Chapter 26 - Victor's Bargain
The darkness lasted only a few seconds.
But it was enough.
By the time the emergency lights came on, Victor was gone.
The investigator cursed.
Two officers sprinted upstairs.
Evan grabbed my arm.
“Where's the box?”
I held it against my chest.
“Here.”
“Don't lose it.”
Victor had wanted the room found.
That was the part I couldn't understand.
He could have destroyed it.
He could have taken the evidence.
Instead, he had waited for us.
Then he left.
The investigator called for a building lockdown.
No one entered.
No one left.
But the cameras showed something impossible.
Victor had never appeared on the hallway feed.
The only figure visible leaving the basement was a maintenance worker.
Wearing a gray uniform.
Face hidden.
At first, I thought it was coincidence.
Then Anna whispered:
“That's how he disappeared last time.”
“What?”
“He used hospital uniforms.”
The investigator looked at her.
“You've seen this before?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“After I was shot.”
She swallowed.
“I woke up in a hospital.”
“What happened?”
“A nurse told me someone had come looking for me.”
“Who?”
“Victor.”
“Why?”
“He thought I had remembered something.”
“What?”
Anna shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Then why were you alive?”
She looked at me.
“Because David hid me.”
The investigator stared.
“David knew you survived?”
“Yes.”
“And Richard?”
“He knew.”
I felt anger rising.
“So Richard wasn't trying to kill you.”
“No.”
“He was trying to keep you quiet.”
“Yes.”
“And Victor wanted you dead.”
Anna nodded.
“Because I saw Lucas.”
The room went silent.
“When?”
“The night he was taken.”
Diane stared at her.
“You saw my son?”
“Yes.”
“And you let him disappear?”
Anna started crying.
“I was twenty-three.”
“That was my baby!”
“I know!”
Diane slapped her.
The sound echoed through the corridor.
Anna didn't move.
“I know,” she whispered.
Diane raised her hand again.
Evan stopped her.
“Mom.”
“You all knew.”
“No.”
“They knew.”
Anna shook her head.
“I knew too little.”
Diane's anger turned into grief.
“My son grew up thinking I abandoned him.”
Anna closed her eyes.
“I think Victor told him that.”
The flash drive suddenly mattered more than anything.
We took it to the investigator's office.
It contained one folder.
One video.
No password.
The recording began with David.
He looked older.
Tired.
Afraid.
“Lucas,” he said.
Evan stared at the screen.
“Dad.”
David continued.
“If you're watching this, then you are old enough to understand why I lied.”
The video paused.
Then continued.
“Your mother did not abandon you.”
Diane covered her mouth.
“She was deceived.”
David looked directly into the camera.
“Victor wanted access to my financial records. Richard wanted control of the merger. But neither understood the trust.”
He took a breath.
“The trust is tied to your bloodline.”
Evan whispered:
“Here we go.”
David continued.
“Lucas, you are the fourth beneficiary.”
The screen cut to black.
Then resumed.
“You were hidden because the law would not allow the trust to become active while Victor could establish your identity.”
The investigator leaned closer.
“Establish his identity?”
David's voice continued.
“Your biological connection to me is the key to the final transfer.”
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
“But if Victor gets proof that you are my son, he can seize the trust before you are legally protected.”
The investigator stared.
“How?”
David explained.
“The merger creates a temporary control gap. During that gap, the person who produces the authenticated bloodline record can claim emergency authority.”
Evan stood.
“Victor wants the trust.”
“Yes.”
“But Richard thought he wanted the money.”
“Richard was never smart enough to understand the structure.”
David's voice became quieter.
“Lucas, there is one thing I couldn't record.”
He leaned toward the camera.
“The man called Victor isn't acting alone.”
The video stopped.
A password prompt appeared.
Three attempts.
Then the drive would erase itself.
The investigator cursed.
“What was the rest?”
“We don't know.”
Anna stared at the screen.
“He said he wasn't acting alone.”
I thought about the hospital.
The records.
Dr. Bell.
Richard.
Victor.
Then I remembered the blurred man in the footage.
“The doctor.”
Everyone looked at me.
“The man with Victor wasn't an accomplice.”
“What then?”
“He was part of the original plan.”
The investigator understood.
“Someone inside the hospital.”
I nodded.
“Someone helped create the fake death record.”
Evan looked sick.
“Then the person who changed it yesterday may know where Lucas is.”
My phone rang.
No number.
I answered.
Lucas was crying.
“I'm sorry.”
“Lucas?”
“I shouldn't have called.”
“Where are you?”
“I don't know.”
“Listen to me. We're coming.”
“No.”
His voice shook.
“Please don't.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor isn't alone.”
I closed my eyes.
“Who is with him?”
Lucas whispered:
“A woman.”
“Who?”
“I think she's your mother.”
Diane stopped breathing.
I looked at her.
“What woman?”
Lucas answered:
May you like
“She says her name is Diane.”
The call ended.
