Chapter 7 - The Betrayal Inside the Glass Tower
Adrian put the call on speaker.
"Vincent."
A quiet laugh.
"You finally found Elena's little archive."
Adrian looked around the basement.
"Where are you?"
"Closer than you think."
"Then stop hiding."
"I survived because I learned something your father never did. Powerful men don't need to be seen. They need to be believed."
Olivia watched Adrian's expression.
No anger.
That was when she knew he was angriest.
Vincent continued.
"The girl complicated things."
Olivia stepped toward the phone.
"My name is Olivia."
Silence.
Then Vincent laughed.
"Of course it is."
"You sent Felix after me."
"I sent Felix to recover property."
"I wasn't your property."
"The drive was."
"Then you should've kept better track of it."
Ryan looked at her with startled pride.
Vincent stopped laughing.
"You're braver than Felix described."
"No. I'm just done being scared of men who think fear makes them important."
Adrian looked at her.
Vincent's voice hardened.
"Give me the original drive."
"No."
"Then your brother pays for what he stole."
Ryan leaned toward the phone.
"I'm standing right here."
A pause.
"Interesting."
Adrian understood first.
Vincent hadn't known Ryan was safe.
Which meant his information wasn't perfect.
They had an advantage.
"Goodbye, Vincent."
Adrian ended the call.
Investigators began tracing the communication.
Marcus focused on the photograph from Adrian's penthouse.
Only six people had access.
Adrian.
Marcus.
Housekeeper.
Building manager.
Two security supervisors.
Within hours, one name stood out.
Daniel Cross.
Night security supervisor.
He had worked at Vale Tower for eleven years.
Including the year Elena died.
Marcus went pale.
"I hired him."
"You couldn't have known," Adrian said.
Marcus looked furious with himself.
They returned to Vale Tower.
Daniel was gone.
His apartment had been emptied.
His access logs showed something worse.
He had entered Adrian's private office repeatedly.
Including the night Olivia accidentally called.
"He heard the call?" Olivia asked.
Marcus nodded.
"He could have."
That explained how Vincent knew so quickly.
But another discovery was worse.
Daniel had accessed the building's archive level twenty minutes earlier.
He was still inside.
Police surrounded the building.
Adrian insisted on entering with investigators.
Olivia remained in the lobby with Ryan.
For exactly four minutes.
Then the elevators shut down.
Every light flickered.
Ryan looked up.
"That's not good."
"No."
The emergency system activated.
A prerecorded voice instructed everyone to remain calm.
Olivia's phone rang.
Adrian.
She answered.
"Where are you?"
"Archive level."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. Elevators are locked."
Ryan gestured toward a service stairwell.
Olivia said, "We're coming up."
"No."
"Adrian."
"Olivia—"
"You really haven't learned as much as you think."
She hung up.
Ryan stared at her.
"You know he hates that."
"Good."
They climbed.
On the archive level, they found Adrian and Marcus with investigators.
Daniel Cross was gone.
But one secure cabinet had been opened.
Inside was an old personnel file.
Vincent Marlowe.
And a building blueprint.
A red circle marked a tunnel beneath Vale Tower connecting to an older structure next door.
Marcus looked at Adrian.
"That's how he's moving."
They entered the tunnel.
It led beneath the city block.
At the end stood a steel door.
Unlocked.
Behind it was a hidden office.
Recently occupied.
Coffee still warm.
Monitors active.
One screen showed live security feeds from Vale Tower.
Another showed Olivia's apartment.
Her bedroom.
Her kitchen.
Olivia went cold.
Ryan whispered, "He's been watching you."
Adrian immediately ordered Marcus to contact police at her building.
Olivia stared at the screen.
Then noticed something.
A reflection.
In the dark glass behind the camera image.
A number.
"The locker."
Ryan looked at her.
"What?"
"Union Station. Locker 317."
They returned to the station with investigators.
Locker 317 had been cleared after Ryan disappeared.
But the metal back panel was removable.
Behind it was a second compartment.
Inside lay an envelope addressed to OLIVIA.
Ryan stared.
"I didn't put that there."
She opened it.
One sheet.
One sentence.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY FELIX CHOSE YOU, ASK YOUR MOTHER.
Olivia's face drained.
"My mother died twelve years ago."
Ryan took the paper.
"No."
His voice sounded strange.
Olivia turned.
"What?"
Ryan couldn't look at her.
"Ryan."
He closed his eyes.
"Mom didn't die."
The station noise seemed to disappear.
"What did you say?"
"She left."
Olivia stared.
"You told me she died."
"Dad told both of us that."
"Then how do you know?"
Ryan slowly pulled out his phone.
"Because she contacted me six months ago."
Olivia stepped backward.
"You've been talking to her?"
"Liv—"
"For six months?"
"I didn't know if it was really her."
"Where is she?"
Ryan looked at the message on his phone.
"She sent me an address yesterday."
"Where?"
He turned the screen toward Olivia.
The address was only six blocks away.
They arrived twenty minutes later.
A narrow apartment building.
Third floor.
Apartment 3C.
Olivia stood outside.
Her hand shook.
Adrian stayed several feet behind her.
"This is yours," he said.
She appreciated that.
Olivia knocked.
No answer.
Again.
Then locks turned.
The door slowly opened.
A woman stood inside.
Older.
Gray threaded through her dark hair.
But Olivia recognized her eyes immediately.
Her own eyes.
The woman whispered:
"Livvy?"
Olivia hadn't heard that name since childhood.
Her mother reached toward her.
Then stopped.
May you like
Tears filled her eyes.
"Before you hate me," she whispered, "you need to know who your father really was."
