Chapter 6 - The Lecture Hall Turned Into A Trap
The college was evacuated before sunrise.
But Elias had planned for that.
The auditorium lights came on one by one.
Charmian walked into the empty lecture hall with Vincent behind her.
She wore a bulletproof vest beneath her coat.
She hated it.
“You promised not to command me.”
“I promised not to decide your future.”
“You decided the vest.”
“Yes.”
She sighed.
“Fine.”
Vincent almost smiled.
They reached the center of the lecture hall.
Professor Bell was tied to a chair.
He was alive.
Barely.
Charmian rushed forward.
Vincent caught her shoulder.
“Wait.”
She looked.
A red laser appeared on the wall.
Sniper.
She stopped.
Elias's voice echoed through the speakers.
“Vincent Costa.”
Vincent looked upward.
“You're late.”
“You kidnapped a civilian.”
“I borrowed him.”
“You're done.”
Elias laughed.
“You sound like your father.”
Vincent's face hardened.
“I'll never be him.”
“You already are.”
Charmian looked around.
“Elias!”
Silence.
Then his voice came again.
“You have your mother's eyes.”
“Show yourself.”
“You're not in a position to give orders.”
“What do you want?”
“Your mother's code.”
“I don't have it.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I don't.”
“The song.”
Charmian froze.
Elias continued.
“Say it.”
She remembered her mother.
The kitchen.
The nightlight.
The lullaby.
Seven stars above the bay.
Six lights on the street.
One door beneath the river.
She said nothing.
Elias smiled through the speakers.
“You've remembered.”
Vincent looked at her.
“Don't.”
“It's okay.”
She stepped forward.
“I know what you're looking for.”
“Then give it to me.”
“No.”
The sniper laser moved toward Vincent.
“Give it to me.”
Charmian stared at the light.
Then at Vincent.
He shook his head.
“No.”
She understood.
Elias was testing her.
He wanted to see whom she would sacrifice.
Charmian thought about her mother.
She stepped toward the microphone.
“The code isn't a song.”
Elias went quiet.
“It isn't the words.”
She looked at Vincent.
“It's the pauses.”
He understood.
Her mother hadn't encoded names in lyrics.
She had encoded them in rhythm.
Charmian began reciting.
Seven stars.
Pause.
Above the bay.
Three beats.
Six lights.
Pause.
On the street.
Two beats.
One door.
Pause.
Beneath the river.
Four beats.
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
“It's coordinates,” he whispered.
A shot shattered the microphone.
The auditorium erupted.
Vincent tackled Charmian behind a row of seats.
Security returned fire.
Professor Bell screamed.
Charmian crawled toward him.
“Professor!”
Vincent covered her.
“I'll get him.”
“No!”
She pointed toward the stage.
“There's an emergency exit.”
He looked.
The professor was dragged toward it by one of Elias's men.
Vincent ran.
Three shots.
A body fell.
The professor was free.
But Elias was gone.
On the wall behind the stage, someone had painted one sentence in red.
COME TO THE RIVER.
Vincent stared at it.
He knew the location.
The abandoned Costa warehouse.
Beneath the river tunnels.
Charmian did too.
“My mother used to take me there.”
“When?”
“When I was little.”
Vincent stared.
“What did she show you?”
“A locked door.”
“Why?”
“She said it was where bad men kept their secrets.”
Vincent looked at her.
“Did you ever open it?”
“No.”
“Then we're going.”
That night, they reached the river warehouse.
The door was already open.
Inside, the air smelled of rust and damp stone.
Charmian followed Vincent underground.
The tunnel opened beneath the river.
They found the door.
Her mother's silver key fit.
The lock clicked.
Inside was a small room.
One chair.
One table.
One safe.
And a recording device.
Charmian pressed play.
Her mother's voice filled the room.
“If you're hearing this, then my daughter is old enough to know the truth.”
Charmian began crying.
Elaine continued.
“Vincent Costa's father is not the villain you were told he was.”
Vincent went still.
“Elias is.”
A second voice appeared.
Vincent's father's.
“I know.”
Charmian covered her mouth.
The recording continued.
“We built the network to expose him.”
“We failed.”
“Because someone betrayed us.”
Elaine whispered,
“Your brother.”
Vincent's face changed.
“Who?”
The recording ended.
On the table lay a single photograph.
Vincent picked it up.
His older half-brother.
Adrian Costa.
A man Vincent believed had died before he was born.
On the back:
HE IS ALIVE.
AND HE IS THE ONE WHO GAVE ELIAS THE KEY.
May you like
Vincent stared.
His entire family history had just become a lie.
