Chapter 10 - The Second Son
Daniel opened the journal carefully.
A small black phone had been fitted inside a hollow space carved through the pages. Its screen displayed no number.
Only one word:
FATHER
Daniel’s hands began to shake.
Samuel stared at the device.
“Don’t answer it.”
Claire looked at him sharply.
“Why?”
“Because that phone was buried with Thomas.”
Silence filled the chamber.
The phone continued ringing.
Daniel pressed the answer button.
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then a weak, damaged voice spoke.
“Daniel?”
His knees nearly gave way.
The voice was older than he remembered, but something in its tone felt painfully familiar.
“Who is this?”
“You already know.”
Daniel looked toward Claire.
She seemed just as shocked as he was.
“My father is dead.”
“That is what Victor needed you to believe.”
Samuel moved closer.
“This is a recording.”
The voice on the phone responded immediately.
“No, Samuel. It is not.”
Samuel’s face drained of color.
Thomas continued.
“Both of you are in danger. Victor has controlled the network for years, but he does not control everyone inside it.”
Daniel struggled to breathe.
“Where are you?”
“I cannot tell you yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because one of the people standing beside you is carrying a transmitter.”
Claire immediately checked her coat.
Samuel tore open the lining of his tactical vest.
Daniel examined the journal.
A small green light blinked beneath the spine.
Samuel ripped the device out and crushed it under his boot.
Thomas’s voice became clearer.
“You have less than four minutes before the archive purge reaches the foundation chamber.”
Claire looked toward the ceiling.
“What happens when it reaches us?”
“The servers will overload the old electrical system. The fire will destroy the tunnel and everyone inside it.”
Daniel looked at the narrow iron door.
“Is that the exit?”
“No,” Thomas replied. “It leads deeper.”
Samuel frowned.
“Deeper to what?”
“The first dining room.”
Mrs. Whitmore had mentioned the restaurant was built around a promise, but Daniel had assumed the original dining room had been demolished decades ago.
Thomas explained that the room had been sealed beneath the modern building after the fire. It contained the first guest ledger, the original trust seal, and records identifying every person involved in the secret network.
“Why didn’t Elias tell us?” Claire asked.
“Because Elias does not know everything.”
A violent tremor shook dust from the ceiling.
The countdown alarm changed pitch.
DATA PURGE: 03:12
Daniel inserted the key into the narrow door and turned it.
The door opened onto a steep staircase descending farther underground.
Samuel picked up his rifle.
“You still haven’t explained why you tried to shoot us.”
Samuel looked at him.
“I was not aiming at you.”
He pointed toward the wall where the first bullet had struck.
Daniel moved closer.
Embedded in the damaged stone was a small mechanical device with a blinking red lens.
“A remote detonator,” Claire said.
Samuel nodded.
“Someone placed it here before we arrived.”
Thomas’s voice came through the phone again.
“Listen carefully. When you reach the first dining room, do not open the guest ledger.”
Daniel stopped.
“Why?”
“Because the last person who opened it disappeared for twenty-two years.”
The call ended.
At that exact moment, the ceiling above them cracked open.
May you like
Smoke began pouring into the chamber.
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