Chapter 5 - The Man in the Passage)
Marcus blocked the narrow corridor.
There was nowhere for Vivienne to go.
Ethan stood behind her.
Marcus extended one hand.
"The card."
Vivienne said nothing.
"The card, Mrs. Hale."
"You work for me."
Marcus smiled.
"I haven't worked for you in a long time."
He stepped closer.
Vivienne backed away.
"Sebastian paid you?"
"Sebastian pays well."
"So did I."
"This isn't about salary."
"Then what is it about?"
"Survival."
Marcus lunged.
Vivienne shoved Ethan toward a side opening.
"Go."
Marcus caught her shoulder.
She drove the compass into his hand.
Not the sharp end.
There was no sharp end.
But the heavy brass edge struck hard enough to make him release her.
Vivienne turned and ran.
Marcus grabbed her jacket.
The fabric tore.
Ethan reached the side door and pulled.
Locked.
"Mommy."
Vivienne kicked backward.
Her heel struck Marcus's shin.
He cursed.
She twisted free.
Then a voice came from behind Marcus.
"Move away from them."
Everyone stopped.
An older woman stood at the opposite end of the corridor.
Gray hair.
Long dark coat.
Small revolver held steadily in both hands.
Vivienne recognized her immediately.
"Margaret?"
Margaret Cole did not look at her.
Her eyes stayed on Marcus.
"Against the wall."
Marcus laughed.
"You're eighty."
"Seventy one."
"That supposed to scare me?"
"No. The gun is."
Marcus considered his options.
Then stepped aside.
Margaret motioned.
"Vivienne. Ethan. Come here."
They moved quickly.
Marcus watched them pass.
"You think she's going to save you?"
Margaret said, "I think you're going to stand there quietly unless you want to discover whether old women still have good aim."
Marcus smiled.
But he did not move.
Margaret led Vivienne and Ethan through another door.
They climbed a narrow staircase and emerged inside the greenhouse.
Vivienne stared at her.
"How did you get here?"
"Daniel gave me access."
"You knew about the passages?"
"Some."
"You knew about the protocol?"
"Enough."
Vivienne's anger surged.
"For four years?"
Margaret met her eyes.
"For four years I have been waiting for it to activate."
"You knew Daniel was murdered."
"I suspected."
"You let me believe it was an accident."
"I had no proof strong enough to survive Sebastian's lawyers."
"My son lived in a house with that man."
Margaret's expression tightened.
"I know."
"No. You don't get to say that."
"You're right."
Vivienne stepped closer.
"You could have warned me."
"I tried."
"When?"
"Three years ago."
Vivienne remembered a letter.
Margaret had requested a meeting.
Sebastian told Vivienne the older attorney was confused after surgery and obsessed with conspiracy theories.
Vivienne had canceled.
Margaret seemed to read her face.
"He intercepted more than one attempt."
Vivienne looked away.
Ethan asked, "Did you know my dad?"
Margaret softened.
"Yes."
"Was he scared of Sebastian?"
Margaret knelt carefully.
"Your father was scared for you. That's different."
Ethan nodded.
Vivienne asked, "How did you know the protocol activated?"
"A signal was sent to a receiver Daniel left with me."
"Why come here?"
"Because the receiver gave me one instruction."
Margaret looked at Ethan's compass.
"Get the boy."
Vivienne stared.
"The protocol was built around Ethan?"
"Daniel believed Sebastian would eventually control the company and perhaps even influence you."
The words hurt because they were true.
Margaret continued.
"He believed Ethan was the one person Sebastian could never fully control."
"He's seven."
"Daniel wasn't planning for a seven year old to defeat a criminal organization. He was planning for a mother to protect her child."
Vivienne looked toward the mansion.
"Can we leave?"
"Yes."
Margaret moved to a stone planter.
She lifted a decorative panel.
A steel hatch lay beneath it.
Ethan smiled faintly.
"The tunnel."
Margaret looked at him.
"You remember?"
"Dad showed me."
Margaret opened the hatch.
"Then your father trusted you more than the rest of us."
They descended.
The tunnel smelled of earth and concrete.
Margaret led them toward a distant exit.
Vivienne asked, "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere Sebastian cannot control."
"Police?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because one of the names in Daniel's files is Deputy Commissioner Aaron Pike."
Vivienne stopped.
She knew Pike.
He had overseen part of Daniel's accident investigation.
Margaret continued.
"Sebastian has spent years buying insulation. Police. Regulators. Private investigators."
"Then who do we trust?"
"Federal authorities eventually. But not until we separate the evidence."
"Daniel mentioned innocent employees."
Margaret nodded.
"The files are deliberately broad. If everything becomes public, thousands of people could lose jobs and pensions before anyone understands who actually committed crimes."
"So Sebastian is betting I won't release it."
"Exactly."
They reached the end of the tunnel.
Margaret unlocked a hatch.
They emerged in a wooded area nearly half a mile from the mansion.
A dark sedan waited.
The driver opened the door.
Vivienne froze.
"Who is he?"
"My grandson."
The young man raised both hands.
"Definitely not Sebastian's driver."
Margaret almost smiled.
They climbed inside.
As the car pulled away, Vivienne looked back toward the mansion.
Her phone suddenly regained signal.
Dozens of missed calls appeared.
Board members.
Employees.
Unknown numbers.
Then one message from Sebastian.
Come back before this becomes irreversible.
Another followed.
You do not understand what Daniel did.
A third message appeared.
Ask Margaret why Daniel was on that boat.
Vivienne looked at the older woman.
Margaret's face changed.
"What did he say?"
Vivienne showed her the screen.
Margaret went silent.
"Margaret."
The older woman's hands tightened.
"What isn't Sebastian telling me?"
Margaret looked through the windshield.
"There's something about the day Daniel died that I never told you."
Vivienne felt dread return.
"What?"
May you like
Margaret answered quietly.
"Daniel wasn't alone when he left the marina."
