Chapter 10 — The Witness in Room 317
Chapter 10 — The Witness in Room 317
The gunshot echoed through the underground archive.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Then Khloe screamed.
Marcus pulled her against his chest.
“Stay down!”
Caldwell crouched beside them.
The emergency lights flickered red across the room.
Vale was gone.
The computer screen continued glowing.
THE FATHER HAS COME HOME.
Marcus looked toward the doorway.
“Where did Vale go?”
Caldwell shook his head.
“He didn't leave through the door.”
Marcus stared.
“What?”
Caldwell pointed toward the opposite wall.
A hidden panel stood open.
Marcus understood.
“He knew another exit.”
A second sound came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
Running.
Marcus reached for the door.
Caldwell grabbed his arm.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever fired that shot may still be here.”
Marcus looked down.
The bullet had struck the computer monitor.
Not a person.
A warning.
Or a message.
Then Khloe whispered:
“Marcus.”
He turned.
She was staring at the floor.
Something lay beneath the desk.
A hospital identification bracelet.
Marcus picked it up.
The name was printed clearly.
ROOM 317 — ELENA MARSH.
Caldwell went completely still.
Marcus noticed.
“You know her.”
Caldwell didn't answer.
“Who is Elena Marsh?”
Caldwell finally looked at him.
“She was supposed to be dead.”
They reached the upper floors twenty minutes later.
The hospital was operating normally.
Patients walked through the corridors.
Nurses pushed carts.
Visitors waited beside elevators.
Nobody knew what had happened beneath them.
Marcus found David near the security office.
“Where's Vale?”
David stared.
“You saw him?”
“He was in the archive.”
David's expression hardened.
“Then we're in worse trouble than I thought.”
Marcus held up the bracelet.
“Who is Elena Marsh?”
David froze.
“Where did you get that?”
“Underground.”
David looked toward Caldwell.
Caldwell lowered his eyes.
David's face became grim.
“Elena Marsh was a research assistant.”
“For Sterling Medical?”
“Yes.”
“What did she witness?”
David hesitated.
“The night your father died.”
Marcus's pulse quickened.
“What did she see?”
“She saw who entered his office.”
“And?”
“She saw who left.”
Marcus stared.
“Who?”
David didn't answer.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Who?”
David whispered:
“Your mother.”
Marcus felt the same cold shock he had felt when he'd first seen the photograph.
“My mother killed my father?”
“No.”
David shook his head.
“She was there.”
“Then what happened?”
“She found him dying.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
David looked exhausted.
“I have spent twenty years trying to understand that night.”
Marcus clenched his jaw.
“And Elena?”
“She knew.”
“Where is she?”
David hesitated.
Then:
“Room 317.”
They reached the third floor.
Room 317 was at the end of the corridor.
The door was closed.
A nurse stood outside.
Marcus approached.
“I'm looking for Elena Marsh.”
The nurse frowned.
“There is no patient by that name.”
Marcus showed her the bracelet.
She looked confused.
“That bracelet belongs to a patient admitted yesterday.”
“Where is she?”
The nurse checked the system.
Her face changed.
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
“The patient was discharged six years ago.”
Marcus stared.
“Six years?”
“Yes.”
David stepped forward.
“Who admitted her?”
The nurse checked.
“Dr. Nathan Caldwell.”
Everyone turned.
Caldwell looked stunned.
“I didn't.”
The nurse pointed to the screen.
“It says you did.”
Caldwell stepped toward the computer.
“I wasn't working here that week.”
“Then someone used your credentials.”
Marcus's voice became cold.
“Again.”
They entered Room 317.
It was empty.
A hospital bed.
A chair.
A small television.
Nothing else.
Marcus searched the room.
Then he noticed the bathroom door.
Locked.
He opened it.
A woman was lying inside.
Older.
Thin.
Her breathing was shallow.
There was blood on her temple.
“Call a doctor!”
Caldwell rushed forward.
“She was attacked.”
Marcus knelt beside her.
“Can you hear me?”
The woman's eyes opened.
She stared at him.
Then whispered:
“Sterling…”
Marcus froze.
“Who are you?”
Her lips trembled.
“Elena.”
“Who attacked you?”
She looked toward the door.
“Your mother.”
Marcus's heart stopped.
“My mother?”
Elena shook her head violently.
“No.”
