Chapter 6 - The Tunnel Beneath the House
Ethan could not see Nolan’s face clearly.
Only the outline of his body appeared at the far end of the tunnel.
The gun in his hand caught a faint reflection from an officer’s flashlight lying on the ground.
Detective Ruiz stood several feet to Ethan’s left.
Detective Grant was farther inside the passage with two uniformed officers.
All of them had weapons, but the darkness and narrow stone walls made a gunfight almost certain to end badly.
Above them, Ava pounded on the sealed hatch.
“Dad!”
Ethan kept his eyes on Nolan.
“Open the hatch.”
Nolan laughed softly.
“You always did prefer giving orders.”
“You are frightening my daughters.”
“They should have learned by now that fear keeps people alive.”
“You drugged them.”
“That was Sophia.”
“You helped her.”
“I helped you.”
Ethan stared into the darkness.
“You kidnapped my wife.”
“I prevented Adrian from killing her.”
“By imprisoning her for five years?”
“You have no idea what happened.”
“Then tell me.”
Ruiz shifted slightly.
Nolan raised the gun.
“Detective, move again and Ethan’s daughters lose their father.”
Ruiz froze.
Ethan listened for movement behind Nolan.
The tunnel might connect to the woods, giving him an escape route.
“You killed Carrow.”
“He was going to expose everything.”
“So you admit it.”
“I admit he became a threat.”
“Where is James Mercer?”
“Alive.”
“For now?”
“That depends on you.”
Nolan’s voice sounded tired rather than angry.
It was the voice of a man who believed his choices had become inevitable.
Ethan remembered nights in college when they stayed awake discussing the futures they imagined.
Nolan came from nothing.
He had worked two jobs and slept in his car during his final semester.
Ethan had offered him a position after graduation.
He had trusted him with his house, company, and children.
“What did Adrian promise you?” Ethan asked.
“Freedom.”
“You already had money.”
“I had a salary.”
“You earned more than most people will see in a lifetime.”
“I watched you inherit a company, a mansion, and a woman who loved you.”
Nolan’s bitterness finally emerged.
“I watched doors open because of your name.”
“So you destroyed my family?”
“I took an opportunity.”
“You stood beside Amelia while she was unconscious.”
“I kept Adrian from putting a bullet in her head.”
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“Beyond your reach.”
“You let me believe she was dead.”
“You were easier to manage when you were grieving.”
The cruelty of the statement stunned Ethan.
Ruiz spoke quietly.
“You won’t leave this tunnel.”
Nolan turned the gun toward her.
“Neither will you unless Ethan cooperates.”
“With what?”
“The trust keys.”
Ethan looked at the brass key in his pocket.
“You need the keys to open the hidden room?”
“No.”
Nolan smiled in the darkness.
“We opened that room years ago.”
“What do you need?”
“The twins.”
Ethan’s body tensed.
“You will never touch them again.”
“We don’t need to hurt them.”
“You have already hurt them.”
“Adrian requires their signatures.”
“They are twelve.”
“They turn thirteen in eleven days.”
“What happens then?”
“Their mother’s voting shares transfer into two accounts controlled by them.”
“They cannot control a corporation at thirteen.”
“No.”
Nolan’s voice sharpened.
“But the trustee they select can.”
“Who is the current trustee?”
“You.”
Ethan understood.
Until their birthday, he controlled Amelia’s shares as trustee.
Afterward, Ava and Chloe would be allowed to nominate a successor under the unusual terms Amelia created.
Someone wanted to force them to nominate Adrian or Sophia.
“Why arrange the wedding?”
“If you married Sophia, she would become co-trustee under the marital amendment James prepared.”
“An amendment I never approved.”
“Details.”
“And if the wedding failed?”
“Your arrest would remove you.”
“You framed me as an abusive father.”
“Sophia did.”
“You keep separating yourself from her choices.”
“Because she became unstable.”
“You chose her.”
“Adrian chose her.”
“Then why are you protecting him?”
Nolan did not answer.
A mechanical scraping came from above.
Someone was trying to open the hatch.
Nolan looked upward.
That single movement gave Ruiz her chance.
She fired.
The shot exploded through the tunnel.
Nolan twisted.
His gun fired into the ceiling.
Stone fragments struck Ethan’s shoulder.
Detective Grant moved forward.
Nolan disappeared into the tunnel.
Officers followed.
Ruiz rushed to the hatch.
It would not open.
Ethan pushed beside her.
“Ava!”
“I’m here!”
“Move away from the door.”
“We can’t.”
“Why?”
“Someone tied it shut.”
Ethan looked toward the tunnel.
Nolan had not acted alone.
Someone above had sealed them in.
