Chapter 8 - The Man in the Tunnel

The figure emerged slowly from behind the server racks.

Dr. Owen Mercer raised both hands.

“Do not call security.”

Richard moved in front of Khloe.

“You disappeared after the gala.”

“I was told to disappear.”

“By whom?”

Mercer looked toward the sealed gate.

“We need to leave before they realize I’m here.”

Elaine held up her phone.

“There is no signal.”

“That is intentional.”

Mercer crossed the room.

“Victor Lang controls the emergency system in this wing.”

Richard stared at him.

“Victor locked us inside?”

“He knows the archive can prove everything.”

Khloe studied Mercer.

“You signed a psychiatric evaluation claiming I was unstable.”

His face tightened.

“I signed a blank authorization page.”

“That is still illegal.”

“I know.”

“Why?”

“Marcus threatened my daughter.”

Khloe did not move.

Mercer removed a small memory card from his pocket.

“My daughter was treated here three years ago.”

“For what?”

“A heart condition.”

His voice became strained.

“Marcus obtained her private records and threatened to release them with fabricated drug-test results.”

Elaine looked disgusted.

“He blackmailed you.”

“Yes.”

Mercer offered the memory card to Khloe.

“I copied every message he sent me.”

Richard took it first.

“Why come here tonight?”

“Because Isabella called me after the attack.”

Mercer looked toward Khloe.

“She said the original plan had failed.”

“What original plan?”

“You were supposed to become dizzy in the suite.”

Khloe remembered the crystal water glass on the counter.

“The drink.”

Mercer nodded.

“A mild sedative had been placed in it.”

Elaine’s face hardened.

“They planned to record her behaving irrationally.”

“Yes.”

“Then why did Isabella attack her?”

“She panicked.”

Khloe thought of Isabella’s rage.

“No.”

She shook her head.

“Isabella did not panic.”

Mercer looked uncertain.

“She wanted me hurt.”

The first plan had been Marcus’s.

The attack had been Isabella’s.

That distinction mattered.

A loud impact struck the external gate.

Someone was trying to enter.

Samuel disconnected the portable terminal.

“I have copied the archive history.”

“Can they erase the servers?” Khloe asked.

“Not without physically destroying them.”

Another impact echoed through the corridor.

Richard pointed toward the rear wall.

“Open the tunnel.”

Samuel pulled an emergency lever.

A narrow steel door released with a hiss.

Cold air entered the room.

The tunnel beyond was dark and unfinished.

Richard looked at Khloe’s wheelchair.

“The floor is uneven.”

“I can walk.”

“You should not.”

“I can.”

Elaine helped her stand.

Pain tightened through Khloe’s side, but she remained upright.

One of the guards led the way with a flashlight.

Samuel followed with the evidence drive.

Mercer entered behind him.

Khloe and Elaine moved next.

Richard remained at the rear.

They had traveled less than fifty feet when the archive door crashed open behind them.

Voices entered the room.

Richard pulled the tunnel door closed.

A mechanical lock engaged.

“Who knows about this tunnel?” Elaine whispered.

Richard looked straight ahead.

“Victor.”

The group continued through darkness.

Water dripped from overhead pipes.

Khloe focused on each step and the steady pressure of Elaine’s hand.

Then a voice came through a speaker hidden somewhere in the tunnel.

“Richard.”

Everyone stopped.

Victor Lang’s voice echoed through the concrete passage.

“You are making a serious mistake.”

Richard stared upward.

“You trapped a pregnant woman underground.”

“I am protecting this hospital.”

Khloe looked toward the speaker.

“No.”

Her voice traveled through the tunnel.

“You are protecting the people who paid you.”

A pause followed.

Then Victor answered.

“You have no idea what your father built, Khloe.”

She tightened her hand around Elaine’s arm.

“Then I’ll ask you myself.”

Another steel gate began lowering at the far end of the tunnel.

May you like

The housekeeper was supposed to be invisible. Instead, Sophia Hale becam...

Victoria: You will never get a single cent of this family inheritance! M...

The billionaire father was told his son had died. Then the maid smashed...

Victor’s voice returned.

“You will never reach me.”