Chapter 12 - The Whispering Walls
The discovery of the ledger sent a chilling shockwave through the revitalized estate. Declan and Aaron spent the next six hours cross-referencing the handwriting with every high-ranking operative, accountant, and lawyer who had ever set foot inside the compound. None of them matched.
"It's disguised," Aaron said, leaning over the desk as he adjusted a magnifying desk lamp. "Look at the slant of the capital 'S'. It’s an intentional mimicry. Someone is trying to make us think our father rose from the dead, or that a hidden faction within the family survived our purge."
Declan’s jaw clenched. "If a hidden faction exists, they’ve been watching us play house for two years. They watched Graham fall, they watched us dismantle the drug routes, and they waited until our guard was completely down."
Suddenly, the estate’s automated security system flickered. The interior lights dimmed from a steady white to a low, amber emergency pulse.
Warning: Perimeter Breach at Subterranean Sector Four.
Declan didn't hesitate. He pulled his SIG Sauer from his holster, checking the chamber with a sharp metallic click. "Aaron, secure Mia and Penny in the panic suite. Do not open the door for anyone unless you hear my specific knock—three short, two long."
"Declan, let me come with you," Aaron argued, grabbing his own sidearm from the hidden wall compartment.
"No. Protect my family. I'm going down to the vault."
Declan moved through the sprawling corridors with lethal stealth, his footsteps silent against the polished marble. Sector Four led directly to the old subterranean titanium cell where Graham Pike had been locked away for the past twenty-four years—wait, two years. As he reached the heavy blast door, he saw that the digital keypad had been cleanly bypassed with a high-frequency override box.
May you like
The titanium door stood wide open.
Inside, the cell was pitch black, freezing cold, and completely empty. Scratched deeply into the concrete wall with a sharp piece of metal was a fresh message left behind in the dark: See you at the apex, brother.
