Chapter 13 - The Confession
Daniel positioned Charlotte in front of the camera.
A prepared statement sat on the table.
Charlotte read the first line.
My name is Charlotte Vale, and I fraudulently claimed ownership of Solmere Holdings.
She looked up.
“You really think anyone will believe this?”
Daniel leaned against the wall.
“They will after you disappear.”
Charlotte stared at him.
“You’re going to kill us anyway.”
Daniel smiled.
“Probably.”
Ethan pulled against his restraints.
Daniel ignored him.
Charlotte looked toward Samuel.
Her father appeared surprisingly calm.
Then she noticed his fingers.
He was tapping against the chair.
Three short movements.
Pause.
Two.
Pause.
Charlotte recognized Morse code.
Her grandfather had taught her as a child.
VENT.
She looked toward the ceiling.
A narrow ventilation grille.
Too small for Samuel or Ethan.
Possibly large enough for Charlotte.
Daniel placed the statement in front of her.
“Read.”
Charlotte looked at the camera.
“My name is Charlotte Vale.”
Daniel nodded.
“And for most of my life, I believed my family built Solmere through discipline, loyalty, and sacrifice.”
Daniel frowned.
“That isn’t written there.”
Charlotte continued.
“I recently learned that one member of my family believed murder was easier than earning anything honestly.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Stop.”
Charlotte looked directly into the camera.
“His name is Daniel Vale.”
Daniel struck her across the face.
The chair toppled.
Ethan shouted.
Daniel grabbed Charlotte by the hair.
“You think this is a game?”
Charlotte smiled despite the pain.
“No.”
“I think your cameras are uploading remotely.”
Daniel froze.
Charlotte had noticed the transmitter.
If the system was cloud-connected, footage existed elsewhere.
Daniel looked toward the technician.
“Kill the feed.”
The technician rushed to the equipment.
That distraction was enough.
Samuel kicked a metal table into one guard.
Ethan broke the weakened armrest of his chair.
Charlotte rolled toward Daniel.
The room erupted.
Ethan struck the technician.
Samuel grabbed a guard’s weapon.
Charlotte ran toward the utility wall.
She pulled a fire suppression lever.
Foam exploded from ceiling nozzles.
Visibility disappeared.
Charlotte climbed onto the table.
She forced open the ventilation grille.
Daniel shouted somewhere behind her.
“Charlotte!”
She climbed inside.
A bullet struck the metal beside her.
She crawled through darkness.
Behind her, Ethan and Samuel continued fighting.
Charlotte reached a junction.
One tunnel led outside.
The other toward the control room.
She chose the control room.
Daniel needed the recording destroyed.
Which meant Charlotte needed it saved.
She kicked through another vent.
Two monitors displayed live camera feeds.
Charlotte saw Ethan pinned down.
Samuel bleeding.
Daniel searching for her.
She found the network console.
REMOTE BACKUP ACTIVE.
Destination:
SOLMERE CENTRAL ARCHIVE.
Charlotte smiled.
Daniel’s own confession room was streaming directly into a corporate archive.
She pressed LOCK BACKUP.
Then she heard a voice behind her.
“You really are becoming annoying.”
Vivian stood in the doorway.
She held a gun.
Charlotte looked at her.
“Are you going to shoot me?”
Vivian raised the weapon.
Then she aimed past Charlotte.
Daniel appeared behind her.
Vivian fired.
Daniel fell.
Charlotte stared at her.
Vivian lowered the gun.
“I told you he was going to kill me.”
Daniel groaned on the floor.
The bullet had struck his shoulder.
Vivian looked at Charlotte.
“Now get your father.”
Sirens sounded outside.
Charlotte frowned.
Vivian smiled.
“I finally called the one group Daniel couldn’t buy.”
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“Who?”
“Every federal agency Lena Brooks could find.”
