CHAPTER 8 — THE SECOND VICTIM
CHAPTER 8 — THE SECOND VICTIM
The message remained on Julian's screen.
COME ALONE.
VAULT 714.
YOUR FATHER IS WAITING.
For several seconds, Julian could hear nothing except his own breathing.
Then Martha said his name.
“Julian.”
He looked at her.
She had gone pale.
“What?”
“Don't go.”
Julian glanced toward the floor.
The hidden vault was somewhere beneath the mansion.
Somewhere beneath the house where he had grown up.
Somewhere his father had apparently been waiting for him for years.
And yet every instinct in Julian's body screamed that it was a trap.
Richard stood near the piano.
“You can't go down there.”
Julian turned.
“Why?”
“Because whoever sent that message knows exactly how to manipulate you.”
“You said my father might be alive.”
“I said I didn't know.”
“You knew more than you admitted.”
Richard's jaw tightened.
Julian stepped toward him.
“Now you're telling me not to find out?”
Richard said nothing.
Evelyn suddenly grabbed Julian's arm.
“Listen to me.”
Her voice was urgent.
“If that vault really opened, there is a reason.”
“What reason?”
“Your father designed it.”
Julian looked at the floor.
“Then I need to see it.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Not alone.”
The phone vibrated again.
Another message.
NO ONE ELSE.
Then:
OR SHE DIES.
Julian's eyes widened.
“Who?”
A photograph appeared.
Martha.
Taken from somewhere inside the mansion.
She was sitting in the basement.
Her hands were bound.
Julian turned.
Martha was standing directly beside him.
He looked at the photograph again.
The image was real.
But it had been taken moments ago.
His stomach dropped.
“Mom?”
Martha looked confused.
Then a sharp pain crossed her face.
She collapsed.
Julian caught her before she hit the floor.
“Martha!”
Her eyes fluttered.
Richard rushed forward.
Evelyn immediately called emergency services.
Julian looked at the photograph.
The person who had sent it wasn't bluffing.
Someone had access to the mansion.
Someone was watching them.
Someone had already entered.
Martha woke up twenty minutes later.
She was lying on the library sofa.
A paramedic stood nearby.
“Her blood pressure dropped suddenly,” the paramedic said. “She needs to go to the hospital.”
Martha shook her head.
“No.”
Julian stared at her.
“Mom.”
“I said no.”
“You collapsed.”
“I've survived worse.”
The paramedic looked at Julian.
“She should be evaluated.”
Julian nodded.
“We'll take her.”
Martha grabbed his wrist.
“Don't leave me.”
The words were so quiet that only Julian heard them.
He sat beside her.
“I won't.”
Richard watched from across the room.
Evelyn stood near the window.
Then Julian noticed something.
Martha's left hand was trembling.
Not from fear.
From weakness.
He remembered the mysterious phone call.
Ask your mother why she was told she couldn't have children.
He looked at Martha.
“Mom.”
She avoided his eyes.
“What?”
“Were you sick when I was born?”
Silence.
Richard looked away.
Martha's expression tightened.
“Yes.”
“What did you have?”
“It's complicated.”
“Tell me.”
She closed her eyes.
“I had a condition.”
“What condition?”
She whispered:
“Cardiomyopathy.”
Julian froze.
“What?”
“Heart disease.”
He stared at her.
“You could have died giving birth to me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did everyone say you couldn't have children?”
“Because after your birth, the doctors said another pregnancy would probably kill me.”
Julian's face changed.
“And Dad?”
“He knew.”
“Did he know I wasn't his biological son?”
Martha looked at him.
“Yes.”
Julian swallowed.
“And he still raised me.”
“He loved you.”
Julian looked away.
A strange ache filled his chest.
Whatever else Victor had done, one truth remained.
He had chosen him.
The hospital called at midnight.
There had been a problem.
Martha's medical records showed something unusual.
A prescription had been added to her electronic file six months earlier.
A medication that could dangerously lower blood pressure when combined with her existing treatment.
Julian stared at the screen.
“Who prescribed it?”
The nurse hesitated.
“Dr. Samuel Greene.”
Julian frowned.
“I don't know him.”
Martha looked terrified.
“Yes, you do.”
Julian turned.
“What?”
Martha's lips trembled.
“Samuel Greene was your father's personal physician.”
The room went silent.
Julian immediately called the hospital administrator.
“Who authorized the prescription?”
“We're investigating.”
“When was it entered?”
“Six months ago.”
Julian looked at Martha.
Six months.
The same time Bianca had begun talking about marriage.
