Chapter 9 - One Hour to ChooseSmoke filled the west wing.
Stallone ran toward it.
He knew Richard wanted panic.
He also knew Richard expected him to choose.
Noah clung to his father's jacket.
“Daddy, Adam.”
“I know.”
“You have to get him.”
“I will.”
“You promised.”
Stallone stopped.
He looked at his son.
“I promise.”
The safe room door burst open.
Gideon entered.
“Fire is spreading.”
“Where is my mother?”
“Gone.”
“Richard?”
“Gone too.”
Stallone looked at the monitors.
The feed from the west wing had gone dark.
“Find Adam.”
“We're tracing the signal.”
“Do it.”
Gideon worked at the console.
“There.”
A location appeared.
Not outside.
Inside the mansion.
Stallone stared.
“He never left.”
“Correct.”
“So where is he?”
“Basement level three.”
Stallone's expression hardened.
The mansion had only two basement levels.
“There is no level three.”
Gideon looked unsettled.
“There should be.”
They found a hidden elevator behind the wine cellar.
It required a fingerprint.
Stallone placed his hand on the scanner.
The elevator opened.
The basement was cold.
Concrete walls.
No windows.
A single corridor.
At the end stood a metal door.
Stallone heard coughing.
He rushed inside.
Adam was there.
Alone.
The child looked exactly like his wife in old photographs.
Stallone fell to his knees.
“Adam.”
The boy stared at him.
“You came.”
Stallone pulled him into his arms.
“I've been looking for you.”
“No.”
The boy's voice was quiet.
“You weren't.”
Stallone froze.
“What?”
Adam looked at him.
“I was told you didn't want me.”
Stallone's heart broke.
“Who told you?”
“My grandmother.”
Stallone's eyes widened.
“Helena?”
Adam nodded.
“She said you chose Noah.”
“No.”
“She said you didn't know about me.”
“I didn't.”
Adam frowned.
“Why?”
Stallone couldn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
Then Adam whispered:
“She made me watch.”
“Watch what?”
He pointed to a monitor.
It showed Noah in the kitchen.
Adam had seen everything.
The abuse.
The cold water.
The broom.
He had watched his younger brother suffer from another room.
Stallone's blood turned to ice.
“Who made you watch?”
Adam looked at him.
“Grandma.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Stallone turned.
Helen stood in the doorway.
Her face was devastated.
“No.”
Adam moved behind Stallone.
Helen stepped forward.
“I never wanted him to be hurt.”
Stallone's voice shook.
“You locked Adam down here.”
“I protected him.”
“You made him watch.”
“I needed him to remember.”
“Remember what?”
Helen closed her eyes.
“That Richard wasn't the one controlling the cameras.”
Gideon stared.
“What?”
Helen looked at him.
“The system was accessed by someone else.”
Stallone went still.
“Who?”
Helen whispered:
“Your wife.”
Silence.
Stallone stared at her.
“She died.”
“Yes.”
“So how?”
Helen reached into her coat.
She handed him a small device.
“A backup drive.”
He opened it.
Video files.
One by one.
Dates from before the accident.
His wife appeared on screen.
Speaking directly to the camera.
“If you're watching this, then they failed to stop me.”
Stallone sat down.
Her face filled the screen.
“I know someone is stealing from the family trust. I know they have access to the house. I know they are using you as the shield.”
The video stopped.
Then another began.
His wife held a piece of paper.
“I also know something about Adam.”
Stallone leaned closer.
“He isn't the only child.”
The video cut.
A third began.
His wife whispered:
“There is another person in this family no one knows exists.”
Stallone's breathing stopped.
Adam looked confused.
Noah clung to him.
Helen said nothing.
Then the final video opened.
His wife looked terrified.
“He isn't outside the family.”
She looked behind her.
“He is inside your house.”
The recording ended.
Behind Stallone, someone whispered:
“She was talking about me.”
Stallone turned.
It was Julian.
May you like
But Julian was bleeding.
And he was holding a gun.
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