YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED SILENT

The emergency medical team examined Claire inside her father’s private study.

Daniel refused to allow anyone to move her from Mercer House until every vehicle, driver, and destination had been cleared.

A doctor confirmed that Claire and the baby were stable. The faint mark near her temple required no serious treatment, but the doctor advised rest and observation.

Rest was impossible.

Claire sat on a leather sofa beneath the portrait of her grandfather while officers moved through the corridors outside.

Daniel stood near the fireplace, speaking quietly into a secure phone.

“No public channels,” he said. “I want people I personally know. Check every entrance, every vehicle, and every member of the household staff.”

Claire watched him end the call.

“You recognized the symbol.”

Daniel looked at the silver button resting inside an evidence bag.

“It resembles the insignia of a military logistics project.”

“What project?”

“One that officially ended twenty-two years ago.”

“That isn’t an answer.”

Daniel crossed the room and sat opposite her.

The red emergency lights had been replaced by portable lamps, but the house still felt unfamiliar. Shadows stretched across the bookcases. Rain traced silver lines down the windows.

“The project was called Icarus,” he said. “It began as a system for securing military supply networks during overseas operations. Later, private contractors were added. Their job was to build routes that could continue functioning during an attack, even if normal command systems failed.”

“And the winged torch?”

“It was used by the civilian division.”

Claire looked at the evidence bag.

“What does a military supply project have to do with Grant?”

“I don’t know.”

“You think he’s lying.”

“Grant has lied about nearly everything.”

“But not about being afraid.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened.

He could not deny it.

Grant had spent the previous two years carefully controlling every emotion he displayed around the Mercer family. He smiled when expected. He remained polite when challenged. Even during arguments with Claire, he rarely raised his voice.

The man kneeling in the hallway had been different.

He had looked hunted.

“Let me speak to him,” Claire said.

“No.”

“He may know where Mom is.”

“That is exactly why you will stay here.”

“He talked to me before you arrived. He said someone had been watching me since the pregnancy began.”

Daniel rose.

“Which may be another attempt to manipulate you.”

“Then stay in the room while I question him.”

Before Daniel could respond, Colonel Rebecca Shaw entered the study.

Rebecca had served with Daniel for fourteen years. She wore a dark field uniform and carried a tablet beneath one arm.

“We cleared the visible rooms,” she said. “No sign of Evelyn.”

Claire sat forward.

“What about the passage?”

“It runs from the east corridor to the old wine cellar. From there, it branches beneath the estate.”

Daniel frowned.

“There are no tunnels beneath this house.”

“There are now.”

Rebecca placed the tablet on the desk and displayed a thermal map.

“Construction appears recent. Less than five years. Whoever built them used materials designed to prevent standard scanning.”

Claire felt cold.

She and Grant had moved into Mercer House eight months ago while renovating their apartment in the city.

Grant had supervised the estate’s security upgrades.

“Who approved construction?” Daniel asked.

“According to county records, no one.”

A tactical officer appeared at the doorway.

“Colonel, we found something in the passage.”

He handed Rebecca a sealed bag containing a small black camera.

Claire recognized it immediately.

“That was in my hospital room.”

Daniel turned toward her.

“How do you know?”

“It was hidden inside the air vent. I noticed a tiny light during my appointment. Grant said I was imagining it.”

Rebecca studied the device.

“The memory card is missing.”

“Grant took it,” Claire said.

Daniel’s expression hardened.

They moved Grant from the hallway into the library.

His hands remained secured in front of him. Two officers stood behind his chair.

When Claire entered beside Daniel, Grant looked at her stomach before meeting her eyes.

“Is the baby all right?”

Claire ignored the question.

“Where is my mother?”

“I don’t know.”

“You said she was inside.”

“I said someone told me she was.”

“Who?”

Grant looked at Daniel.

“I need protection.”

“You are surrounded by officers,” Daniel replied.

“Your officers are the reason I need protection.”

Rebecca stepped closer.

“Choose your next words carefully.”

Grant gave a tired smile.

“You still think this is about me stealing money from Claire.”

“You transferred four million dollars through shell companies,” Daniel said.

“I moved it.”

“To where?”

“A private account Icarus couldn’t reach.”

Claire stared at him.

“You told me the money was lost in a failed investment.”

“I needed you to believe it was gone.”

“You destroyed our marriage to protect money?”

“No. I destroyed our marriage to make them believe you had no reason to trust me.”

The answer was so absurd that Claire almost laughed.

Instead, she saw the exhaustion in his face.

Grant leaned toward her.

“The day your doctor confirmed the pregnancy, I received a file. It contained your medical schedule, your father’s secure travel details, and photographs of every room in this house.”

Daniel’s voice lowered.

“What did they want?”

“They wanted access to Colonel Mercer’s private archive.”

“I do not keep military archives here.”

Grant looked toward the portrait behind Daniel’s desk.

“That’s what I told them.”

Claire remembered the photograph of her mother outside the hospital.

“Why was my mother meeting one of them?”

Grant’s eyes moved to the phone in Claire’s hand.

“You received the picture.”

“Answer me.”

“I don’t know why Evelyn met him. But the man in the reflection is Adrian Vale.”