The same time the nursery had appeared.
The same time Julian had noticed money moving through accounts he couldn't explain.
Everything was connected.
Someone had been preparing Martha for death.
Not suddenly.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Professionally.
Julian clenched his fists.
“This wasn't an attempted murder tonight.”
Martha looked at him.
“What?”
“It started months ago.”
Evelyn nodded grimly.
“The second victim.”
Julian looked at her.
“Second?”
She pointed toward Martha.
“She was supposed to be the first.”
Julian's expression hardened.
“Then who is the second?”
Evelyn didn't answer.
She looked at the hallway.
Then toward the hospital room door.
A nurse was standing outside.
Watching them.
The nurse's face seemed familiar.
Julian frowned.
He had seen her before.
At the mansion.
During the ambulance transfer.
She had been there when Martha collapsed.
He stood.
“Excuse me.”
The nurse looked at him.
“Yes?”
“Have we met?”
Her face changed.
Just slightly.
“No.”
Julian studied her.
“You're lying.”
The nurse turned and walked away.
Julian followed.
“Wait.”
She disappeared around the corner.
He ran after her.
The corridor was empty.
A service door stood open.
Julian pushed it.
Nobody.
Then he saw something on the floor.
A hospital identification badge.
NURSE: ELENA VALE
Julian picked it up.
His blood ran cold.
Elena.
The same name that had appeared on Horizon Trust transactions.
The same name connected to his father's first wife.
He looked toward the empty corridor.
“Who are you?”
A voice came from behind him.
“Someone who tried to save your father.”
Julian spun around.
The nurse stood at the end of the hallway.
But she wasn't wearing the same expression anymore.
She removed the medical mask.
Julian stared.
It was Elena.
Older.
But unmistakably the woman from the photograph.
Victor's first wife.
Bianca's mother.
Evelyn had called herself Evelyn Laurent.
But the bank records said Elena Vale.
And now she stood before Julian under a third identity.
“How many names do you have?”
She smiled sadly.
“As many as survival requires.”
Julian stepped toward her.
“Did you attack my mother?”
“No.”
“Did you poison her?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Elena looked toward Martha's room.
“Someone who wants you angry.”
“Why?”
“So you'll make a mistake.”
Julian's voice hardened.
“Where is Bianca?”
Elena hesitated.
“She came to me.”
“Why?”
“She was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
“Your grandfather.”
Julian froze.
“You're telling me Samuel Hale is alive?”
“No.”
“Then who is pretending to be him?”
Elena looked directly into his eyes.
“That's the question your father spent twenty years trying to answer.”
Julian took Elena into an empty consultation room.
He locked the door.
“Start talking.”
Elena sat down.
“Your grandfather died twenty-seven years ago.”
“I know.”
“But someone has been using his identity.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father didn't know either.”
Julian leaned forward.
“Then who is behind everything?”
Elena reached into her bag.
She pulled out a small cassette.
Julian stared.
“Another recording?”
“Yes.”
“From Victor?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you give it to me earlier?”
“Because you weren't ready.”
Julian laughed.
“Everyone says that.”
Elena pressed the cassette into his hand.
“This one is different.”
“How?”
“It isn't a warning.”
She looked at him.
“It's a confession.”
They returned to Martha's room.
Martha was awake.
Richard was gone.
Julian noticed immediately.
“Where's Richard?”
Martha frowned.
“He said he needed air.”
Julian's expression hardened.
“He left the hospital?”
“Yes.”
Julian called him.
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
Then a text arrived from Richard.
Don't trust Elena.
Julian stared at it.
A second message followed.
She killed Victor.
Julian looked up.
Elena was standing beside the window.
She had heard nothing.
Julian slowly walked toward her.
“Did you kill Victor?”
Elena's face changed.
“No.”
“Richard says you did.”
She closed her eyes.
“Richard would.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows what happened.”
“What happened?”
Elena looked at Martha.
Then at Julian.
“Your father wasn't killed.”
Julian froze.
“He wasn't?”
“He disappeared.”
“That's not an answer.”
“He disappeared voluntarily.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
Julian felt his chest tighten.
“From what?”
Elena whispered:
“From the second victim.”
Julian frowned.
“Who?”
Elena looked at Martha.
Martha's eyes filled with tears.
“Me.”
Julian stared.
“You?”
Elena nodded.
“Your father believed that if he disappeared, whoever was hunting him would stop targeting you.”
“But they targeted Mom.”
“Yes.”
“And Bianca?”
“Bianca was recruited because she was the easiest way to get close to you.”
Julian's face hardened.
