CHAPTER 8 — THE TRAP
CHAPTER 8 — THE TRAP
Theodore stared at Clara.
“Anna was Arthur Vale's daughter?”
Clara didn't answer immediately.
She watched the fire instead, as though the flames contained a memory she had spent half a century trying to forget.
Finally, she nodded.
“Yes.”
Theodore looked at Evelyn.
“You knew.”
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
“You both knew.”
“Yes.”
“And Rosalie?”
“She never knew.”
Theodore's jaw tightened.
“My entire family has spent years lying to her.”
Clara's voice was quiet.
“Not to hurt her.”
“That doesn't make it better.”
“No.”
Clara looked at him.
“It makes it necessary.”
Theodore laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
He turned toward the door.
“Where is Rosalie?”
Clara's expression changed.
“That's the question they want you to ask.”
Theodore stopped.
“What?”
Clara's eyes hardened.
“Theodore, listen carefully.”
She leaned forward.
“Rosalie isn't the only person missing.”
The Second Missing Person
Clara opened another folder.
Inside were photographs.
Dozens of them.
Women.
Young.
Old.
Different countries.
Different decades.
Different names.
But every photograph had the same mark written in the corner.
A small black circle.
Theodore stared.
“What is this?”
“The Mother's Fund.”
His stomach tightened.
“The account Eleanor told the police about.”
“Yes.”
“Twenty-three women.”
“Twenty-three that we know of.”
“What happened to them?”
Clara looked away.
“Some were paid to disappear.”
“Some were threatened.”
“Some were imprisoned.”
“And some?”
Clara didn't answer.
Theodore understood.
“Dead.”
“Yes.”
He looked through the photographs.
Then stopped.
One woman looked familiar.
He pulled the photograph closer.
“Who is she?”
Clara's face went pale.
“Don't.”
“Who?”
“Her name was Miriam.”
“Why does she look familiar?”
“Because you met her.”
Theodore frowned.
“When?”
“Your mother's funeral.”
He searched his memory.
A woman in a black coat.
Standing alone near the cemetery.
He remembered her.
He had assumed she was a distant relative.
“What happened to her?”
“She disappeared two days later.”
Theodore looked at the photograph again.
“Why?”
“Because she knew about the will.”
The Envelope
Clara handed him a sealed envelope.
“Open it.”
Theodore did.
Inside was a handwritten note.
IF THEODORE FINDS THIS, THE TRAP HAS ALREADY BEEN SET.
He looked up.
“What trap?”
Clara didn't answer.
The note continued.
They will make him believe Rosalie is being held at the old Vale factory.
Theodore's heart stopped.
“That address.”
He pulled out his phone.
A message had arrived ten minutes earlier.
WE HAVE ROSALIE.
Below it was a photograph.
Rosalie.
Bound to a chair.
Blood on her forehead.
Theodore's face went white.
Clara immediately reached for the phone.
“No.”
“What?”
“It's fake.”
“How do you know?”
“Look at her left hand.”
Theodore zoomed in.
Rosalie's wedding ring was missing.
Clara shook her head.
“She never removed that ring.”
Theodore stared.
But the photograph showed something else.
A clock.
11:17.
Clara pointed.
“Look at the date.”
Theodore zoomed in.
The clock's calendar showed Tuesday.
Today was Thursday.
The photograph was two days old.
Clara whispered:
“They want you to panic.”
The Call
The phone rang.
Unknown number.
Theodore answered.
“Where is my sister?”
A distorted male voice replied.
“Go to the old factory.”
“Why?”
“Because if you don't, Rosalie dies.”
“Let me speak to her.”
A pause.
Then a woman's scream.
Theodore froze.
“Rosalie!”
The line went dead.
He immediately looked at Clara.
“I have to go.”
“No.”
“If that was her—”
“It wasn't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because the person who screamed knew exactly how long to scream.”
Theodore stared.
Clara continued.
“It was rehearsed.”
Evelyn suddenly stood.
“I know where they're taking you.”
Theodore looked at her.
“Where?”
“The factory.”
“You said it was a trap.”
“It is.”
“Then why would you know?”
Evelyn's expression became grim.
“Because I built it.”
The Old Factory
The Vale textile factory had been abandoned for fifteen years.
At least officially.
Theodore parked two blocks away.
Police units waited nearby.
Harris had insisted on coming.
“We go in together.”
