Chapter 8 - The Dead Man's Last Command
Thomas locked the front door behind him.
Kieran arrived seconds later, his gun raised.
“Step away from them.”
Thomas didn't move.
“You look just like your father.”
“That's not a compliment.”
“No. It isn't.”
I held Noah close.
“Tell us what happened.”
Thomas placed the photograph on the table.
“Vincent discovered that Adrian and Elise were preparing to expose him. He ordered both of them eliminated. Adrian escaped. Elise survived. But the operation didn't end there.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Thomas was the one who helped me disappear.”
“And the one who took Noah,” I said.
Thomas nodded.
“I didn't know what else to do. Your son was the only person Vincent couldn't use as leverage once Adrian disappeared.”
Kieran's voice was cold.
“Why did you tell Daniel that Vincent was alive?”
“Because I received a message two weeks ago.”
Thomas removed a small recording device.
The room filled with static.
Then a familiar voice spoke.
Vincent Voss.
“If my sons have found this, the final account is still active. Bring me the boy. Bring me the woman. And do not trust the one who carries my name.”
The recording ended.
Kieran stared at the device.
“That isn't possible.”
Thomas shook his head.
“I heard the same recording three times. I don't know whether he's alive or whether someone is using his voice.”
Garrett, who had arrived with medical assistance, leaned against the doorway.
“Father's voice can be replicated.”
“Not this recording,” Thomas replied. “It contains a private phrase he used only with me.”
Kieran took the device.
“Where did you get it?”
“Your father's old residence.”
The room fell silent.
Kieran turned toward Garrett.
“We're going there.”
“No,” I said.
He looked at me.
“You're staying with Noah.”
“I've spent five years being kept outside the truth. I'm done.”
“Mila—”
“Your father used my name. Someone took my child. Your brother helped create the account. I am not sitting in another safe house waiting for men to decide what I deserve to know.”
Kieran looked at Noah, then back at me.
Finally, he nodded.
We drove to Vincent's old estate before sunrise.
It stood outside Chicago, hidden behind tall trees and iron gates. The house had been empty since his death, but the security system was still operational.
Inside, the air smelled of dust and old wood.
Thomas led us to a study.
Behind a large painting was a concealed safe.
Garrett entered the combination.
It opened.
Inside were several folders, a black ledger, and a small envelope addressed to Kieran.
He opened it.
The letter contained only one paragraph.
My son, if you are reading this, you have made the same mistake I did. You trusted a woman with information she was never supposed to possess. The Hartley girl is not an innocent bystander. Ask her mother what happened in 1998.
I looked at the letter.
“My mother?”
Kieran glanced at me.
“Do you know what happened in 1998?”
I shook my head.
“My mother died when I was twelve. She never mentioned Vincent.”
Thomas slowly closed the study door.
“Then there's something else you need to see.”
He opened the ledger to the final page.
There, written in Vincent's handwriting, was my mother's full name.
May you like
Beside it were three words.
ORIGINAL ACCOUNT HOLDER.
