Chapter 11 - Victor's Confession
The hospital called before sunrise.
Victor Kane had regained consciousness.
Daniel and Eleanor drove there immediately under police escort.
Victor looked nothing like the confident guard who had mocked Eleanor outside Bellarose.
His head was wrapped in bandages.
His hands trembled.
The moment he saw Eleanor, tears formed in his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
She remained silent.
Victor continued.
"I thought you were just another poor woman."
"I know."
"But Adrian told me to watch for you."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Since when?"
"About six months."
Victor explained everything.
Adrian had created a private employee group.
Only a handful of managers belonged to it.
Whenever elderly visitors appeared...
Whenever former Rose's Kitchen employees arrived...
Whenever anyone asked about Eleanor Hayes...
Victor received immediate instructions to delay them.
"If necessary," Adrian had said, "make them leave before Daniel notices."
Daniel clenched his fists.
"You knew."
"I didn't know why."
Victor closed his eyes.
"I only learned about the tunnels last month."
He described hidden meetings beneath the restaurant.
Boxes transported after midnight.
Private vehicles entering through an abandoned loading dock.
Daniel recorded every word.
Then Victor grabbed his sleeve.
"Warehouse 17 isn't the destination."
"What do you mean?"
"It's the trap."
"Then where is Adrian going?"
Victor swallowed painfully.
"There is another entrance."
"Where?"
"Beneath the original wine cellar..."
His heartbeat monitor suddenly accelerated.
Doctors rushed inside.
Police escorted everyone into the hallway.
Seconds later, the lights throughout the intensive care unit briefly flickered.
Only three seconds.
When electricity returned...
Victor's hospital room was empty.
The window remained closed.
The hallway had been guarded.
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Yet Victor Kane had vanished without leaving a single trace.
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