The Bait

The silence in the car was thick, pressing against my eardrums like water. Leo and Sophie were in the backseat, still clinging to each other, their faces streaked with tears and dirt. Julian sat in the driver’s seat, his hands gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles were white.

"Did you hear me?" I asked. "Did you leave the door unlocked for me?"

Julian didn't answer. He stared straight ahead at the winding road, the Porsche’s headlights cutting through the dense forest.

"Julian," I said.

He let out a long, ragged breath. "I saw the search history on your laptop," he said quietly. "Before Miller took it. You were looking up the facility. And the blueprints."

"So you knew I was going to the Glass House."

"I knew you wouldn't stop," he said. "You never stop."

"And the fire alarm?" I asked. "Vance said he triggered it. But he needed an override code."

Julian glanced at me, his eyes dark in the rearview mirror reflection. "Who do you think gave him the code?"

I stared at him. The man I thought was a coward. The man I thought was complicit.

"You helped me," I whispered. "You helped me destroy him."

"I helped you save my mother," he said. His voice broke. "And I helped you save our kids. But I didn't save my brother. I let him bury Arthur Jr. I let him do it."

"You were twelve," I said.

"I was old enough to know it was wrong," he said. "And I was old enough to know my father would kill me if I told."

He looked at the kids in the backseat.

"I promised myself I would never be like him," he said. "But look at us. Look at what I let happen."

"It's over now," I said. "He's gone."

"Is he?" Julian asked. "His body is gone. But the company? The board? The lawyers? They're still here. And they're going to come for us."

"Let them come," I said. "We have the truth."

We pulled into the driveway of our house. It was dark, silent. The police tape from the earlier search was gone.

"Go inside," Julian told the kids. "Lock the doors. Don't open them for anyone but us."

They scrambled out of the car and ran for the house.

Julian turned off the engine. The silence returned.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

"We survive," I said. "We testify. We rebuild."

"Can we?" he asked. He looked at me, really looked at me. "After everything? After the lies? After the..."

He trailed off.

"I don't know," I said honestly. "But we have to try. For them."

I nodded toward the house where our children were waiting.

He reached out and took my hand. His fingers were cold.

"I called the Architect," he said.

I froze. "The Architect?"

"The man who designed the new wing," Julian said. "The man who is supposed to testify tomorrow that the foundation is sound."

"Why did you call him?"

"Because I needed to know," Julian said. "I needed to know if Dad acted alone."

"And?"

"He didn't," Julian said. "The Architect designed the void. He knew exactly what it was for."

"Who is he?" I asked.

Julian looked at me. His eyes were wide with fear.

"He's Corinne's brother."

My blood ran cold.

Corinne wasn't just a mistress. She wasn't just a beneficiary.

She was family.

And she was still out there.

My phone buzzed.

A text.

From an unknown number.

*He fell. But he didn't drown.*

*Check the water level.*

I looked at Julian.

"Turn the car around," I said. "We have to go back to the quarry."