Chapter 16 - The Old Clue
Victor poured himself tea.
That was somehow worse than if he had been screaming.
“You look very much like Thomas.”
I stared at him.
“You murdered him.”
“He became sentimental.”
“You murdered Gabriel.”
“Gabriel became ambitious.”
Behind the glass, Gabriel opened his eyes.
Victor smiled.
“Everybody becomes something inconvenient eventually.”
“Where is my mother?”
“Alive.”
“For now?”
He smiled again.
I hated him instantly.
Nolan stood near the door.
He looked miserable.
But misery did not make him innocent.
Victor placed the music box on the table.
“You brought me the keys.”
I looked at Nolan.
“You gave it to him?”
Nolan whispered.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
I almost laughed.
That had always been his favorite excuse.
Victor opened the box.
Empty.
His smile disappeared.
I remembered my father’s recording.
Do not trust the obvious answer.
The memory card we found had contained account keys.
But Anna had noticed something before the attack.
The numbers were one digit short.
A decoy.
My father’s old clue returned to me.
Hymn 714.
Gabriel knows.
The real key had never been inside the music box.
The music box itself was the key.
Its melody.
Seven notes.
Repeated in a pattern.
Victor did not know.
But Gabriel did.
Through the glass, Gabriel watched me.
I tapped my finger against the chair.
The rhythm of the childhood song.
Seven notes.
Gabriel’s eyes widened.
He understood.
Victor noticed.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
He approached.
“You have your father’s worst habit.”
“What?”
“Thinking you’re smarter than frightened people should be.”
I smiled despite the fear.
“My father scared you for seventeen years.”
Victor slapped the table.
The calm mask disappeared.
There he was.
The real man.
Then gunfire erupted somewhere beneath the facility.
Victor turned.
An alarm sounded.
Nolan looked toward the hallway.
“What is that?”
I knew before anyone answered.
Dante.
Victor stared at the security monitor.
A man walked through smoke with blood visible beneath his shirt.
Dante Moretti was alive.
And behind him were federal agents.
Victor grabbed my arm.
“We’re leaving.”
I looked straight at Nolan.
He had one final choice.
For the first time in two years, I watched him make one that wasn’t about controlling me.
He stepped in front of Victor.
May you like
“No.”
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