Chapter 4: The Man in the Doorway
Victor Hale stood in the doorway with rainwater dripping from the shoulders of his black coat.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Then Marcus raised his weapon.
“Hands where I can see them.””
Victor slowly lifted both hands.
“I’m not here to hurt anyone.””
Marcus stepped between him and the children.
“You have about five seconds to convince me.””
Victor looked past him.
His eyes found mine.
“Elena.””
I tightened my grip on the folder.
“You know my name.””
“I knew Thomas.””
“That doesn't answer my question.””
“No,” Victor said.
“It doesn't.””
Marcus glanced at me.
“Do you know this man?””
“No.””
Victor's jaw tightened.
“Not personally.””
“Then why are you in my house?””
“Because Diane is coming for the evidence.””
I looked at the photograph in his hand.
Thomas.
Standing beside his car.
The night before he died.
His face was turned toward the camera.
His expression wasn't frightened this time.
It was furious.
“Give me the photograph,” I said.
Victor looked at Marcus.
Marcus nodded.
Victor walked forward slowly and handed it to me.
The moment I turned it over, my breath caught.
There was writing on the back.
*10:42 P.M. — SHE KNOWS ABOUT ELENA.*
My fingers went cold.
“Who knows about me?””
Victor didn't answer.
I looked up.
“Who?””
“Diane.””
“I already know she knows about me.””
“No,” he said.
“You don't understand.””
His voice dropped.
“She knew about you before you met Thomas.””
The room seemed to tilt.
Marcus lowered his weapon slightly.
“What does that mean?””
Victor looked at him.
“It means Diane didn't move into this house because Elena needed help.””
He looked at me.
“She moved in because she was waiting for something.””
“What?””
Victor's eyes flicked toward the folders.
“For the right moment.””
I heard footsteps above us.
Heavy.
Fast.
Marcus turned toward the staircase.
“How many people are with you?””
“No one.””
Victor shook his head.
“Diane didn't come alone.””
Marcus immediately reached for his radio.
“Dispatch, I need units at—”
The lights went out.
The children screamed.
I heard something crash upstairs.
Marcus grabbed my wheelchair.
“Stay down.””
Victor moved toward the staircase.
Marcus caught his arm.
“Where are you going?””
“To stop them.””
“You're not a cop.””
“No,” Victor said.
“But I know what they came for.””
A flashlight beam cut through the darkness.
Someone was moving above us.
Then a man's voice shouted.
“Find the laptop!””
Victor went still.
I looked at him.
“You know that voice.””
He nodded.
“It's Daniel.””
My heart stopped.
“No.””
Victor stared at me.
“I'm sorry.””
I shook my head.
“Daniel is my husband's lawyer.””
“He was.””
Marcus looked at me.
“Elena, I need you to listen to me.””
I couldn't.
My mind was racing through every conversation I'd had with Daniel.
Every warning.
Every hesitation.
Every time he'd told me not to ask questions.
Every time he'd said Thomas had wanted something kept confidential.
He hadn't been protecting me.
He had been controlling what I knew.
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Victor pointed toward the shelves.
“There.””
“What?””
He pulled a metal box from behind several folders.
“Thomas built another exit.””
Marcus opened the box.
Inside was a key and a folded map.
He unfolded it.
“This house has a service tunnel?””
Victor nodded.
“Built during the renovation.””
I stared at him.
“You knew.””
“I helped build it.””
The confession hit me harder than everything else.
“You were one of Thomas's contractors.””
“No.””
“Then what were you?””
Victor looked at the photograph in my hand.
“His brother.””
I couldn't breathe.
“My husband didn't have a brother.””
Victor's expression broke.
“That's what Diane wanted everyone to believe.””
A door slammed upstairs.
Marcus grabbed the map.
“We're leaving.””
Victor shook his head.
“Not without the laptop.””
“Forget the laptop.””
“If Daniel gets it, Elena dies.””
The words froze me.
Marcus looked at him.
“Explain.””
Victor pointed to the desk.
“Thomas didn't record his secrets on that computer.””
He looked at me.
“He recorded what he knew about Diane.””
Then he pointed toward the laptop.
“That machine contains the proof.””
Footsteps thundered down the stairs.
Marcus shoved me toward the hidden passage.
“Move.””
Victor grabbed the laptop.
We entered the tunnel just as the steel door flew open.
A gunshot exploded behind us.
Leo screamed.
I covered his head.
Marcus slammed the hidden door shut.
Another shot struck the metal.
Then Diane's voice echoed through the tunnel.
“Elena!””
I stopped.
Her voice sounded almost tender.
“Your father told me you would never find the truth.””
I stared into the darkness.
Victor whispered, “Keep moving.””
Diane laughed.
“And now that you have…”
Her voice faded.
May you like
“…you finally belong to me.””
We ran.
