Chapter 27 The Choice Between Them
The sirens grew louder.
Marcus looked from Victor to the registry.
“What people?”
Victor gave him a thin smile.
“Ask your friend.”
Marcus turned toward Sarah.
She had gone pale.
“What is he talking about?”
Sarah stared at the building.
“The archive workers.”
“How many?”
“Four.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“And they're underground.”
“Yes.”
Victor nodded.
“The vault doors have sealed.”
Richard stepped forward.
“You planned this.”
“I planned for every possibility.”
Victor looked at Daniel.
“You activated the witness protocol. The system began transferring the records automatically.”
Daniel understood.
“And you opened the emergency vaults.”
“Exactly.”
Marcus looked at the registry.
“If the transfer finishes, the evidence is safe.”
Sarah nodded.
“But the people inside won't be able to get out.”
“How long?”
She checked her watch.
“Twenty minutes.”
Victor smiled.
“You have less than that.”
Daniel looked at Marcus.
“We go inside.”
Marcus nodded.
“Everyone?”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at the others.
“We need two teams.”
Sarah immediately understood.
“One team reaches the archive workers.”
“The other protects the records,” Richard said.
Victor laughed.
“You still think you can control the outcome.”
Richard looked at him.
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“We're simply refusing to let you choose it for us.”
Victor's expression darkened.
Marcus turned to Emilia.
“You stay outside.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Emilia—”
“You promised not to make decisions about my life without me.”
He stopped.
She continued.
“I am one of the people connected to those records. If something happens to them, I need to know.”
Marcus looked at her.
“This could be dangerous.”
“I know.”
“And I don't want you hurt.”
“I know that too.”
She reached for his hand.
“But loving someone doesn't mean deciding what they can face.”
Marcus held her gaze.
Then he nodded.
“All right.”
Emilia squeezed his hand.
“Thank you.”
Daniel watched them.
For once, he said nothing.
He understood.
They divided into two groups.
Marcus, Emilia, Daniel, Sarah, and Thomas entered the registry.
Richard, Hannah, Edwin, Claire, Charlotte, and Evelyn stayed outside.
Marcus stopped at the entrance.
“If anything changes, you leave.”
Richard nodded.
“You too.”
Marcus looked at him.
His father smiled faintly.
“You're still my son.”
Marcus's expression softened.
“And you're still impossible.”
Richard laughed.
“Fair.”
They separated.
The doors closed.
The registry's main hall was empty.
Red emergency lights flashed overhead.
Daniel led them toward the basement.
Sarah followed.
She knew the building better than anyone.
At the bottom of the stairs stood a heavy steel door.
Sarah entered a code.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
Daniel examined the panel.
“It's waiting for authentication.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
He placed his hand against the scanner.
A light turned green.
The door opened.
Cold air rushed out.
They entered.
The archive stretched farther than Marcus expected.
Rows of sealed cabinets filled the underground chamber.
At the far end, a red light blinked.
Sarah pointed.
“The emergency vault.”
Marcus looked at the timer on the wall.
16:42
“We have sixteen minutes.”
They hurried forward.
A voice came from the intercom.
Victor.
“You should have stayed outside.”
Daniel looked up.
“Why?”
“Because now you will discover what your family has been protecting.”
The lights changed.
A section of the archive opened.
Inside were dozens of boxes.
Marcus stared.
“What are those?”
Sarah stepped closer.
“Original witness files.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You said there were seven children.”
“There were.”
“Then why are there so many?”
Sarah's expression changed.
“Because the seven were not the only victims.”
Silence.
She opened one box.
Inside were photographs.
Families.
Homes.
Businesses.
Children.
Adults.
People who had lost everything.
Marcus understood.
“The trust wasn't only about land.”
“No.”
Sarah's voice became quiet.
“It was about an entire generation of people who were erased from the official records.”
Emilia looked at the photographs.
Her eyes filled.
“How could anyone do this?”
Sarah looked at her.
“Because money makes people believe consequences belong to someone else.”
A loud bang came from the emergency vault.
Daniel looked up.
“Someone's inside.”
They ran.
The door was partially sealed.
Marcus pulled at the handle.
Nothing.
Thomas searched the wall.
“There has to be another release.”
Sarah pointed toward a panel.
“Behind that.”
Thomas opened it.
A manual lever appeared.
He pulled.
The door lifted several inches.
A voice called from inside.
“Help!”
Marcus and Daniel forced the door higher.
Four people crawled out.
One was injured.
Emilia immediately helped her sit.
“Are you okay?”
The woman nodded.
“I'm fine.”
Marcus looked at the others.
“Can you walk?”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked toward the vault.
“Is anyone else inside?”
“No.”
“Then we move.”
Sarah stopped.
“Wait.”
She was staring at the final cabinet.
It had opened.
Inside was a black folder.
Her face changed.
“What?”
She approached slowly.
“This wasn't supposed to be here.”
Daniel looked at the label.
“What is it?”
Sarah picked it up.
“The original chairman's file.”
Marcus frowned.
“Who's the chairman?”
Sarah looked at him.
“The man behind Victor.”
She opened the folder.
Her expression changed.
“No.”
Emilia stepped closer.
“What?”
Sarah turned the first page.
There was a photograph.
The chairman stood beside a much younger Victor.
Beside them was another man.
Marcus recognized him immediately.
His father.
Richard.
