Chapter 14 - The Man Who Was Never a Prisoner
Daniel replayed the image several times.
Victor stood inside a concrete room beneath a hanging industrial light. There were no ropes around his wrists. No bruises on his face except the injury from the hospital.
Adrian stood beside him, speaking to someone outside the frame.
“He was working with Adrian all along,” Samuel said.
Eleanor remained uncertain.
“Or he wanted them to believe that.”
Daniel zoomed in.
Victor’s right hand was hidden behind his back.
Only two fingers were visible.
They were crossed.
A signal.
“He’s pretending,” Daniel said.
Samuel frowned.
“Why?”
“To stay alive.”
Another file on the memory card contained a map.
It showed a route from the underground railway line to Warehouse 17. Several sections were marked in red.
One passage led directly beneath the police evidence facility downtown.
Daniel stared at it.
“Adrian could move anything through these tunnels without being seen.”
Eleanor turned the blueprint over.
Thomas had written a warning along the bottom edge.
Never trust the route that appears safest.
Daniel compared both maps.
One tunnel was missing from Melissa’s version.
A narrow maintenance shaft running behind the Founder's Vault.
“That’s our way in,” he said.
A loud knock came from the restaurant entrance.
Police entered with a search warrant.
The lead investigator approached Daniel.
“Mr. Cole, you need to come with us.”
“On what charge?”
“Financial conspiracy, obstruction, and unlawful property transfers.”
Samuel stepped forward.
“These documents were planted.”
The investigator remained unmoved.
Daniel looked at Eleanor.
If he resisted, Adrian would gain even more public sympathy.
If he surrendered, he might lose the only chance to reach the vault.
Eleanor quietly slipped Thomas’s blueprint beneath her coat.
Daniel raised his hands.
“I’ll cooperate.”
As officers escorted him through the restaurant, cameras flashed outside.
The crowd shouted.
Some called him a thief.
Others demanded his arrest.
Daniel paused beside Eleanor.
“Don’t go underground without me.”
She gave no promise.
At the station, Daniel was placed inside an interview room.
A detective opened a file filled with bank records.
Every page carried Daniel’s electronic signature.
“These transfers total nearly eighteen million dollars,” the detective said.
Daniel studied the dates.
Most occurred while he was traveling.
One date stood out.
The first transfer happened exactly twenty-eight years earlier.
The same night Thomas Hayes supposedly died.
Daniel looked up.
“This isn’t about me.”
Before the detective could respond, the room lights flickered.
A message appeared on the wall monitor.
HELLO, DANIEL.
The security feed changed.
Eleanor and Samuel were entering the tunnel beneath Bellarose.
A second message appeared.
May you like
YOU TOLD HER NOT TO GO ALONE.
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