CHAPTER 21 — GABRIEL
Gabriel was not permitted inside the residential wing.
Evelyn met him in the old marble hall with Victor, Leah, and two federal investigators present.
He placed the pendant on the table.
It was nearly identical to Evelyn’s.
The only difference was a small number engraved on the back.
Nine.
“Where did you get this?” Evelyn asked.
“Our mother gave it to me.”
“When?”
“Three days before she died.”
Victor stepped forward.
“That is impossible.”
Gabriel looked at him with quiet contempt.
“You have built your life around that word.”
“You are not Katherine’s son.”
“I expected you to say that.”
Gabriel removed a medical folder from inside his coat.
It contained genetic test results.
The documents claimed he shared a maternal relationship with Evelyn.
Caroline examined the pages.
“These can be forged.”
“Then test me again.”
“Why come here now?” Evelyn asked.
“Because Adrian’s appeal failed.”
“That has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me.”
Gabriel looked toward the upper balcony.
“The people who controlled Adrian needed him silent. The appeal was their final chance to keep him contained through legal channels.”
“He is already contained.”
“For now.”
Gabriel explained that he had spent years working inside financial organizations connected to the Covenant.
He claimed Katherine had asked him to remain hidden until Evelyn was strong enough to confront the truth.
“You expect me to believe my mother found you and never told me?”
“She was trying to keep you alive.”
“That explanation has been used too many times in this family.”
Gabriel accepted the anger without reacting.
Then he placed a small flash drive beside the pendant.
“This contains a list of foundation donors.”
“We already have that information.”
“Not their public names. Their real affiliations.”
Leah inserted the drive into an isolated computer.
Most of the donors appeared legitimate.
Law firms.
Medical groups.
Private charities.
But nine donations had been routed through companies connected to Adrian’s former network.
“They funded us?” Caroline asked.
“They bought access,” Gabriel replied.
“To what?”
“To the survivors entering this house.”
Evelyn looked toward the residential wing.
“Why would they want access to women who already escaped?”
“Because some of them remember things the Covenant cannot allow investigators to hear.”
Victor approached Gabriel.
“Why should we trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
Gabriel turned toward Evelyn.
“But you should listen carefully when I tell you that one of your directors has been reporting to them.”
Rosa, Leah, and Caroline were the only directors.
“Which one?” Evelyn asked.
Gabriel looked toward the staircase.
Before he could answer, the fire alarm activated.
Smoke poured from the evidence clinic.
Everyone rushed toward the west wing.
The fire was contained within minutes, but the secure storage cabinet had been opened.
Nothing valuable appeared missing.
Until Leah checked the survivor intake files.
Mara Ellison’s file was gone.
When Evelyn ran to Mara’s room, she found the two children alone.
Mara had vanished.
On her pillow lay a note.
May you like
Gabriel is not your brother.
He is the reason Katherine died.