“So Bianca was working for them.”
“At first.”
“At first?”
“She changed her mind.”
Julian looked toward the door.
“Where is she?”
Elena hesitated.
“She tried to warn you.”
“About what?”
“The false pregnancy wasn't designed merely to force a wedding.”
“What was it designed to do?”
Elena's voice dropped.
“To make you sign the medical power of attorney.”
Julian nodded.
“We know.”
“No.”
Elena shook her head.
“You don't.”
She opened her bag again.
Inside was a photograph.
Bianca was sitting in a doctor's office.
Across from her was a man.
Julian recognized him immediately.
Dr. Samuel Greene.
His father's former physician.
On the desk between them was a document.
MEDICAL AUTHORIZATION AND EMERGENCY DIRECTIVE
Bianca was signing it.
Julian stared.
“She signed it.”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“She believed she was signing a marriage document.”
Julian looked confused.
Elena pointed at the photograph.
“Look at the person standing behind her.”
Julian zoomed in.
His blood ran cold.
Richard.
His uncle.
Watching Bianca sign.
Julian's anger exploded.
“He manipulated her.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she try to marry me?”
“Because she was promised protection.”
“By Richard?”
“No.”
“Who?”
Elena looked at him.
“Your father.”
Julian froze.
“My father?”
“He contacted Bianca months ago.”
“Why?”
“To use her.”
Julian stared.
Everything had become impossibly tangled.
Victor had recruited Bianca.
Richard had manipulated Bianca.
Bianca had deceived Julian.
Someone had tried to kill Martha.
And all of it somehow connected to Horizon Trust.
“Why would my father use Bianca?”
Elena whispered:
“Because he knew she was already being watched.”
Julian's eyes narrowed.
“So she was a double agent.”
“Yes.”
“Then why fake the pregnancy?”
“Because she needed Richard to believe she was still loyal.”
Julian stepped back.
“And the attack tonight?”
Elena looked toward the hospital room.
“That was not Richard.”
“Then who?”
She didn't answer.
Julian's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
“You're asking too many questions.”
Julian's expression hardened.
“Where is Bianca?”
“She betrayed us.”
“What did you do to her?”
“She won't be bothering you anymore.”
Julian's blood ran cold.
“Where is she?”
A pause.
Then:
“You should be asking where your mother is.”
Julian turned.
Martha was gone.
The hospital bed was empty.
The window was open.
The heart monitor had been disconnected.
Julian stared in horror.
“MOM!”
He ran into the hallway.
Doctors and nurses rushed toward him.
Nobody knew where she was.
Then Julian saw something on the floor beside the elevator.
A white envelope.
His name was written across it.
He tore it open.
Inside was a single photograph.
Martha.
Alive.
Bound to a chair.
And behind her stood Bianca.
But Bianca wasn't crying.
She was smiling.
On the back of the photograph were six words:
YOU STILL DON'T KNOW WHO THE VICTIM IS.
Julian's phone vibrated.
Another message.
VAULT 714. NOW.
Then:
COME ALONE, OR MARTHA DIES.
Julian looked at Elena.
She shook her head.
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
“You can't go.”
“I have to.”
“No.”
Julian looked at her.
“If they're using my mother to get me into that vault, then the vault is where they want me.”
Elena nodded.
“And that's exactly why you shouldn't go.”
Julian folded the photograph.
“I spent my entire life believing my father abandoned us.”
His eyes hardened.
“I'm not making the same mistake.”
He walked toward the elevator.
Elena followed.
Julian stopped her.
“I said alone.”
She stared at him.
“Your father said the same thing once.”
“What happened?”
Elena's expression became haunted.
“He went into Vault 714 alone.”
Julian waited.
“And he never came back.”
The elevator doors opened.
Julian stepped inside.
Before they closed, Elena shouted:
“Julian!”
He looked back.
She held up the cassette.
“You forgot this.”
Julian took it.
“What does it say?”
Elena's face went pale.
“It tells you who the second victim really was.”
The doors closed.
Julian looked down at the cassette.
A handwritten label was visible.
VICTIM #2 — JULIAN.
He stared at it.
Then the elevator began descending.
Past the basement.
Past the foundation.
Past every level he knew existed.
And somewhere below the mansion, a mechanical voice came alive.
“Identity confirmed.”
A pause.
“Welcome back, Mr. Laurent.”
Julian's blood ran cold.
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
And standing inside the vault was a man Julian had spent his entire life believing was dead.
Victor Hale.
His father.
Alive.
May you like
But holding a gun.
And pointing it directly at Julian.
