Chapter 4 - The Voice Outside the Door

Marcus did not open the gate.

He drew his weapon.

Sebastian said:

"Lights."

Emergency power came on.

The hallway was empty.

A speaker sat on the floor.

Playing Sebastian's voice.

"Marcus, open the west gate."

Again.

Again.

Again.

Marcus crushed it under his shoe.

Daphne covered her mouth.

Tessa looked terrified.

Sebastian looked toward the security monitors.

"West gate."

One camera.

A black SUV waiting outside.

Driver hidden.

Marcus radioed the gate team.

"Hold it closed."

Then a second screen went black.

Garage.

Third.

Service entrance.

Someone inside the security network was shutting cameras down.

Sebastian looked at Marcus.

"Pierce."

"Maybe."

Tessa whispered:

"No."

Everyone turned.

She looked at the laptop.

"Mr. Pierce didn't know the camera system well enough."

Marcus frowned.

"He was assistant director."

"I know."

Tessa continued:

"But every time a camera failed, he called someone."

Sebastian stepped closer.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"Male?"

"No."

Silence.

Daphne's face changed.

Sebastian saw.

"Who?"

Tessa whispered:

"A woman."

Daphne shook her head.

"No."

Sebastian looked at her.

"You know."

Daphne began crying.

"My mother."

Charles went still.

Sebastian stared.

"Your mother is dead."

Daphne closed her eyes.

"That's what my father told everyone."

Charles whispered:

"Daphne."

She turned.

"No."

Her voice shook.

"You don't get to stop this now."

Sebastian looked between them.

Daphne continued:

"My mother is alive."

"Where?"

"Chicago."

"How long have you known?"

"Two years."

Charles looked devastated.

Sebastian looked at him.

"You knew she was alive too."

"Yes."

Daphne's mother, Evelyn Bell.

Declared dead seven years earlier after a private plane crash.

No body recovered.

Daphne had been twenty-three.

Sebastian remembered the funeral.

He had stood beside her.

Just like she had stood beside him when his father died.

Sebastian asked:

"Why fake her death?"

Charles answered:

"She was investigating Anthony Vale."

Sebastian's father.

The room became silent.

"What about him?"

Charles swallowed.

"He had been using private recordings to control people."

Sebastian frowned.

"Recordings?"

"Calls."

"Meetings."

"Threats."

"Confessions."

Daphne continued:

"My mother discovered he had a voice archive."

Sebastian looked at the laptop.

"Enough to imitate people."

Charles nodded.

"Not then."

"Technology wasn't good enough."

"But he collected voices."

"Why?"

"Blackmail."

Silence.

Sebastian looked sick.

His father.

Again.

Another layer.

Charles continued:

"Evelyn copied the archive."

"Anthony found out."

"He threatened her."

"So she disappeared."

"Yes."

Sebastian asked:

"Did my father know she survived?"

"No."

"Did you?"

"Yes."

Daphne stared at her father.

"You told me she died."

Charles looked at her.

"To protect you."

She laughed bitterly.

"Of course."

Sebastian asked:

"Where is Evelyn now?"

Daphne answered:

"She runs a private cybersecurity company."

"Under what name?"

"Elena Ward."

Marcus stopped.

Sebastian looked at him.

"You know it."

Marcus nodded.

"Elena Ward consulted on our security upgrade last year."

Silence.

Daphne went pale.

Sebastian stared at Charles.

"You brought her back into my house."

Charles whispered:

"No."

Marcus answered:

"I did."

Everyone looked at him.

Marcus continued:

"I hired the firm."

"I didn't know who she was."

Daphne looked sick.

Sebastian asked:

"Did she have access to my audio?"

Marcus nodded slowly.

"Meetings."

"Security commands."

"Emergency protocols."

Enough.

Far more than enough.

Sebastian looked at Daphne.

"Did your mother know about Nicholas?"

"Yes."

"Did she help him?"

"I don't know."

Charles said:

"Yes."

Daphne turned sharply.

"What?"

Charles looked at Sebastian.

"Evelyn contacted Nicholas first."

"When?"

"Fourteen months ago."

The same time Nicholas disappeared.

Sebastian stared.

"She took my brother."

"She recruited him."

"For what?"

Charles whispered:

"To expose your father."

Sebastian laughed without humor.

"My father is dead."

Charles shook his head.

"No."

The room went still.

Daphne stared at him.

Sebastian did not blink.

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Charles continued:

"Anthony Vale is alive."