Chapter 8 - Three Years UndergroundVincent stood in total darkness.
He heard Emily breathing beside him.
Then a faint clicking sound.
A light turned on.
The underground corridor appeared.
Concrete walls.
Old brick.
Water pipes.
Security cameras.
At the far end was a steel door.
Vincent moved toward it.
“Sofia?”
No answer.
He tried the handle.
Locked.
A speaker crackled.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Vince…”
He nearly collapsed.
It was her.
Not a recording.
Not static.
Not a memory.
Her voice.
“I'm here.”
Vincent pressed his forehead against the door.
“Sofia.”
A pause.
Then:
“You have to leave.”
“No.”
“Vince.”
“I've spent three years looking for you.”
“I know.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“I almost was.”
“Open the door.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the door isn't keeping me inside.”
Vincent frowned.
“What?”
“It's keeping someone else outside.”
Emily whispered:
“Mommy says the same thing.”
Vincent turned.
“How would Emily know?”
Emily looked at the steel door.
“She told me.”
Vincent stared at her.
“When?”
“A long time ago.”
The speaker crackled again.
Sofia said:
“Emily doesn't know everything.”
Vincent's heart raced.
“You know her?”
“Yes.”
“Since when?”
“Since before she could walk.”
Vincent looked at Emily.
Then back to the speaker.
“You were watching her.”
“I was protecting her.”
“From Charles?”
“From everyone.”
A noise came from the corridor behind them.
Footsteps.
Vincent turned.
Dominic appeared.
His face was bruised.
“Charles escaped.”
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
“How?”
Dominic shook his head.
“He had another tunnel.”
Emily whispered:
“You followed us.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Yes.”
Vincent looked toward the speaker.
“Sofia, is Dominic safe?”
Silence.
Then:
“No.”
Dominic stopped.
Vincent's weapon rose.
“Sofia?”
She continued.
“Dominic knows the truth.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“I told you.”
“Then tell me now.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Your father built this place.”
Vincent's expression hardened.
“For what?”
“To hide people.”
“From whom?”
“His own partners.”
Dominic pointed toward the walls.
“Some of them are still alive.”
Vincent stared.
Sofia's voice came through.
“Vince, you need to understand what happened the night I disappeared.”
“I want the truth.”
“I found the ledger.”
“You told Charles?”
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
“I came here.”
“Why?”
“To hide it.”
Vincent frowned.
“The ledger is here?”
“No.”
“Then where?”
A long pause.
“In you.”
Vincent stared.
“What?”
“The ledger was digitized.”
His face tightened.
“Where?”
“You've carried it for three years.”
Vincent shook his head.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does.”
Another sound.
Closer footsteps.
Sofia's voice became urgent.
“Vince, listen carefully.”
He leaned toward the speaker.
“The documents weren't stored on a device.”
“Then where?”
“On a recording.”
“Where?”
“Your father's old watch.”
Vincent froze.
The watch.
He wore it every day.
His father's gold watch.
He had never opened it.
Sofia whispered:
“Charles doesn't know you've been wearing it.”
Vincent looked at his wrist.
His hand trembled.
“What did my father record?”
“Everything.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Charles was listening.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
Vincent turned toward the security camera.
He aimed his gun.
The camera exploded.
Silence.
Then Sofia said:
“Too late.”
The steel door suddenly unlocked.
Vincent pulled it open.
Inside was a room.
A bed.
Medical equipment.
A chair.
Empty.
No Sofia.
Vincent's face collapsed.
“Sofia!”
Dominic stepped inside.
“She was here.”
Vincent looked around.
On the wall was a handwritten message.
I KNEW YOU WOULD COME.
Underneath:
NOW FIND THE CHILD.
Vincent stared.
“Child?”
Emily walked closer.
She pointed beneath the bed.
“There.”
A small wooden box.
Vincent opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Sofia holding a little boy.
Luca.
Behind them stood Isabella.
And another woman.
Vincent stared at the fourth person.
He knew her.
Grace.
Three years younger.
Standing beside Sofia.
The photo was dated exactly three years ago.
The night Sofia disappeared.
Vincent looked at Grace.
May you like
She wasn't in the room.
She had disappeared.
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