Chapter 6 - Beneath WhitmoreThe floor collapsed beneath the chair.
Marcus grabbed Rosa as the stone gave way.
Daniel caught Victoria.
The broad man disappeared into the corridor.
Dust swallowed the room.
Then silence.
Marcus coughed.
“Everyone alive?”
Rosa nodded.
Victoria did too.
Daniel was bleeding from his forehead.
But Lily was gone.
Rosa screamed.
“Lily!”
Marcus turned toward the hole.
The toddler was not beneath the rubble.
She had fallen into a narrow shaft.
Rosa climbed down without hesitation.
Marcus followed.
The shaft opened into a massive underground chamber.
A hidden vault.
Rows of steel cabinets stretched into darkness.
Generators hummed.
Old computers flickered.
And on the far wall was the Whitmore family crest.
Marcus stared.
“This was built under the estate.”
Daniel nodded.
“Before the house.”
Marcus walked toward the cabinets.
One drawer stood open.
Inside were dozens of folders.
Each had a name.
Federal judges.
Politicians.
Executives.
Lawyers.
Police chiefs.
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“What is this?”
“The leverage your grandfather collected.”
Marcus opened another drawer.
Inside were photographs.
Payments.
Contracts.
Recordings.
Evidence.
Enough to destroy powerful people.
Victoria whispered, “The ledger isn't financial.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What is it?”
“A list.”
“What kind of list?”
“Everyone who helped build the Whitmore empire.”
Rosa suddenly pointed.
“Lily.”
The toddler was standing beside a control panel.
Marcus ran toward her.
“Don't touch anything.”
Lily withdrew her hand.
“I wasn't.”
Marcus examined the panel.
Three lights were blinking.
Green.
Yellow.
Red.
A monitor switched on.
A woman's face appeared.
Marcus recognized her voice.
His mother.
He staggered backward.
“Mom?”
The recording began.
“If you're seeing this, Marcus, then your grandfather failed to destroy the evidence.”
Marcus's eyes filled.
His mother continued.
“I need you to listen carefully.”
The video showed her sitting in an unfamiliar room.
“I knew about the ledger.”
She looked directly into the camera.
“I also knew your father was planning to expose your grandfather.”
Marcus whispered, “My father?”
Victoria stared at the screen.
The recording continued.
“Your father discovered that the company was being used to move more than medical supplies.”
Marcus frowned.
“What?”
His mother's expression tightened.
“He found shipments that were never listed.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Marcus turned.
“What shipments?”
Daniel didn't answer.
The video continued.
“Your father wanted out.”
A pause.
“That is why he died.”
Marcus felt the room spin.
His father had supposedly died of a heart attack.
Marcus had been twelve.
A sudden death.
Nothing suspicious.
Or so everyone said.
His mother's voice continued.
“If they ever come for you, don't trust the board.”
The screen flickered.
“Don't trust your lawyer.”
Static.
“And above all…”
The image froze.
“Never trust…”
The screen went black.
Marcus waited.
Nothing.
Then a second monitor turned on.
It showed live footage of the mansion.
Victoria appeared on it.
But she wasn't with them.
She was upstairs.
Standing beside someone.
Marcus leaned closer.
The man turned.
Marcus recognized him.
His own chief financial officer.
Elliot Crane.
Marcus whispered:
“He's in the house.”
Daniel nodded.
“He has been for years.”
Then the underground vault doors slammed shut.
A voice came through the speakers.
Elliot's voice.
“Thank you, Marcus.”
Lily looked up.
“He's the man Mommy said not to trust.”
Rosa froze.
Marcus stared at her.
“Your daughter has met Elliot before?”
Rosa shook her head.
“I swear she hasn't.”
Lily interrupted.
“Yes, I have.”
Marcus crouched.
“When?”
Lily looked toward the ceiling.
“When he came to see the secret room.”
A pause.
Then she whispered:
“He brought Victoria.”
Victoria closed her eyes.
Marcus looked at her.
“You knew.”
Victoria nodded.
Tears rolled down her face.
“I knew there was a traitor inside your company.”
“And you didn't know who?”
She swallowed.
“I knew.”
Marcus's voice dropped.
“Who?”
May you like
Victoria looked at him.
“You're not going to like the answer.”
