Chapter 4 - The False Death
I stared at the dreadful red stamp, refusing to let my mind accept the impossible word.
Grace could not be dead.
I had felt the warmth of her hand and heard the bright laughter in her voice just two weeks ago.
I slammed the file down onto the desk, my eyes scanning the room for any sign of a computer terminal.
In the far corner, a sleek black monitor glowed quietly, connected directly to the estate's internal security network.
I rushed over and tapped the keyboard, praying my mother had not changed the master administrative passwords.
The screen flickered, prompting me for a retinal scan.
"Damn it," I cursed, slamming my fist onto the heavy metal table.
"Use the emergency override code," Martin groaned from the doorway, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
"Your father set it to Grace's exact birthday before he passed away."
I typed the numbers in rapidly, holding my breath as the system processed the command.
The screen flashed green, instantly bringing up a grid of thirty live camera feeds from around the massive property.
Most of the cameras showed empty hallways and the heavy storm raging outside.
Then my eyes locked onto camera number twelve, labeled Sub-Basement B.
Grace was lying on a metal gurney, her skin frighteningly pale, but her chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm.
She was alive.
I let out a ragged breath of pure relief, tracing my fingers over her digital image on the glass screen.
The camera angle suddenly shifted, revealing my mother standing at the foot of the gurney.
Evelyn was holding a tiny, sleeping infant wrapped tightly in a blue cashmere blanket.
My son.
A tall, broad-shouldered man in a dark suit stepped into the frame beside my mother.
May you like
Evelyn handed him a silver briefcase and pointed a perfectly manicured finger directly at my unconscious wife.
"Prepare the mother for immediate transport to the river," Evelyn ordered with terrifying precision.
