Chapter 5: Thirty-Two Billion Dollars
The mansion shook beneath another impact.
BOOM!
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Charlotte stumbled.
Edward grabbed her shoulder.
“Keep moving.”
“But the money…”
“Forget the money.”
“You said thirty-two billion dollars.”
“And I said forget it!”
His voice was so sharp that Charlotte froze.
Edward immediately softened.
“I've spent twenty years watching people die because of that money.”
Another explosion rattled the windows.
Edward pulled open the hidden basement door.
“Tonight, I refuse to let you become another casualty.”
Charlotte followed him down the narrow staircase.
Victor came behind them, gun raised.
Mrs. Harper locked the door above.
Then came the sound of boots entering the mansion.
Dozens of them.
Charlotte could hear men shouting.
“Search every room!”
“Check upstairs!”
“Don't let Vale escape!”
Her heart pounded.
Edward pushed open another steel door.
They entered a cavernous underground chamber.
Charlotte stared.
She had expected an escape tunnel.
Instead, she found an enormous command room.
Computer screens covered the walls.
Satellite images.
Bank accounts.
Property records.
Photographs.
Names.
Dates.
And one massive digital map of the Solmere Empire.
Charlotte slowly walked forward.
“What is this?”
Edward closed the door behind them.
“This is where your mother fought them.”
Charlotte stared at the screens.
There were thousands of files.
Some were dated seventeen years ago.
Others were dated only weeks before Elena's death.
She touched one screen.
A folder opened.
OPERATION: WHITE VEIL
Charlotte frowned.
“What is White Veil?”
Edward's face tightened.
“Your mother's final investigation.”
“Into what?”
“Everyone.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“Everyone?”
Edward nodded.
“She discovered the people stealing from Solmere weren't working independently.”
Victor added:
“They were part of a network.”
Charlotte looked at the map.
Red lines connected corporations across the country.
Banks.
Security firms.
Media companies.
Political organizations.
Hotels.
Airlines.
Even hospitals.
Charlotte's voice became quiet.
“They control everything.”
Edward nodded.
“Not everything.”
He pointed at one name in the center of the map.
“That's what they want you to believe.”
Charlotte stared.
The name was highlighted in red.
THE CROWN CIRCLE
“What is that?”
Edward's expression darkened.
“The organization behind your mother's murder.”
Charlotte looked at Victor.
“And Damian Sterling?”
“One of them.”
“Who leads it?”
Edward didn't answer.
Charlotte stepped closer.
“Dad.”
He looked at her.
“You need to tell me everything.”
Edward sighed.
Then he walked toward a locked cabinet.
He opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
Charlotte stared.
Five people stood around a table.
Damian Sterling.
Richard Hale.
A former government minister.
A famous banker.
And one man whose face was covered by shadow.
Charlotte looked closer.
“Who's the fifth man?”
Edward's face became grim.
“The leader.”
“What's his name?”
“We don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“No one has ever seen his face.”
Charlotte looked at the photograph.
“Then how do you know he exists?”
“Because every major decision they make comes from him.”
Victor added:
“He calls himself the Architect.”
Charlotte's skin prickled.
“The Architect.”
Edward nodded.
“He designed the plan to steal Solmere.”
“How?”
“By making your family look unstable.”
Charlotte listened.
“First, they created financial problems.”
Edward pointed toward a screen.
“Then they manipulated the board.”
Victor continued:
“Then they convinced investors your mother was mentally unstable.”
Edward's jaw tightened.
“She wasn't.”
Charlotte swallowed.
“What happened next?”
“They isolated her.”
“From whom?”
“Everyone.”
Edward looked at his daughter.
“Including me.”
Charlotte stared.
“Why?”
“Because they made her believe I had betrayed her.”
Charlotte's eyes widened.
“You didn't?”
“No.”
Edward's voice cracked.
“I spent fifteen years trying to get back to her.”
“Then why didn't you?”
Edward looked away.
“Because they had you.”
Charlotte froze.
“What?”
“They told me if I returned, they'd kill you.”
Charlotte's breathing stopped.
“So you stayed away.”
“Yes.”
“While Mom raised me alone.”
“Yes.”
Charlotte's eyes filled with tears.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I know.”
“You let me hate you.”
“I know.”
“You let me think you abandoned us.”
Edward's voice broke.
“I know.”
Charlotte turned away.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered:
“I don't know whether I can forgive you.”
Edward nodded.
“I don't expect you to.”
A loud metallic clang came from above.
Victor checked his weapon.
“They're inside the basement level.”
Edward's expression changed.
“They found the entrance.”
Charlotte looked around.
“Is there another way out?”
“Yes.”
“Then let's go.”
Edward didn't move.
Charlotte looked at him.
“What?”
He walked to the central computer.
“There is something you need to see first.”
He entered a password.
A video appeared.
Charlotte recognized her mother immediately.
Elena Vale sat behind a desk.
She looked tired.
Older than Charlotte remembered.
There were dark circles beneath her eyes.
But her voice was steady.
“If you're watching this, Charlotte, then you're finally home.”
Charlotte froze.
Her mother looked directly into the camera.
“I don't know how old you'll be when you see this.”
She smiled sadly.
“But I know one thing.”
“You'll be angry.”
Charlotte's eyes filled with tears.
“I hope you are.”
The video continued.
“Because anger means you still have the strength to fight.”
Charlotte covered her mouth.
Her mother leaned closer to the camera.
“There are things I couldn't tell you.”
“Not because I didn't trust you.”