Martin and the forensic technicians should have been near the kitchen.
“Where is Martin?” Ethan shouted.
“I don’t know,” Ava answered.
“Is Chloe with you?”
“Yes.”
Chloe’s voice came faintly.
“Dad, there’s smoke.”
Ethan smelled it a moment later.
Smoke drifted through the edges of the hatch.
Someone had started a fire in the kitchen.
“Ruiz.”
“I smell it.”
She called for emergency assistance, but the stone chamber blocked the signal.
Detective Grant returned.
“Nolan reached the exterior passage.”
“Did you get him?”
“No.”
“Then find another way out.”
The officers searched the tunnel.
Ethan and Ruiz pushed against the hatch.
The metal did not move.
Smoke thickened.
Ava coughed above them.
“Break the floor!” Ethan shouted.
“We tried.”
“Use the fire extinguisher.”
“It’s gone.”
Chloe began crying.
Ethan pressed both hands against the hatch.
“Listen to me.”
The coughing stopped briefly.
“Go to the pantry.”
“Sophia locked us there.”
“I know.”
Ethan hated sending them toward a place associated with terror.
“But the pantry has a back window.”
“It’s too small.”
“You can fit.”
“What about you?”
“We’ll get out through the tunnel.”
Ethan heard them move away.
Then another voice came from above.
“Girls?”
Celia Laurent.
Ethan had forgotten she remained in the library giving her statement.
“Celia!” he shouted.
“I’m here.”
“Get them out.”
“The kitchen doors are locked.”
“Break a window.”
“I’m trying.”
Glass shattered.
Air moved through the chamber.
Smoke continued flowing down.
Detective Grant returned again.
“The tunnel exit collapsed.”
“Recently?”
“Yes.”
“Nolan prepared this.”
Ruiz examined the wall near the bed.
“Old service chambers often had more than one exit.”
Ethan remembered Amelia’s words.
The east wing was built to hide more than rooms.
He ran his hands across the stones.
Most were rough.
One section felt unusually smooth.
He pushed.
Nothing happened.
Then he saw another scratched message beneath Amelia’s name.
Two stars.
Ava and Chloe’s necklaces carried silver stars.
Ethan pressed both thumbs against the marks.
A stone panel shifted inward.
Behind it was a narrow ladder.
Cold air rushed down.
“Go,” Ruiz ordered.
One officer climbed first.
The ladder led into a storage closet beside the ballroom.
Ethan emerged into a mansion filled with alarms and smoke.
Flames had spread across the kitchen curtains but had not yet reached the rest of the house.
Fire crews rushed through the main entrance.
Ethan ran toward the pantry.
The door was open.
Ava stood outside, supporting Chloe.
Celia held a wet towel across Chloe’s mouth.
Ethan dropped beside them.
“Are you hurt?”
Ava shook her head.
“Where is Martin?”
“We saw him.”
“Where?”
“He was fighting a man near the back door.”
“Nolan?”
“I don’t know.”
Celia pointed toward the courtyard.
Ethan told firefighters to examine the girls.
Then he ran outside with Ruiz.
Martin lay near the garden wall.
Blood covered the side of his head.
He was breathing.
A black sedan sped away beyond the open service gate.
Ruiz called in the vehicle.
Ethan knelt beside Martin.
“What happened?”
Martin opened his eyes.
“Nolan.”
“Was he alone?”
Martin struggled to speak.
“Sophia.”
Ethan’s stomach tightened.
“She was inside?”
“She used the tunnel.”
“Where did they go?”
“Lake.”
Martin closed his eyes.
Ruiz checked his pulse.
“He needs an ambulance.”
Firefighters contained the kitchen blaze quickly.
The damage was limited to the curtains, several cabinets, and part of the pantry.
It had been a distraction, not an attempt to destroy the mansion.
Sophia and Nolan needed time to escape.
They also wanted the twins frightened and Ethan trapped.
When Chloe’s blood sugar stabilized, Ethan moved the girls into the guest cottage away from the damaged kitchen.
Police surrounded the cottage.
Dr. Bennett remained with them.
Martin was taken to the hospital.
Celia agreed to stay.
Ethan entered the guest cottage living room and found Ava standing at the window.
“Are you leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Lake Arden?”
“Yes.”
“You said we stay together.”
“I know.”
“Then we’re coming.”
“No.”
Ava turned.
Her bruised cheek and determined eyes made her look older than twelve.
“Mom left us because people threatened her.”
“I will not make the same mistake.”
“Then don’t leave us behind.”
“This is different.”
“It always sounds different to adults.”
Chloe entered slowly.
“She’s right.”
Ethan looked at both girls.
The safest decision was to keep them surrounded by police.
