Chapter 10 - THE CONFESSIONThe underground ward began to darken.
Emergency lights flickered.
Arthur checked the oxygen system.
“Backup tanks.”
The doctor nodded.
“Six hours.”
“Water?”
“Four.”
“Food?”
“Two days.”
Clara looked toward the security monitors.
“Exit routes?”
“Three.”
“Compromised?”
“All but one.”
Arthur looked at Sarah.
“We leave now.”
Sarah nodded.
Daniel reached for her hand.
This time she let him.
They moved toward the hidden exit.
But Clara stopped.
“Wait.”
She pointed at a monitor.
A live camera showed Eleanor standing alone in the ward entrance.
She wasn't armed.
She wasn't surrounded.
She simply stood there.
Smiling.
“Why isn't she coming in?” Daniel asked.
Clara's face changed.
“Because she doesn't need to.”
A screen behind them turned on.
It displayed a live video.
Sarah stopped.
The footage showed her own childhood home.
Then Daniel's childhood room.
Then Clara.
Then Sarah.
Then an image of a baby.
Their future child.
The message beneath it read:
EVERY HEIR HAS A PRICE.
Eleanor's voice came through the speaker.
“You keep searching for evidence.”
She laughed softly.
“You should be searching for the person beside you.”
Sarah looked at Daniel.
Daniel looked at Clara.
Clara looked at Arthur.
Suspicion spread through the room.
Eleanor continued.
“Arthur.”
Everyone turned.
“Tell them.”
Arthur went still.
“Tell them how long you've worked for me.”
Daniel stared.
Arthur's face was unreadable.
Eleanor's voice became softer.
“Tell them who opened the east wing.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
Sarah stepped back.
“Arthur?”
He looked at her.
“I did work for Eleanor.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“How long?”
Arthur answered:
“Forty years.”
“You've been helping her?”
“No.”
Eleanor laughed.
“Not everything is what it seems.”
Arthur took a small device from his pocket.
“I recorded her confession.”
Daniel stared.
The device played audio.
Eleanor's voice.
Clear.
Undeniable.
“I pushed Sarah.”
A second sentence.
“The child must be removed before birth.”
A third.
“The original trust cannot be allowed to surface.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Sarah began crying.
“Arthur…”
He looked at her.
“I knew one day she would come for you.”
Eleanor's voice suddenly became furious.
“You traitor.”
Arthur pressed another button.
The recording continued.
Eleanor spoke again.
“Clara should have died with her mother.”
Daniel froze.
Clara covered her mouth.
Sarah stared at her.
“The recording…”
Clara whispered:
“She said it.”
Arthur nodded.
“And that isn't all.”
He played another segment.
Eleanor admitted ordering the destruction of Clara's birth records.
Ordering the fake death certificate.
Ordering Daniel's adoption.
Ordering the disappearance of the original trust.
Then Daniel whispered:
“My whole life was a lie.”
Clara stepped toward him.
“So was mine.”
Sarah looked at the final file.
“What is that?”
Arthur answered.
“The truth about your baby's father.”
Daniel turned.
“You said the paternity test was forged.”
“It was.”
“Then what is this?”
Arthur opened a second recording.
A doctor spoke.
“The child is genetically related to Daniel Vance.”
Another voice responded.
“Then proceed with the false report.”
Eleanor.
Sarah closed her eyes.
Daniel looked at her.
“I knew.”
“You didn't.”
“I should have.”
“No.”
Sarah shook her head.
“You were manipulated.”
Daniel took her hand.
“I should have protected you.”
Sarah finally squeezed his hand.
Then the emergency lights went out.
Complete darkness.
A scream came from the corridor.
Clara shouted:
“Someone's inside!”
A gunshot echoed.
Arthur yelled:
“DOWN!”
Sarah dropped.
Daniel covered her.
When the emergency lights returned, the doctor was on the floor.
Bleeding.
The secure room door stood open.
A figure had taken the flash drive.
Clara looked around.
“Where is Eleanor?”
Nobody answered.
Then Daniel spotted something on the wall.
A handwritten message.
THANK YOU FOR FINDING THE TRUTH.
Below it:
NOW WATCH IT BURN.
The entire electrical system began sparking.
Arthur grabbed Sarah.
“Move!”
They ran.
Behind them, smoke filled the ward.
The evidence room caught fire.
And somewhere above them, Eleanor smiled.
Because she had one final weapon.
May you like
The only thing that could legally destroy the trust.
Sarah.
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