Chapter 6 - THE ROOM BENEATH THE HOUSE
Arthur knew he had never entered the storage facility.
Yet the security records said otherwise.
Someone had used his identity.
Daniel insisted they return to the Vance house.
"Your father built that property," he said. "There may be another entrance."
Arthur frowned.
"My father never mentioned one."
"Your father never mentioned many things."
They searched the basement.
Behind a row of wine cabinets, Maria noticed a section of wall that sounded hollow.
Arthur pressed it.
Nothing happened.
Daniel tried a sequence of switches.
A hidden door opened.
Behind it was a narrow staircase.
Arthur stared into the darkness.
"What the hell is this?"
"A private archive."
At the bottom was a room filled with filing cabinets.
Every cabinet contained documents.
Corporate records.
Bank statements.
Photographs.
Letters.
Arthur opened one drawer.
It contained records dating back fifteen years.
The earliest document was a report about Elena.
But the report wasn't written by his father.
It was written by someone named Evelyn Hart.
Daniel recognized the name.
"She was an investigator."
"What happened to her?"
"She disappeared."
Arthur opened another file.
Evelyn had documented a network of shell companies connected to Victor Hale.
But one company stood out.
Vance Family Holdings.
Arthur stared.
"My father knew."
"Yes."
"Why didn't he shut it down?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Because he believed someone inside the company was forcing him to cooperate."
Arthur turned the page.
There was a photograph.
His father.
Victor.
And a third person.
Arthur recognized the face.
He had seen it at family dinners.
His uncle, Richard Vance.
Arthur's blood ran cold.
Richard had always been the friendly uncle who gave expensive gifts and joked about business.
But now his name appeared everywhere.
Before Arthur could say anything, the lights went out.
Maria screamed.
A door slammed upstairs.
Daniel pulled out his phone.
"We're not alone."
Arthur grabbed a flashlight.
They moved toward the stairs.
A figure ran across the hallway.
Arthur chased him.
The figure escaped through the back door.
But he dropped a folder.
Arthur opened it.
Inside was a recent photograph of his son.
Taken that morning.
On the back was written:
THE BOY IS THE KEY.
Arthur felt something inside him break.
He looked at Maria.
"Get the child somewhere safe."
Maria nodded.
Then Arthur's phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
You finally found the room.
A second message followed.
Now find out who owns the house.
Arthur stared at the screen.
Because the house was legally owned by a company he had never heard of.
May you like
And the registered owner was Richard Vance.
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