Chapter 13 - Bellmont StreetThe old apartment building was scheduled for demolition.
Its windows were boarded.
The walls were black from the fire.
But beneath the rubble, the basement remained.
Mason entered with Emma and Detective Collins.
Grace stayed behind with police.
The basement was empty.
Until Lily's voice came through a speaker.
“Daddy!”
Mason nearly ran.
Adrian appeared on a screen.
“Stop.”
Mason froze.
“Bring the ledger.”
“You have my daughter.”
“She's safe.”
A camera showed Lily sitting in a chair.
She looked frightened.
But unharmed.
Mason held up the ledger.
“Let her go.”
Adrian laughed.
“You still think this is about money.”
“What else could it be?”
“Your father's legacy.”
Adrian pressed a button.
The basement lights turned on.
Old shelves were revealed.
Thousands of boxes.
Records.
Photos.
Documents.
“This building was never supposed to burn,” Adrian said.
“Then why did it?”
Adrian smiled.
“Because Grace found the wrong box.”
Emma stared at the shelves.
“What box?”
“The Whitmore inheritance.”
Mason looked confused.
“My inheritance?”
“The real one.”
Adrian walked into frame.
“Your family owns a network of hidden properties across three countries.”
Mason shook his head.
“I don't want them.”
“It doesn't matter.”
Adrian pointed at Emma.
“Her sister discovered the records.”
“She tried to expose them.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you keep Grace alive?”
Adrian looked toward the camera.
“Because she knows where the final account is.”
Grace's voice came through another speaker.
“You're lying.”
Adrian's expression tightened.
“You're here.”
Grace stepped from the darkness behind Mason.
Adrian smiled.
“Good.”
Then the doors slammed shut.
Smoke began filling the basement.
Mason shouted:
“Fire!”
Adrian's voice echoed.
“Your father loved fire.”
Emma grabbed Lily's hand.
“Move!”
They ran.
But the exit was locked.
Smoke thickened.
Lily started coughing.
Mason kicked the door.
Nothing.
Emma looked around.
Then she saw a maintenance tunnel.
“Over there!”
They crawled inside.
Behind them, fire raced across the ceiling.
Lily cried.
“Daddy!”
“I've got you.”
Mason carried her.
The tunnel collapsed behind them.
They reached an old drainage room.
There was nowhere else to go.
Emma found a metal hatch.
Locked.
She looked at Grace.
“Do you have the key?”
Grace reached into her pocket.
The key from the rehabilitation center.
She inserted it.
The hatch opened.
Cold night air rushed in.
They escaped.
Police surrounded the building.
Adrian was gone.
Again.
But Lily was holding something.
A folded piece of paper.
Mason opened it.
A child's handwriting.
Mommy told me Daddy killed Grandpa.
Mason looked at Vanessa.
Then at Lily.
“What does this mean?”
Lily began crying.
“She told me that before we came here.”
Emma's heart sank.
Vanessa had been hiding one final truth.
May you like
She hadn't been protecting Lily from Adrian.
She had been preparing Lily to believe Mason was dangerous.