Marcus stared.
“Dad?”
Daniel took the photograph.
“Why was he with them?”
Sarah shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Marcus's heart sank.
“He told us he spent years fighting them.”
Sarah looked at the photograph.
“Maybe he did.”
She turned the page.
There were financial transfers.
Dates.
Names.
Payments.
Then a final document.
A confession.
Marcus read the first paragraph.
His face went pale.
“What does it say?”
He couldn't answer.
Emilia took the paper.
She read it.
Then looked at him.
“It says your father joined them.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
Sarah looked at the signature.
“That's his.”
Daniel's voice was quiet.
“Maybe he infiltrated them.”
Marcus looked at the date.
“That was before I was born.”
Sarah turned another page.
There was a handwritten note.
Richard must never know that the child survived.
Emilia's eyes widened.
“Which child?”
Sarah looked at the name beneath it.
Her face drained of color.
“Me.”
Marcus stepped backward.
“No.”
Sarah stared at the page.
“The chairman believed Elena died the night Sarah disappeared.”
Emilia's voice shook.
“Then why hide me?”
Sarah looked at her.
“To keep you from him.”
Daniel frowned.
“But Richard knew she survived.”
Sarah nodded.
“Yes.”
Marcus stared at the photograph again.
“Then why would my father work with them?”
Sarah didn't answer.
A sound came from the stairs.
Everyone turned.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Someone was coming down.
Marcus reached for the nearest metal bar.
“Who's there?”
Richard appeared.
He was alone.
His face was exhausted.
Marcus stared at him.
“Dad.”
Richard looked at the folder.
Then at Emilia.
His expression changed.
“You found it.”
Marcus held up the photograph.
“Tell me this isn't what it looks like.”
Richard said nothing.
Marcus's voice broke.
“Tell me.”
Richard closed his eyes.
“I can't.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You worked with them.”
Richard looked at him.
“Yes.”
The word landed like a blow.
Marcus stared at his father.
“Why?”
Richard walked toward them.
“Because I was trying to destroy them from the inside.”
Marcus shook his head.
“You could have told us.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because they had Elena.”
Emilia looked at him.
“You knew who I was?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Since the night you were born.”
Her face tightened.
“You lied to me.”
“I protected you.”
She shook her head.
“Everyone says that.”
Richard's voice broke.
“I know.”
Victor's voice suddenly filled the archive.
“You see?”
Everyone froze.
Victor continued.
“Your father isn't the hero you wanted him to be.”
Richard looked toward the ceiling.
“Victor.”
“You spent years hiding behind noble excuses.”
Victor laughed.
“But now the truth is finally coming out.”
Marcus looked at his father.
“Did you betray the trust?”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
“Did you help the chairman?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hurt anyone?”
Richard hesitated.
“I made choices that hurt people.”
Marcus's eyes filled.
“That's not an answer.”
Richard looked at him.
“No.”
His voice was barely audible.
“I did not hurt anyone deliberately.”
Marcus looked away.
It wasn't enough.
Not yet.
Victor spoke again.
“Then ask him about the seventh child.”
Daniel froze.
Richard looked at him.
“Daniel.”
“What?”
Richard hesitated.
“Your mother didn't ask me to hide you.”
Daniel stared.
“Then who did?”
Richard looked toward Sarah.
“Rebecca never knew.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“Who changed my identity?”
Richard's answer came slowly.
“I did.”
Daniel stared.
“Why?”
“Because the chairman knew about you.”
“Why would he?”
Richard looked at him.
“Because you were never meant to be the seventh witness.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then what was I?”
Richard's face filled with regret.
“You were the backup.”
Silence.
The meaning settled over the room.
Daniel's voice became quiet.
“Backup for who?”
Richard looked at Emilia.
“The real seventh witness.”
Everyone turned toward her.
Emilia's breathing stopped.
Richard continued.
“The witness who disappeared before the records were sealed.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Who?”
Richard didn't answer.
The archive lights suddenly went dark.
Then a single screen illuminated.
A photograph appeared.
A little girl stood beside Sarah.
The girl looked about eight years old.
Emilia stared at the screen.
She knew that face.
She had seen it before.
In an old photograph from her childhood.
She whispered,
“That's my sister.”
Sarah's face went white.
“No.”
The screen displayed a name.
Mara Vale.
Then another line appeared.
STATUS: ALIVE
Emilia stared.
Her mother had never mentioned a sister.
Victor's voice came through the speakers.
“Now you understand.”
The screen changed.
A live camera feed appeared.
A young woman stood inside the old family residence.
She looked directly into the camera.
Her face was older than the photograph.
But the resemblance was undeniable.
She lifted a hand.
“Emilia?”
Emilia stepped toward the screen.
“Mara?”
The woman nodded.
Then the screen went black.
A final message appeared:
COME ALONE.
Marcus grabbed Emilia's hand.
She turned toward him.
“I have to go.”
“No.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Marcus, she's my sister.”
Richard stepped forward.
“Victor wants exactly that.”
Emilia looked at the dark screen.
Then at Marcus.
“I know.”
A distant explosion shook the building.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Sarah looked upward.
“The archive is collapsing.”
Daniel looked at the timer.
03:08
Marcus tightened his grip on Emilia's hand.
They had less than three minutes to escape.
And somewhere above them, a woman who had been missing for most of Emilia's life was waiting.