CHAPTER 13: THE WOMAN ON THE RECORDING

Mason loaded the memory card onto an isolated computer.

A single video appeared.

The recording showed a dark room with concrete walls.

A woman sat before the camera.

Her hair was streaked with gray, and a scar crossed one side of her face.

But Adrian recognized her immediately.

Elena.

She looked older.

Tired.

Alive.

“Adrian,” she said, “I have recorded this message many times, but this may be the first one that reaches you.”

Adrian moved closer to the screen.

“I did not leave you. Sebastian took Daniel before the fire. He told me you were dead. When I discovered the truth, I tried to escape. They kept me alive because Daniel obeyed only when he believed I was near.”

The video flickered.

“Daniel is dangerous, but he is not evil. Every cruel thing he has done was built from a lie.”

Emma covered her mouth.

Elena continued.

“Eli is the only person whose touch can reverse Daniel’s conditioning. That is why Sebastian wants the boy.”

Adrian looked toward the bedroom door.

“Do not force Eli to use his gift,” Elena warned. “Each time he restores another person, he loses part of his own nervous function.”

Adrian remembered Eli’s nosebleeds.

His weakness.

His cold hands.

The screen darkened for a moment.

When Elena returned, someone was standing behind her.

Only a shadow was visible.

“If Sebastian learns you can walk, he will begin the final stage. He believes the Vale bloodline can control every damaged body in the world.”

A door slammed off camera.

Elena looked frightened.

“Find the place where your father buried the silver key.”

The recording ended.

Adrian stared at the black screen.

His father had died sixteen years earlier.

He had been buried at Saint Gabriel Cemetery.

Mason checked the timestamp.

“This video was recorded six days ago.”

A knock came from the bedroom.

Eli stood in the doorway.

His eyes were red.

“I heard everything.”

Emma approached him.

He stepped away.

“Can my touch really fix my father?”

No one answered.

Eli looked at Adrian.

“Then help me find him.”

Before Adrian could speak, the building alarm sounded.

Every screen switched to the same live image.

Victoria Cross stood inside Adrian’s father’s mausoleum.

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She held a shovel in one hand.

And the silver key in the other.