Chapter 3 - Nathan did not move.The voice came again.
“Nathan, open the door.”
His godfather's voice.
Exactly the same.
Warm.
Measured.
Familiar.
Nathan had grown up hearing it.
He remembered holidays, birthdays, business dinners.
Arthur Cain had been in every photograph.
He had taught Nathan how to negotiate.
How to shake hands.
How to read people.
And now Maggie was telling him Arthur Cain was dead.
Nathan whispered,
“Who is that?”
Maggie took the brass key from her pocket.
“Not Arthur.”
A soft scratching sound came from the hallway.
Then the lights returned.
The apartment was empty.
The dining table remained exactly as it had been.
Except the white envelope was gone.
Nathan walked toward the room.
“Where did he go?”
Maggie didn't answer.
She stared at one of the dining chairs.
Nathan followed her gaze.
Something had been carved into the wooden armrest.
Three letters.
T.R.
Thomas Rowe.
Nathan's skin prickled.
He moved closer.
A tiny red light blinked beneath the table.
“Get down!”
Maggie shoved him.
A bullet shattered the window above them.
Glass exploded across the dining room.
Nathan hit the floor.
Maggie dragged him behind the stone counter.
Another shot.
Then silence.
Nathan's breathing became hard.
“Sniper?”
“Probably.”
“How did they get a line of sight?”
“They knew we'd stand here.”
She looked around.
“Everything is staged.”
Nathan stared at her.
“Why are you helping me?”
Maggie hesitated.
“Because your father asked me to.”
Nathan looked stunned.
“What?”
“Before he disappeared.”
Maggie reached into her uniform and removed a tiny photograph.
Marcus Vale stood beside Thomas.
And beside them stood a much younger Maggie.
Nathan felt something inside him break open.
“When was this taken?”
“Twelve years ago.”
“You worked for my father?”
“Briefly.”
“What were you doing?”
“Protecting Thomas.”
Nathan noticed an object hanging around Marcus's neck.
A silver pendant.
Nathan knew it.
He had seen it all his childhood.
His father's favorite pendant.
Maggie saw him recognize it.
“He gave me that the night Thomas died.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew he wouldn't come back.”
Nathan whispered,
“Come back from where?”
“Pier Nine.”
A vibration came from Nathan's pocket.
His phone displayed a security notification.
PRIVATE ELEVATOR ACTIVATED.
Nathan frowned.
Nobody should have access.
Then another notification appeared.
PRIVATE ELEVATOR DESTINATION: FLOOR -2.
Nathan looked at Maggie.
“There is no floor -2.”
“There is.”
“How do you know?”
“I've been there.”
Nathan stared.
“What is it?”
“A room your father built.”
The elevator doors opened by themselves.
Nathan stepped closer.
The interior was dark.
There was no button for floor -2.
Maggie entered a sequence on the brass key.
The panel lit up.
A hidden button appeared.
Nathan's mouth went dry.
“You've been there before.”
“Yes.”
“What did you find?”
Maggie pressed the button.
“A wall of photographs.”
The elevator descended.
Nathan felt the machinery beneath his feet.
The doors opened into a narrow concrete corridor.
Photographs covered both walls.
Nathan walked slowly.
There were images of ships.
Warehouses.
Bank transfers.
Police officers.
Politicians.
Executives.
And him.
Hundreds of photographs of Nathan.
At school.
At university.
At business meetings.
At his wedding.
Outside restaurants.
Leaving the gym.
Nathan stepped back.
“How long have they been watching me?”
Maggie looked at the photographs.
“Since you were seventeen.”
Nathan turned.
“Who?”
She pointed to the final image.
It showed Arthur Cain.
Standing beside Owen Briggs.
And between them was Marcus Vale.
Alive.
Nathan stared at the picture.
It had been taken six years after his father supposedly died.
His hands began to shake.
“Where is this?”
Maggie swallowed.
“Pier Nine.”
Nathan looked at the date.
Six years after Marcus's death.
Then he saw the note beneath the photograph.
HE NEVER LEFT THE HARBOR.
Nathan turned to Maggie.
“Take me there.”
She shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
Maggie looked frightened for the first time.
“Pier Nine isn't abandoned.”
Then something behind them clicked.
The corridor lights went out.
A voice came through a hidden speaker.
“You finally found the room.”
Nathan raised his gun.
The voice continued.
“Good.”
May you like
A pause.
“Now you'll finally understand why your mother had to die.”
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