Chapter 8 - Gabriel sat across from me in the library.A gun lay between us.
Not pointed.
Just present.
A reminder.
“You have ten seconds,” I said.
“To do what?”
“Tell me why my wife believed you were dangerous.”
Gabriel looked exhausted.
“I was.”
Silence.
That answer hurt more than denial.
“How?”
“I was recruited by Victor.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
My hand tightened around the chair.
“You worked for him.”
“Yes.”
“Spied on me?”
“Yes.”
“Touched my security?”
“Yes.”
“Sabotaged my cameras?”
“No.”
“Then what did you do?”
Gabriel lowered his head.
“I protected you.”
I laughed once.
Without humor.
“Explain.”
“Victor told me you were unstable.”
“I was heartbroken.”
“He said you were reckless.”
“I was.”
“He said you would destroy everything.”
“I nearly did.”
“He offered me money to monitor you.”
“And you accepted.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Gabriel looked directly at me.
“Because I didn't trust him.”
I said nothing.
“I took the job to learn what he was doing.”
“Eight years?”
“I needed time.”
“You could have told me.”
“He would have killed my family.”
“What family?”
“My brother.”
I froze.
“He disappeared eleven years ago.”
The red room.
Elena's sister.
People disappearing.
Patterns.
“Victor?”
Gabriel nodded.
“My brother found Crown Meridian.”
“So did my wife.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know my wife knew?”
“Not until after she died.”
“Then why did she mention you?”
Gabriel swallowed.
“Because she knew someone was watching her.”
“And she thought it was you.”
“She was right.”
I stared at him.
“Who did you report to?”
“No one.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I recorded everything.”
“Where?”
Gabriel pointed toward the floor.
“Beneath your office.”
We opened another hidden compartment.
There were drives.
Dozens.
Years of evidence.
Transfers.
Recordings.
Photos.
Names.
Politicians.
Judges.
Doctors.
Executives.
People Victor had compromised.
I felt dizzy.
Victor's network was larger than I had imagined.
But one folder was newer than the others.
Created six months ago.
PROJECT DAWNRIDGE
I opened it.
Gabriel went silent.
Inside was a schedule.
Not mine.
Sophia's.
Her school.
Her doctor.
Her daily route.
Even Elena's work hours.
At the bottom:
FINAL CONTINGENCY: REMOVE CHILD BEFORE PATERNITY DISCLOSURE.
I stood.
“They were going to take Sophia.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
I looked at the date.
Tomorrow.
I picked up the phone.
“Get Sophia out.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“Too late.”
“What?”
He showed me another camera.
The kitchen.
Elena was gone.
Sophia was gone.
Only a spilled glass remained.
I ran.
We searched every room.
Nothing.
The house was sealed.
No doors opened.
No vehicles left.
Then Gabriel found the hidden service corridor.
Footprints.
One adult.
One child.
They led toward the basement.
We followed.
The tunnel opened beneath the old garage.
A black vehicle waited there.
Engine running.
The driver was Victor.
He looked through the windshield.
Sophia sat beside him.
Alive.
Terrified.
Elena was tied in the back.
I raised my weapon.
Victor lowered the window.
“You have something I want.”
I shouted, “Let them go.”
He smiled.
“The evidence.”
“You're not getting it.”
“Then Elena dies.”
Sophia screamed.
“Daddy!”
The word echoed through the tunnel.
Victor looked at me.
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Satisfaction.
Now he knew I had heard her.
“You finally understand,” he said.
“You used her.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“I used you.”
He pressed a button.
The garage doors began to close.
Gabriel fired.
The vehicle accelerated.
It disappeared into the night.
I stared at the empty tunnel.
Then my phone rang.
Victor.
I answered.
His voice was calm.
“Come alone tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“The old Saint Orson Hotel.”
“When?”
“8:12.”
The line went dead.
Gabriel stared at me.
“What happens at 8:12?”
I looked at the clock.
It was 8:04.
Eight minutes.
I felt something cold settle in my chest.
“Whatever he's planning,” I said, “it started eight years ago.”
May you like
Gabriel looked at me.
“And tomorrow we find out why.”
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