The Room Behind the Clock
Chapter 11 - The Room Behind the Clock
Gabriel forced open the panel as Detective Ortiz and two officers covered the passage. Inside the panic room, Charles held Rose beside the portable camera. Nora stood near the opposite wall, having entered through the musicians’ gallery seconds earlier.
Charles pressed a cloth over Rose’s mouth, but she bit his hand and pulled away. Nora caught her before she fell.
“End the broadcast,” Gabriel ordered.
Charles smiled. The camera was already live.
Thousands of viewers saw him raise the forged papers and declare that Nora had invented Rose’s identity. He claimed the child was being used to steal the foundation.
Nora stepped into view holding Rose.
“Then let them see everything,” she said.
Gabriel played the audio from the crash through his phone. Charles’s own voice filled the small room, ordering Simon to ensure Nora and the baby never reached him.
Charles lunged for the phone. Detective Ortiz entered and blocked the exit.
For a moment, he appeared ready to surrender. Then the ballroom lights failed. His accomplice in hotel security had triggered a blackout.
In the darkness, Charles escaped through a narrow ladder leading to the clock tower roof.
Gabriel followed despite Ortiz’s warning. Wind swept across the tower as Charles moved toward the edge with the black case chained to his wrist. Below them, police lights surrounded the estate.
“You could have protected the Hale name,” Charles shouted. “Instead, you chose a woman who lied to you.”
Gabriel stopped several feet away.
“Nora hid because you tried to erase her. You lied because the truth would expose you. Those are not the same.”
Charles threatened to throw the case into the lake. Gabriel told him the evidence had already been copied and broadcast.
His power vanished with that sentence.
Charles looked down, realizing escape was impossible. His foot slipped on the wet stone. Gabriel grabbed his arm before he fell.
“Why save me?” Charles gasped.
“Because Rose is watching,” Gabriel said. “She will not learn that justice means becoming like you.”
Officers pulled Charles back and arrested him.
When Gabriel returned to the ballroom, Rose ran into his arms for the first time.
“Are you staying now?” she asked.
May you like
He held her tightly.
“For every birthday you will let me.”
