Chapter 9 - What Happened to Marcus's MotherThe recording ended.
No one moved.
Marcus stared at his father.
“Released?”
David nodded slowly.
“From where?”
“The program.”
“What program?”
David looked exhausted.
“The Black Compass.”
The name meant nothing to Marcus.
It clearly meant something to Daniel.
Daniel closed the door.
“We need to leave.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because if Black Compass knows the device is here, the mansion is already compromised.”
Elliot laughed from the floor.
“You're too late.”
Blood soaked his sleeve.
Marcus crouched beside him.
“Who is Black Compass?”
Elliot smiled.
“You've been working for them your whole life.”
Marcus's stomach turned.
“No.”
Elliot looked at him.
“Every major government contract Whitmore received was approved through them.”
“You're lying.”
“Ask your father.”
Marcus turned.
David didn't answer.
“Dad.”
David lowered his head.
Elliot laughed.
“Now you understand.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“Where is the rest of the evidence?”
Elliot glanced at her.
“In the place your father died.”
Victoria stopped.
“My father died at the lake.”
“No.”
Elliot smiled.
“He died here.”
Marcus looked toward the floor.
“The estate?”
Elliot nodded.
“Under the lake.”
Marcus stared.
“There is no underground facility beneath the lake.”
“There is.”
Daniel stepped in.
“I found it once.”
Marcus looked at him.
“You knew?”
“I saw the entrance twenty-five years ago.”
David said quietly:
“Your mother found it before I did.”
Marcus remembered the recording.
“If you're hearing this…”
His mother's voice.
A warning.
A secret.
A final clue.
Suddenly Lily tugged on Rosa's sleeve.
“Mommy.”
“What?”
“Grandma wants us to go upstairs.”
Rosa stared.
“What did you say?”
Lily pointed.
“At the picture.”
Marcus followed her gaze.
A portrait of his mother hung above the fireplace.
He had seen it every day for years.
Nothing unusual.
Except now he noticed a small brass frame beneath it.
There was an indentation.
Marcus removed the portrait.
Behind it was a hidden compartment.
Inside lay a cassette tape.
And a handwritten note.
His mother's handwriting.
Marcus unfolded it.
THE TRUTH IS NOT IN THE LEDGER.
THE LEDGER IS ONLY THE LOCK.
THE KEY IS A CHILD WHO REMEMBERS.
Marcus's heart stopped.
Lily.
He looked at his daughter.
Rosa's face had gone pale.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel whispered:
“Your mother knew about her.”
Marcus frowned.
“My mother died before Lily was born.”
“Then she didn't mean Lily.”
Marcus stared.
“Who?”
Daniel pointed at the note.
“The child.”
Marcus read the next line.
WHEN THE CHILD REMEMBERS THE RED ROOM, OPEN THE LAKE.
Victoria took the note.
“That's impossible.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because the child in the red room was not Lily.”
Everyone froze.
Rosa whispered:
“Who was it?”
Victoria looked toward David.
“Your sister.”
Marcus's face changed.
“I don't have a sister.”
David closed his eyes.
“You did.”
Marcus stepped backward.
“No.”
David whispered:
“She disappeared when you were six.”
Rosa tightened her grip around Lily.
“What happened to her?”
David looked at the red room.
“She was the first child to remember.”
A distant alarm began to sound.
The mansion doors locked automatically.
The windows sealed.
The emergency system activated.
Elliot smiled.
“Ladies and gentlemen…”
May you like
He looked toward Marcus.
“Welcome home.”
