Chapter 4 - The Exhumation
Adrien didn't hesitate.
He backed away from the crypt, raised his suppressed pistol, and fired three rounds into the marble slab directly over the mortar seals.
The deafening cracks echoed violently in the enclosed stone mausoleum.
The marble spider-webbed, chunks of stone raining down onto the floor.
He holstered his weapon, grabbed a heavy iron crowbar from a maintenance closet near the entrance, and rushed back to the crypt.
He jammed the flat end of the crowbar into the shattered mortar line and threw his entire weight against the iron bar.
The heavy marble slab groaned, grinding against the stone frame.
Adrien pushed with the strength of a desperate man, his muscles straining, the veins in his neck bulging.
With a final, sickening crack, the heavy slab gave way, sliding off the crypt and crashing onto the stone floor.
A cloud of dust and stale air plumed out of the dark opening.
Adrien grabbed his flashlight and aimed the beam inside.
The elegant mahogany casket sat precisely where it had been placed eight months ago.
But the lid was not sealed.
It was slightly ajar, propped open by a small, wooden wedge.
Adrien dropped the crowbar, his hands trembling violently as he reached out and grabbed the edge of the casket lid.
He threw it open.
The casket was entirely empty.
No body. No silk lining. No melted wedding ring.
Instead, resting on the bare wooden planks at the bottom of the casket, was a sleek, modern laptop computer.
The screen was glowing brightly in the dark tomb.
And beside the laptop was a small, sophisticated radio transmitter—the source of Elias’s signal.
Adrien stared at the empty wooden box, his mind refusing to process what his eyes were seeing.
Claire wasn't in the crypt. She had never been in the crypt.
The tapping sound he heard hadn't been a person.
It was a small, mechanical arm attached to the laptop, rhythmically striking the inside of the wooden casket.
It was a deliberate, elaborate trap designed specifically to lure him here and force him to open the grave.
Adrien leaned in and looked at the laptop screen.
A live video feed was playing, showing the interior of his own private office back at the estate.
Elias was sitting at the desk, frantically typing on his keyboard, completely unaware he was being watched.
Then, a text box popped up on the center of the laptop screen.
The cursor blinked steadily before a message began to type out, letter by letter.
Hello, Adrien.
I see you found my little surprise.
You always were so predictable when it came to her.
Adrien’s blood boiled. He recognized the arrogant, mocking tone immediately.
He typed a reply on the laptop’s keyboard.
Who are you, and where is my wife?
The response came almost instantly.
Your wife is exactly where she has always been, Adrien. Dead.
But the children are a different story.
Adrien’s heart stopped.
He reached for his earpiece. “Marco! Secure the nursery immediately! Don't let anyone in or out!”
There was only static on the line.
“Marco! Answer me!” Adrien shouted into the comms.
More static.
Adrien looked back at the laptop screen.
The video feed of his office abruptly cut out, replaced by a new live feed.
It was the nursery.
The three toddlers were asleep in their beds, the night-light casting a soft glow over the room.
But standing in the center of the room, looking directly into the hidden camera, was Elena Bellamy, the housekeeper.
She was holding a suppressed pistol, aimed perfectly at the sleeping form of his two-year-old son, Theo.
A new message appeared on the screen.
May you like
If you want to see your heirs alive again, you will transfer full ownership of the port authority contracts to the offshore account listed below.
You have ten minutes to comply, or the housekeeper earns her bonus.
