Chapter 13 - Thirty-Two Names
The laptop showed a transfer option.
No internet.
Victoria's jammer had killed the signal.
I needed another way.
The bedroom had an old landline.
No dial tone.
I searched the room.
Balcony doors.
Television.
Books.
Nothing.
The pounding stopped.
That frightened me more.
Victoria was planning another entrance.
I copied the files to the laptop.
Then I noticed a cable running behind the desk.
Ethernet.
The mansion's internal network.
Daniel once told me wealthy estates often maintained hardwired emergency systems separate from wireless connections.
I plugged it in.
The screen flickered.
Connected.
I sent the files to Marcus's department.
To three newspapers.
To two federal prosecutors.
To myself.
Upload progress appeared.
Eight percent.
The door handle slowly turned.
Twelve percent.
A metallic scraping came from the lock.
Twenty-one.
I grabbed a chair and pushed it beneath the handle.
Thirty-seven.
The wood near the lock splintered.
Fifty-two.
Victoria's voice remained calm.
“You think this will bring Claire back?”
I stared at the screen.
Seventy-one.
“No.”
My voice shook.
“But it might bring thirty-two children home.”
Silence.
Then Victoria kicked the door.
The frame cracked.
Eighty-four.
She kicked again.
Ninety-two.
The door burst inward.
Victoria entered with blood running from her forehead.
She raised the gun.
The upload reached one hundred percent.
Sent.
I smiled.
“You're finished.”
Victoria shot the laptop.
The screen exploded.
I fell backward.
She stared at the ruined machine.
Then she saw my face.
“You sent it.”
“Yes.”
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then Victoria lowered the gun.
Surprisingly, she laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“Claire's files won't destroy me.”
“You confessed downstairs.”
“No recording survived downstairs.”
“The files show everything.”
“They show enough to create panic.”
She stepped closer.
“But not enough to find the children.”
My confidence disappeared.
“What did you do?”
“I moved them.”
“When?”
“Months ago.”
“Where?”
She smiled.
“Ask your friend Daniel.”
My blood froze.
Daniel appeared in the doorway behind her.
His face was pale.
Victoria did not turn.
“You never told Elena the whole truth, did you?”
I looked at him.
“Daniel?”
His eyes filled with shame.
“I couldn't.”
Victoria smiled.
“Tell her who designed the relocation system.”
May you like
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I did.”