She coughed.
“Not your mother.”
“Then who?”
“The woman wearing her face.”
Caldwell looked at Marcus.
“What does that mean?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“I saw her.”
“Saw who?”
“The night Edward died.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Tell me.”
Elena's breathing became uneven.
“Your mother came into the room.”
“What happened?”
“She was crying.”
“Then?”
“Another woman followed.”
“Who?”
Elena whispered:
“Vivian.”
Marcus froze.
“Vivian was there?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She wanted something.”
“What?”
“The file.”
“What file?”
Elena looked at him.
“The DNA file.”
Marcus's heart pounded.
“The one we just found?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“The original.”
Marcus looked at Caldwell.
“What was in it?”
Elena swallowed.
“Everything.”
David entered.
“Elena.”
Her eyes widened.
“David.”
“You remember me?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell him.”
David looked at Marcus.
“Tell him what happened.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Edward discovered that the Sterling bloodline wasn't what everyone believed.”
Marcus frowned.
“What did he discover?”
“The original heir wasn't dead.”
Silence.
Marcus stared.
“Who?”
Elena shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Then what did Edward know?”
“That someone had switched the DNA records.”
“Who?”
“Vivian.”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“Why?”
“Because she wanted the fortune.”
Caldwell interrupted.
“That's not possible.”
Elena looked at him.
“You were there.”
Caldwell froze.
“I was a junior doctor.”
“You helped her.”
“No.”
“You carried the file.”
Caldwell's face went pale.
Marcus turned toward him.
“You knew.”
Caldwell shook his head.
“I didn't know what it was.”
Elena coughed.
“You knew enough.”
Marcus looked at Elena.
“What happened after Vivian arrived?”
“She confronted Edward.”
“About the DNA?”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
“They argued.”
“What did they say?”
“I couldn't hear everything.”
“Try.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“I heard Edward say…”
She stopped.
Marcus waited.
“What?”
“‘If you hurt my son, the trust goes to the child.’”
Marcus's breath caught.
“He knew about me?”
“Yes.”
“He knew I would have a child?”
“He believed you would.”
Marcus looked toward Khloe.
Elena continued.
“Vivian became angry.”
“Then what?”
“Your mother entered.”
Marcus stared.
“What did she do?”
“She had a gun.”
Silence.
Marcus's stomach dropped.
“Did she shoot him?”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
“Who did?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“You saw the person.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Elena looked directly into his eyes.
“The person was wearing your father's coat.”
Marcus frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“The face was hidden.”
“Then how do you know it wasn't my father?”
“Because Edward was already on the floor.”
Marcus went still.
“So someone dressed like him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make it look as if he had left the room alive.”
David whispered:
“Dear God.”
Elena looked at him.
“You knew.”
David shook his head.
“I didn't.”
“You knew the body was moved.”
Marcus turned.
“The body was moved?”
David looked devastated.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“The official report said your father died in his office.”
“But?”
David's voice cracked.
“He died somewhere else.”
Marcus stepped backward.
Everything he'd believed about his father's death was collapsing.
“Where?”
David looked at Elena.
She answered:
“Room 317.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
Elena nodded.
“Edward died here.”
“In this room?”
“Yes.”
“Then why was his body moved?”
“Because someone needed to hide the cause of death.”
Marcus looked at Caldwell.
“What was the cause?”
Caldwell stared at the floor.
“Poison.”
Silence.
Marcus felt sick.
“Who poisoned him?”
“We don't know.”
Elena whispered:
“I do.”
Everyone turned.
She looked at Marcus.
“It was Isabella.”
Marcus froze.
“No.”
Elena nodded.
“She was there.”
“How old was she?”
“Very young.”
“How young?”
“Sixteen.”
Marcus stared.
“Isabella was sixteen when my father died?”
“Yes.”
“Why would she poison him?”
Elena shook her head.
“She didn't know what she was doing.”
“What does that mean?”
“Someone told her it was medicine.”
Marcus's mind raced.
“Who?”
Elena's eyes filled with fear.
“Her mother.”
Marcus whispered:
“Vivian.”
Elena nodded.
“Vivian used her own daughter.”
Caldwell suddenly stepped away.
Marcus noticed.
“Where are you going?”
“I need air.”
Marcus grabbed his arm.
“No.”
Caldwell looked at him.