Yet the conspiracy had already penetrated his security, his legal team, his staff, and his home.
Sophia had escaped a hospital.
Nolan had entered a sealed estate through a tunnel.
Even police protection no longer felt absolute.
Detective Ruiz entered.
“They cannot come to an active search.”
Ethan expected the twins to protest.
Instead, Chloe removed the brass key from her neck.
“You need this.”
“For what?”
“The lake house.”
Ethan stared at her.
“What lake house?”
“There was a drawing in the hidden room.”
“Why didn’t you mention it?”
“I didn’t know it mattered.”
“What did it show?”
“A small house shaped like a triangle.”
Ava added, “There was a keyhole marked with a brass circle.”
Ethan took the key.
“Do you remember anything else?”
Chloe nodded.
“Under the drawing, someone wrote Number Seven.”
Detective Ruiz called an officer to search property records near Lake Arden.
Seven minutes later, they found it.
Cabin Seven belonged to Arden Recovery Solutions.
The same company receiving millions through Ethan’s forged authorizations.
Ruiz prepared a tactical team.
Ethan insisted on accompanying them.
This time, she agreed on the condition that he remained behind the first line of officers.
Before leaving, Ethan hugged the twins.
“I will come back.”
Ava held him tightly.
“Bring Mom.”
The journey to Lake Arden took ninety minutes under police escort.
Clouds gathered over the pine-covered hills.
The lake appeared dark beneath the afternoon sky.
Cabin Seven stood beyond an abandoned private road.
It was larger than Chloe had described, with steep wooden walls and narrow windows.
No vehicles were visible.
The tactical team surrounded the property.
Ethan waited behind Ruiz.
Officers breached the front door.
No shots followed.
Ruiz entered.
Several minutes passed.
Then she signaled Ethan forward.
The cabin smelled of antiseptic.
One room contained medical equipment.
Another contained restraints similar to those beneath the kitchen.
A wheelchair stood beside a cold fireplace.
Ethan touched the handle.
A strand of short auburn hair clung to the fabric.
“Amelia.”
Ruiz collected it.
The bedroom contained women’s clothing, medication, and dozens of photographs of Ava and Chloe.
Some had been taken from public school events.
Others had been taken through the estate windows.
Amelia had been allowed to watch her daughters from a distance.
On the bedside table rested a cassette recorder.
Ethan pressed play.
Amelia’s voice filled the room.
“My name is Amelia Rose Hale.”
The recording cracked.
“I am being held at Cabin Seven near Lake Arden.”
Ethan gripped the recorder.
“Nolan Price says my daughters are safe as long as I cooperate.”
Her breathing sounded weak.
“Adrian wants the trust codes.”
“I have refused.”
“They have begun using a woman named Sophia to enter Ethan’s life.”
The recording paused.
“If he hears this, he must know I did not abandon him.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“I tried to escape twice.”
“Nolan caught me.”
“He said the next attempt would cost one of the girls her life.”
A sound came from the hallway within the recording.
Amelia spoke faster.
“The trust will transfer on their thirteenth birthday.”
“Adrian cannot access it without both girls.”
“Do not let him separate them.”
The recording ended.
Ethan stood motionless.
Ruiz searched the remaining tapes.
Most were dated over several years.
The newest recording had been made two days earlier.
Amelia sounded frightened.
“They are moving me tonight.”
“Sophia says the wedding may fail.”
“Nolan says Ethan has started asking questions.”
“I heard them mention Mercer Hall.”
James Mercer’s family owned an abandoned boarding school called Mercer Hall outside Millbrook.
Ethan remembered attending a charity event there years ago.
Ruiz immediately redirected officers.
Before they left the cabin, Detective Grant opened a closet.
A man fell forward.
His hands were bound.
Tape covered his mouth.
It was James Mercer.
He was alive.
Ethan removed the tape.
“Where is Amelia?”
James coughed.
“Mercer Hall.”
“Who has her?”
“Adrian.”
“Nolan and Sophia are heading there.”
James’s face filled with terror.
“They’re not going to move her again.”
“What are they going to do?”
“Adrian knows you found the room.”
James struggled against the ropes.
“He’s going to kill Amelia before she can testify.”
Ethan turned toward the door.
Then James shouted after him.
“That isn’t the worst part.”
Ethan stopped.
James’s voice broke.
“They have one of your daughters.”
“That is impossible.”
“Both girls were at the estate when I left.”
James shook his head.
“They don’t need Ava or Chloe.”
“Then who?”
“To control the trust, Adrian needs Amelia’s biological child.”
Ethan stared at him.
May you like
James swallowed.
“The twins were not Amelia’s only children.”
