Chapter 9 - The Cost of Knowing
Elena fired Rafael Dunn before breakfast.
He accepted the decision with a calm that made Oliver distrust him more. “You will regret removing the only person who knows how this tower works,” Rafael said.
“I regret hiring you,” Elena replied.
After he left, she stood in the empty office, staring at the security feed. Oliver had seen her furious. He had never seen her ashamed.
“I should have told you about the device,” she said.
“Yes.”
“I thought if I explained, you would leave.”
“You were right.”
Her eyes closed briefly.
He wanted to comfort her. Wanting that felt like another dangerous habit.
Chloe recovered part of the copied file from a backup drive. The confession opened with Adrian Vale speaking from a room Oliver recognized as the old Aurelia archive.
“If this recording is found,” Adrian said, “then Lionel Voss has probably succeeded in turning my mistakes into weapons.”
He admitted that Vale Meridian had concealed losses during its early expansion. He had approved false valuations to keep the company alive, believing the company supported thousands of workers. Voss had used that compromise to build a private empire inside the business.
“Peter Parker discovered the larger theft,” Adrian continued. “I asked him to help me fix it quietly. That was cowardice. I should have gone public.”
The recording ended before Adrian identified who had ordered Peter's death.
Oliver studied the time stamp. “There are missing minutes.”
“The file was damaged,” Chloe said.
“Or edited.”
Jessica called from an unknown number.
Oliver answered. “What do you want?”
“To tell you the truth before someone else decides what it is.”
“Where are you?”
“At the old Northstar parking garage.”
He almost ended the call, but she added, “Mark is alive.”
Elena reached for his arm. Oliver stepped away.
“I am going alone,” he said.
“No.”
“You do not get to make that decision.”
She looked at him, then nodded once. “Chloe and I will stay out of sight.”
The parking garage smelled of gasoline and wet concrete. Jessica stood beside a column, clutching a small recorder. Her face looked older than it had the night Oliver found her.
“Mark was working for Voss,” she said. “He took the files from your desk because Voss promised to erase his brother's debt.”
“And you?”
“I knew he was cheating on his wife. I didn't know he was spying on you until three weeks ago.”
“You slept with him for six months.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Jessica swallowed. “I was angry at you for being successful while I felt invisible. Mark noticed. He made me feel chosen.”
Oliver let the silence answer for him.
“Where is Mark?”
“He recorded Voss ordering the attack at the ferry terminal. He tried to run. Voss caught him.”
Jessica pressed the recorder into Oliver's hand. “Mark hid this in my apartment. Someone searched the place after he vanished.”
Headlights flooded the garage entrance.
Jessica grabbed Oliver's sleeve. “They found us.”
A car accelerated toward them.
Oliver shoved Jessica aside as the vehicle struck the column. Concrete cracked. The recorder flew from his hand and skidded beneath the car.
May you like
From the driver's seat, Rafael Dunn stepped out, holding a gun.
“Ms. Vale was right about one thing,” he said. “You should never have gone digging.”
