Chapter 11 - The Counterattack
Mara turned off the flashlight. Solomon did the same. Beneath them, the basement became a pocket of darkness filled with the smell of damp concrete and old dust. Roane’s footsteps crossed the floor above.
“He can’t get through the hatch without making noise,” Solomon whispered.
“And you can’t stop him.” “Not alone.” Mara glanced at the memory card.
“What is on this?” “Jennifer’s insurance.” “You haven’t seen it?” “She didn’t let me.” The hatch handle moved. Mara searched the shelves and found a length of copper pipe.
Solomon lifted a metal tool from the floor. Neither weapon made her feel safe, but fear had become less useful than preparation.
“When the hatch opens, we run toward the furnace room,” she whispered.
“There’s a service exit.” “Locked from the outside.” “Then break it.” The hatch opened three inches. A flashlight beam cut into the darkness.
Solomon struck the metal cover with the tool. Roane swore and pulled back. Mara shoved the hatch upward, catching a glimpse of a black coat. Solomon grabbed her hand, and they ran.
They reached the furnace room as a gunshot struck the pipe above them. The service door shuddered beneath Solomon’s shoulder. He hit it again and again until the old wood split. Cold rain struck Mara’s face as they emerged behind the house.
Rhea lay unconscious near the kitchen window. One detective sat against the wall with a bleeding arm. The other had disappeared. Mara ran toward Rhea, but Solomon pulled her down as another shot tore through the shrubs.
“Stay low.” “We can’t leave them.” “We won’t.” He crawled toward the security panel and ripped open the casing. His hands moved quickly, using wires to bypass the jammed signal.
The cameras flickered on. Mara’s phone vibrated. The security app showed every camera feed at once. Roane stood in the basement, looking directly into the lens.
He held the blue folder in one hand.
“You found the trust,” he said through the outdoor speaker.
“Good. Now you understand why your father kept you ignorant.” Mara rose despite Solomon’s warning.
“You killed Victor.” Roane smiled.
“Victor killed himself by refusing to be practical.” “You threatened Charlotte.” “Charlotte volunteered.” “You used my husband.” “Solomon used himself.” Solomon stepped in front of Mara.
“Let them go.” Roane’s expression changed.
“You still think you can bargain.” He pressed a button. The speaker played a recording of Theo crying.
Mara’s body went cold.
“Where is my son?” she demanded.
“Safe, for now.” Nia’s sister had promised to call every hour. Mara had not heard from her since entering the house.
She pulled out her phone, but the signal jammer blocked the call. Roane continued, “The child is with someone who believes she is protecting him.” “Charlotte.” “She brought him to a second location before leaving the house.” Solomon looked at Mara.
“My mother would not hurt him.” “She has already used him.” Roane lifted the folder.
“Bring me the recorder and the trust key. Come alone, and the boy goes home.” “If you touch him—”“I will not touch him.
I need him alive because his mother will do anything for him.” The cameras went black. Mara’s knees weakened. Solomon caught her elbow, but she pulled away.
“Call Charlotte,” he said.
“The jammer.” He pointed toward the roof.
“There’s a repeater. If we destroy it, the signal returns.” They reached the roof through the kitchen window.
Solomon climbed first and Mara followed, soaked by rain. The repeater was mounted beside the chimney, its red light pulsing. Solomon struck it with the copper pipe. The first blow missed.
The second cracked the casing. On the third, the lights across the house came back. Mara’s phone filled with notifications. She called Nia’s sister.
No answer. She called Theo’s tablet. It connected briefly. A woman answered, breathing hard.
“Mara?” “Where is Theo?” “Charlotte took him.” “Where?” “I tried to follow, but she—”The line cut out. A text arrived from an unknown number with an image attached.
Theo sat in the back seat of a car, wearing his dinosaur pajamas. Charlotte sat beside him, one hand on his shoulder. The message read: He keeps asking for his mother. Come to the place where your father buried the truth.
Nia called from the police perimeter.
“Mara, the detective who disappeared has been found.” “Is he alive?” “Yes, but he says Roane had an accomplice inside the department.” Mara looked at the photograph again. Behind Theo was a blurred sign.
RIVERBEND CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. Her mother had been treated there eight years earlier.
“I know where they are,” Mara said. Solomon shook his head.
“It’s a trap.” “Of course it is.” She grabbed the trust key and the recorder.
May you like
“Then we set a better one.” Before they reached the car, a new message appeared. Charlotte wrote it herself.
Come without Solomon. If he follows, Theo will learn what his father did to Victor.
