Chapter 10 - Beneath the Ballroom
The entrance was hidden behind the wine cellar.
My father came anyway.
So did Arthur.
I told both of them to stay behind.
Neither listened.
Three security officers followed us until the electronic locks sealed behind our backs.
The underground corridor smelled like dust and cold stone.
Emergency lights glowed along the floor.
Arthur stared at the walls.
“I never knew this existed.”
My father looked at him.
“I believe you.”
“That might be the first time tonight.”
We descended.
Twenty-three steps.
Then another hallway.
At the end stood an old steel door.
Number seventeen was painted across it.
My skin prickled.
I touched the handle.
My father whispered,
“Don’t.”
I opened it.
The room beyond was small.
Child-sized bed.
Metal sink.
One chair.
Scratches covered the wall.
I stepped closer.
Numbers.
Marks.
A rough drawing of a house.
My hand trembled.
“I was here.”
Jonathan looked devastated.
“Yes.”
Arthur whispered,
“God.”
I turned.
“You knew children were in the building.”
“Not this part.”
“Stop lying.”
“I’m not.”
My father looked toward the opposite wall.
A camera lens moved.
Halden was watching.
A speaker crackled.
“Welcome home, Subject Seventeen.”
I stared at it.
“You wanted me here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the archive requires a biometric key.”
My stomach dropped.
“Mine.”
“Your mother designed the final lock.”
“Elizabeth?”
“Yes.”
My father frowned.
“She didn’t design this facility.”
“No.”
Halden sounded almost pleased.
“She designed the mechanism that could destroy it.”
A panel opened beside the bed.
A fingerprint scanner illuminated.
My father stepped in front of it.
“No.”
Halden continued.
“Elizabeth hid one complete copy of Orpheus.”
“Names.”
“Transactions.”
“Medical records.”
“Politicians.”
“Judges.”
“Police.”
“Executives.”
“Every person who bought, sold, moved, or concealed a child.”
I swallowed.
“And my fingerprint opens it.”
“Your DNA.”
I stared at the scanner.
“Why mine?”
“Because Elizabeth trusted only one person who could never be bribed.”
“A seven-year-old?”
“A child who didn’t even know the secret existed.”
For the first time, I understood my mother’s plan.
She made me the key because no conspirator would think a child controlled the evidence.
Halden spoke again.
“Open the archive.”
“What happens then?”
“The truth becomes mine.”
“No.”
A low laugh.
“Then Damian dies.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“Take me instead.”
“No one wants you, Arthur.”
Arthur flinched.
I looked at my father.
He shook his head.
“Do not touch that scanner.”
“Rebecca is hurt.”
“He may already have killed her.”
“Damian is still alive.”
“He attacked you.”
“That doesn’t mean I let someone murder him.”
My father stared at me.
Then he nodded slowly.
“You sound like Elizabeth.”
I placed my palm on the scanner.
A needle flashed.
Pain stabbed my finger.
My blood entered a small chamber.
The system beeped.
DNA MATCH.
SUBJECT 017 VERIFIED.
Locks began opening beneath the floor.
Halden laughed.
Then the screen changed.
ACCESS DENIED.
SECOND KEY REQUIRED.
Halden stopped laughing.
I looked at my father.
He looked confused.
Arthur whispered,
“What second key?”
A voice answered from behind us.
“Mine.”
We turned.
Rebecca stood in the doorway.
Blood covered one sleeve.
A pistol hung at her side.
May you like
She looked at me.
“Subject Sixteen.”