“But because I loved you too much.”
Charlotte whispered:
“Mom…”
Elena continued.
“The people who destroyed our family are closer than you think.”
The screen changed.
A list of names appeared.
Charlotte recognized several.
Then one name appeared at the top.
VICTOR VALE.
Charlotte's face went blank.
She turned toward Victor.
He didn't move.
Her mother's voice continued.
“Do not trust my brother.”
Charlotte slowly backed away.
Victor whispered:
“Charlotte…”
“Don't.”
“Listen to the whole message.”
Her mother's face appeared again.
“Victor is not the enemy.”
Charlotte froze.
“What?”
Victor closed his eyes.
Elena continued.
“But he is not innocent either.”
Charlotte looked at Victor.
Her mother's voice became softer.
“He made one terrible mistake.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“He believed he could control the people who controlled us.”
Charlotte's eyes widened.
“What did he do?”
Elena's recording continued.
“He gave them access.”
Victor whispered:
“I was trying to save Edward.”
Elena's face appeared again.
“And because of that mistake…”
She paused.
“…they found me.”
The video ended.
Silence.
Charlotte slowly turned toward Victor.
“You betrayed her.”
Victor looked devastated.
“Yes.”
“You gave them access to my mother.”
“Yes.”
“And she died because of you.”
Victor's eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know they would kill her.”
Charlotte stepped toward him.
“You knew they were dangerous.”
“Yes.”
“You knew what they wanted.”
“Yes.”
“And you still helped them.”
Victor lowered his head.
“I thought I could stop them from inside.”
Charlotte's voice shook.
“You almost destroyed my family.”
Victor didn't defend himself.
“I know.”
Suddenly, every computer screen turned red.
A warning appeared.
SECURITY BREACH.
ARCHIVE COMPROMISED.
Then another message appeared.
TRANSFER COMPLETE.
Edward's face changed.
“No.”
“What?”
He rushed to the main terminal.
“They copied the files.”
Victor stepped closer.
“How?”
Edward stared at the screen.
“Someone inside this room gave them access.”
Charlotte looked around.
There were only four people there.
Her.
Edward.
Victor.
And Mrs. Harper.
Charlotte's eyes narrowed.
“Mrs. Harper?”
The old woman froze.
Edward turned.
“Harper?”
She started crying.
“I didn't…”
Victor raised his gun.
“Don't move.”
Charlotte stepped between them.
“Wait.”
Mrs. Harper shook her head.
“I swear I didn't betray you.”
Edward looked at the computer.
Then he noticed something.
A small device had been plugged into the central terminal.
He pulled it out.
“This isn't hers.”
Charlotte stared.
“Then whose is it?”
Edward examined the device.
His expression slowly changed.
“This was designed specifically for the Solmere security system.”
Victor frowned.
“Who had access to that technology?”
Edward looked at Charlotte.
“One person.”
“Who?”
Edward's voice was barely audible.
“The person who controls the hotel security.”
Charlotte's mind raced.
“Marcus?”
Edward nodded.
“The security chief.”
Charlotte remembered the lobby.
Marcus had been there.
He had watched Victoria drag her.
He had refused to recognize her.
He had been near the security terminal when the Founder Protocol activated.
And then he had disappeared.
Charlotte suddenly understood.
“He wasn't protecting Victoria.”
Edward shook his head.
“No.”
“He was watching me.”
“Yes.”
Charlotte turned toward the exit.
“Then he's still at the hotel.”
Edward grabbed her.
“Charlotte, don't.”
She pulled away.
“The evidence is there.”
“What evidence?”
“The security footage.”
Edward froze.
Charlotte continued:
“The entire lobby was recorded.”
Victor looked at her.
“And if Marcus is involved…”
Charlotte's eyes hardened.
“Then the cameras captured the man who shot Daniel.”
Edward shook his head.
“Those recordings will already be destroyed.”
Charlotte smiled faintly.
“Not if the hotel's owner has access.”
She pulled out the black Founder Card.
Edward stared.
“Your mother gave you that?”
“Yes.”
He looked at it carefully.
Then his expression changed.
“Charlotte…”
“What?”
“That isn't just an ownership card.”
He pointed at the symbol.
“That's an emergency command key.”
“What does it do?”
Edward stared at her.
“It gives you access to every Solmere security system in the world.”
Charlotte's heart raced.
She had spent the entire night being hunted.
Dragged.
Attacked.
Lied to.
But now she finally had something the enemy didn't know she possessed.
Control.
She turned toward the stairs.
“Then we're going back to Solmere.”
Edward immediately shook his head.
“That's exactly where they expect you to go.”
Charlotte looked at him.
“Good.”
Victor frowned.
“Why?”
Charlotte closed her fist around the Founder Card.
“Because they're waiting for the girl they think they can control.”
She looked toward the mansion entrance.
“They don't know the owner is coming back.”
Outside, Damian Sterling stood beneath the rain.
His phone rang.
He answered.
“Did you get the files?”
A voice replied:
“Most of them.”
“Most?”
“We're missing one.”
Damian's expression hardened.
“Which one?”
A pause.
“The Founder Protocol.”
Damian's eyes narrowed.
Then the voice on the phone whispered:
“And there's something else.”
“What?”
“The security system just recognized a new administrator.”
Damian stopped breathing.
“Who?”
The voice answered:
“Charlotte Vale.”
Damian looked toward the mansion.
For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes.
May you like
Because the woman they had dragged across the Solmere lobby was no longer running.
She was coming for them.