Theodore nodded.
Evelyn remained in the vehicle.
Clara stayed behind.
Theodore checked his weapon.
Harris grabbed his shoulder.
“Don't play hero.”
“My sister is inside.”
“And that's exactly what they want.”
They entered through a broken side door.
The building was dark.
Empty.
Silent.
Then a light turned on.
A projector flickered against the far wall.
A video began playing.
Rosalie appeared.
She was sitting in a chair.
Her face was bruised.
Her eyes were terrified.
Theodore stepped forward.
“Rosalie.”
Harris grabbed him.
“Wait.”
The video continued.
Rosalie looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this…”
Her voice shook.
“Don't come looking for me.”
Theodore's heart broke.
“It's a recording.”
“Yes.”
“But when was it made?”
Theodore looked at the screen.
A timestamp appeared.
THREE DAYS EARLIER.
Then Rosalie said something unexpected.
“Theodore…”
She looked directly into the camera.
“Trust Clara.”
The video ended.
The lights went out.
The Trap Closes
A metallic door slammed behind them.
Harris immediately reached for it.
Locked.
Theodore heard footsteps above.
Then another sound.
Gas.
A thin white mist began leaking from the ceiling.
Harris covered his mouth.
“Move!”
They ran toward the emergency exit.
Nothing.
Locked.
Theodore's vision began blurring.
“This isn't a kidnapping.”
Harris coughed.
“What?”
“This is an execution.”
A voice came over the speakers.
“You were always too curious, Theodore.”
He recognized it.
Charles.
His uncle.
Theodore shouted:
“You're behind this!”
Charles laughed.
“No.”
“Then who?”
The answer came softly.
“Your mother.”
Eleanor's Trap
The lights returned.
Eleanor appeared on a monitor.
She was sitting calmly in the interrogation room.
A police officer stood behind her.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Theodore.”
He stared.
“You should have listened to me.”
“Where is Rosalie?”
Eleanor smiled.
“She was never here.”
“Where is she?”
“You'll find out.”
“When?”
“When you understand what you've done.”
Theodore's anger exploded.
“You buried her!”
“No.”
“I watched her wake up in that coffin!”
“Yes.”
“You tried to kill her!”
“No.”
“You lied about her medical records!”
“Yes.”
“Then what do you want?”
Eleanor's smile disappeared.
“I want you to stop looking for the wrong person.”
Theodore froze.
“What does that mean?”
“Your sister was never my target.”
A pause.
“You were.”
The Hidden Door
Suddenly, a wall beside Theodore opened.
A hidden passage.
Harris stared.
“That's impossible.”
Theodore recognized it.
The same architecture as the underground rooms beneath the conservatory.
They ran inside.
The passage descended.
At the bottom was a small chamber.
A table.
Two chairs.
A tape recorder.
And one photograph.
Theodore picked it up.
It showed him as a child.
Beside him stood his father.
Behind them was a woman.
Anna.
He had seen her before.
But something was different.
She was holding a baby.
A baby with a tiny birthmark shaped like a crescent moon.
Theodore turned the photograph over.
Written on the back:
THE FIRST HEIR.
The Woman Who Wasn't Supposed to Exist
A door opened.
A woman stepped inside.
Theodore raised his weapon.
Then stopped.
He knew her.
“Victoria?”
She smiled.
“You finally understand.”
Harris raised his weapon.
“Hands where I can see them.”
Victoria laughed.
“You think I'm your enemy.”
“Aren't you?”
“No.”
She looked at Theodore.
“I've been trying to get you to the truth.”
“You kidnapped Rosalie.”
“No.”
“You worked with Evelyn.”
“Yes.”
“You worked with Eleanor.”
“Yes.”
“You worked with Edmund.”
Victoria's face hardened.
“For a while.”
“Then who are you working for now?”
She pointed toward the photograph.
“The real heir.”
Theodore stared.
“The baby.”
Victoria nodded.
“Your niece.”
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
Victoria smiled.
“That's what this entire game has been about.”
Theodore stepped closer.
“Tell me.”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is listening.”
A tiny red light appeared in the ceiling.
Recording.
Harris immediately fired.
The camera shattered.
Victoria smiled.
“Too late.”
The Voice
A speaker clicked on.
A man's voice filled the room.
Old.
Cold.
Calm.
Theodore froze.
He knew that voice.
