it tightly.
“Where is the cassette?”
“Safe.”
“You attacked us to steal it.”
“I attacked you because you opened something that should have remained closed.”
Thomas stirred in the wheelchair.
“Blue gloves,” he murmured.
Emily looked at him.
“What did you say?”
Thomas lifted his head and stared past her.
A second person stepped from the darkness.
The figure wore blue gloves.
Emily’s breath caught.
May you like
It was not Vanessa.
It was Celeste.