“I didn't poison Edward.”
“I didn't accuse you.”
“But you will.”
“Tell me what happened.”
Caldwell closed his eyes.
“I was twenty-nine.”
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Isabella.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Vivian.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew my father.”
“Yes.”
Marcus's voice hardened.
“Then tell me everything.”
Caldwell looked toward Elena.
“She knows.”
“No.”
Elena shook her head.
“She doesn't know the last part.”
“What last part?”
Caldwell whispered:
“Edward wasn't poisoned.”
Marcus stared.
“What?”
“The poison was administered after he was already dead.”
Silence.
Elena looked shocked.
“No.”
Caldwell nodded.
“Someone poisoned the body.”
“Why?”
“To make it look like murder.”
Marcus stared.
“Then how did he actually die?”
Caldwell's voice dropped.
“He was shot.”
Marcus froze.
“Who shot him?”
Caldwell looked at David.
David's face turned white.
“No.”
Caldwell nodded.
“David knows.”
Marcus turned.
“Uncle David?”
David shook his head.
“I didn't kill him.”
“Then what happened?”
David's voice broke.
“I found your father dying.”
“Who shot him?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
David looked at Marcus.
“Because I saw the person holding the gun.”
“Who?”
David whispered:
“Your mother.”
Marcus felt his heart stop.
Again.
His mother.
His father.
Vivian.
Isabella.
Caldwell.
Everyone seemed connected.
But Elena suddenly laughed.
A weak, broken laugh.
Marcus looked at her.
“What?”
“You still believe them.”
“Believe who?”
“All of them.”
She looked toward David.
“He wasn't there when Edward was shot.”
David's face changed.
Elena continued:
“He arrived afterward.”
Marcus turned toward David.
“Is that true?”
David said nothing.
Elena whispered:
“The person who shot Edward was a woman.”
Marcus stared.
“Who?”
Elena looked at him.
“Someone you've already met.”
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“Who?”
Before Elena could answer, the lights went out.
A violent crash came from the hallway.
Caldwell rushed toward the door.
“Stay here!”
Marcus grabbed Khloe's hand.
Seconds later, a scream echoed through the corridor.
Then silence.
The emergency lights came back.
Caldwell was gone.
The door stood open.
Marcus ran into the hallway.
No Caldwell.
No guards.
No attacker.
Only a small envelope lying on the floor.
Marcus picked it up.
Inside was a photograph.
Elena.
Three years ago.
Standing beside Vivian.
And beside them—
Marcus's mother.
But there was something else.
On the back, someone had written:
THE WOMAN WHO SHOT EDWARD WAS NOT HIS WIFE.
Marcus stared.
Then another line appeared beneath it.
SHE WAS HIS DAUGHTER.
Marcus's breath caught.
His father had one daughter.
A daughter everyone believed had died as a child.
A daughter whose existence had been erased from every Sterling record.
Marcus looked at Elena.
“Who was my father's daughter?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
She whispered one name.
“Isabella.”
Marcus stepped backward.
The woman he thought was simply Vivian's daughter—
the woman who had attacked Khloe—
the woman who had been fighting for the Sterling fortune—
might actually be his sister.
And if Elena was telling the truth, then Isabella hadn't merely been manipulating the family.
She had been at the center of its darkest secret since she was sixteen.
But before Marcus could ask another question, Elena suddenly grabbed his wrist.
“Don't trust your mother.”
Marcus stared at her.
“Why?”
Elena's eyes filled with terror.
“Because she's alive.”
Marcus froze.
“And she knows I'm awake.”
A phone began ringing somewhere inside Room 317.
Everyone looked toward the sound.
Marcus slowly walked inside.
The ringing stopped.
Then the phone screen lit up.
MOTHER.
Marcus stared at the name.
Khloe whispered:
“Marcus…”
He answered.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a woman's voice spoke.
Soft.
Familiar.
A voice Marcus had not heard since he was a teenager.
“I'm sorry, my son.”
Marcus couldn't breathe.
“Mom?”
She whispered:
“They found Elena.”
Marcus looked at the bed.
“Who?”
His mother's voice trembled.
“Your sister.”
The call ended.
And Marcus finally understood the terrifying truth.
The witness in Room 317 had survived the attempt to silence her.
But someone had already begun hunting the next witness.
May you like
And this time—
it was him.
