Chapter 6 - The Red RoomThe doctors found nothing in Lily's blood.
No poison.
No medication.
No obvious chemical exposure.
She had simply collapsed from exhaustion.
But the phrase haunted Adrian.
The red room.
He had never heard those words.
Elena's old housekeeper had.
Her name was Miriam.
She had worked for the family for nineteen years.
When Adrian asked her, she immediately stopped folding towels.
"Where did you hear that?"
"From Lily."
Miriam lowered her eyes.
"Tell me."
"I promised Elena."
"She's dead."
Miriam's voice broke.
"That doesn't make promises disappear."
Adrian softened.
"Please."
Miriam looked toward the hallway.
"There used to be a room under the east wing."
"Used to be?"
"It was sealed after Elena died."
"Why?"
"She found something there."
"What?"
Miriam swallowed.
"Files."
"What kind?"
"Company files."
Adrian stared at her.
"Why red?"
"The walls."
"Who had access?"
Miriam's hands began shaking.
"Daniel."
Adrian turned.
"Anyone else?"
Miriam hesitated.
"Vanessa."
The answer landed like a stone.
They searched the east wing that night.
Behind a false wall, Adrian found an old staircase.
At the bottom was a steel door.
The paint around it was dark red.
The red room.
Adrian entered.
Shelves lined every wall.
Most were empty.
But one cabinet remained locked.
Marcus opened it.
Inside were paper files.
Elena's handwriting covered the labels.
CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS.
OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS.
BOARD PRESSURE.
ADRIAN.
Adrian stared at the last folder.
He opened it.
Dozens of pages described him.
His habits.
His security protocols.
His private meetings.
His reactions.
And one handwritten note:
He believes control keeps us safe. He doesn't see that control is becoming the danger.
Adrian sat down.
Marcus watched him.
"Keep reading."
The next page contained Elena's timeline.
Four years earlier, she had discovered that Daniel had been moving money through subsidiaries.
Grant had helped.
Vanessa had acted as a family intermediary.
But there was another name.
Adrian's own.
Not as a criminal accomplice.
As the man whose emergency orders made their operation possible.
Elena had written:
Adrian built the cage. They learned how to use it.
Another page.
If I confront him directly, he will destroy everything to protect Lily.
Another.
If I disappear, he will hunt them.
Then:
That may be exactly what they want.
Adrian felt sick.
"They wanted me angry."
Marcus nodded.
"They knew how you responded to threats."
"They attacked Lily."
"Yes."
"Because they needed me to use my power."
Marcus said nothing.
Adrian continued reading.
Then he found the final page.
It was dated three days before Elena died.
Vanessa is not the mastermind. Grant is not the mastermind. Daniel is not the mastermind.
Below it, one sentence had been underlined.
The mastermind is the man who benefits if Adrian believes all three are guilty.
Adrian stared.
"Who?"
Marcus pointed at the last line.
Find the original footage from 11:58 p.m.
Adrian checked the old security logs.
11:58 p.m.
That was the exact minute Elena disappeared from the headquarters cameras on the night she died.
He found the file.
Or rather, he found a note.
VIDEO NOT FOUND.
Then another line.
COPY STORED: VOSS PRIVATE SERVER.
Adrian looked at Marcus.
"Do you have access?"
Marcus's expression darkened.
"Not anymore."
"Why?"
"Because the server belongs to you."
Adrian stared at the screen.
"Then let's ask the obvious question."
"What?"
"Who had access to me?"
Before Marcus could answer, the lights went out.
Something smashed through the window.
Marcus pulled Adrian down.
A bullet struck the wall.
Adrian crawled toward the server room.
Another shot.
Then silence.
When the emergency lights came on, the laptop screen displayed one new message.
STOP DIGGING.
May you like
Below it was another.
OR NEXT TIME SHE WON'T SURVIVE.
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