He had heard it in childhood.
In nightmares.
At family dinners.
Behind locked doors.
His father.
Edmund.
“You've become very troublesome, Theodore.”
Harris stared at him.
“Edmund Vale?”
Theodore couldn't speak.
The voice continued.
“You've found the will.”
“You've found Anna.”
“You've found Evelyn.”
“And now you believe you're close.”
A pause.
“You're not.”
Theodore shouted:
“Where is Rosalie?”
Edmund laughed.
“Exactly where she needs to be.”
“Where?”
“Waiting.”
“For what?”
“For you.”
The Real Trap
Theodore's phone vibrated.
A new message.
COME HOME.
Then another.
ALONE.
Then a photograph.
Rosalie.
Standing beside a little girl.
Lily.
Both alive.
Both looking directly at the camera.
Theodore's heart stopped.
Under the photograph were four words.
BRING THE SECRET WILL.
He looked at Victoria.
“You knew.”
She nodded.
“They have Rosalie.”
“And Lily.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Victoria looked toward the ceiling.
“The estate.”
Theodore's face went pale.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“The entire time?”
“Yes.”
“They were inside the house?”
Victoria nodded.
“Under it.”
The Hidden Level
They returned to the Vale estate.
Theodore ignored every warning.
He entered the conservatory.
The coffin was gone.
The floor had been repaired.
But beneath the marble was another mechanism.
Clara's instructions had revealed the location.
Theodore pressed a hidden stone.
The floor opened.
A staircase descended.
Harris followed.
Victoria came behind them.
Evelyn waited at the entrance.
“You can't go down there,” she warned.
“Why?”
“Because that is where Edmund keeps the people he doesn't want the world to find.”
Theodore descended.
The air grew colder.
Then he heard a child's voice.
“Uncle Theodore?”
He stopped.
“Lily?”
A small hand appeared through the bars of a door.
Theodore ran toward her.
“Lily!”
She threw her arms around him.
He held her tightly.
“Where's your mother?”
Lily pointed down the corridor.
“She's with him.”
“Who?”
The little girl whispered:
“Grandfather.”
Theodore looked up.
At the end of the corridor stood a man.
Older.
Scarred.
Gray-haired.
But unmistakable.
Edmund Vale.
Rosalie stood beside him.
Alive.
Terrified.
And behind Edmund was Eleanor.
Theodore stared at his mother.
“You knew.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“I knew everything.”
Edmund smiled.
“Welcome home.”
The Choice
Edmund held out his hand.
“The will.”
Theodore didn't move.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
Edmund looked toward Rosalie.
A knife touched her throat.
Theodore's blood ran cold.
“Give me the will.”
Rosalie shook her head.
“No.”
“Rosalie—”
“Don't.”
She looked at him.
“Whatever happens, don't give it to him.”
Edmund smiled.
“You see?”
He turned toward Theodore.
“She still thinks courage matters.”
Rosalie stared at Theodore.
“Theodore…”
“What?”
“Remember what Clara told you.”
He remembered.
The child is the key.
He looked at Lily.
Then at the secret will.
Then at Eleanor.
And finally at Edmund.
Suddenly he understood.
The will wasn't what Edmund wanted.
The will was what Edmund feared.
Because the moment it became public, every hidden crime would become evidence.
Theodore slowly smiled.
“You made one mistake.”
Edmund frowned.
“What?”
“I didn't bring the will.”
Edmund's expression changed.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
Theodore raised his phone.
“The entire conversation has been livestreamed.”
Silence.
Harris smiled.
Police sirens began echoing above them.
Edmund stared at Theodore.
Then at Eleanor.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared on his face.
But Eleanor wasn't looking at Theodore.
She was looking at Edmund.
And her expression was strangely calm.
Because she knew something Theodore didn't.
The livestream had never reached the police.
It had gone somewhere else.
A private server.
One controlled by someone whose name had not yet appeared in the investigation.
Someone who had been waiting for this exact moment.
Theodore's phone buzzed.
One message appeared.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THEM ALL TOGETHER.
Then another.
NOW THE REAL TRAP BEGINS.
Theodore slowly looked at Victoria.
She was gone.
And the door behind her had locked itself.
From somewhere deep beneath the estate, a woman's voice whispered through the speakers:
“Welcome, Theodore.”
May you like
A pause.
“It's time you met the owner of the Vale empire.”
