ANMELDEN“Hello, Elena.”
The voice came from somewhere inside the darkness.Claire screamed.Gabriel immediately reached for the nearest wall.Adrian pulled Elena behind him.“Who's there?”No answer.Then the voice came again.“Don't be afraid.”Elena stopped breathing.She knew that voice.Not from recordings.Not from memories reconstructed through old documents.From childhood.“Hello, Elena.”The voice came from somewhere inside the darkness.Claire screamed.Gabriel immediately reached for the nearest wall.Adrian pulled Elena behind him.“Who's there?”No answer.Then the voice came again.“Don't be afraid.”Elena stopped breathing.She knew that voice.Not from recordings.Not from memories reconstructed through old documents.From childhood.From the nights when she had been afraid of thunderstorms and someone had sat beside her bed until she fell asleep.Her father.Daniel.“Dad?”The room remained dark.Mara's hands moved frantically over her laptop.“It's coming through the archive speakers.”Adrian looked toward her.“Can you shut it down?”“I'm trying.”Daniel's voice continued.“Elena, if you're hearing this, then the archiv
For several seconds, nobody moved.Victor Saye stood at the far end of the archive, his face half-hidden beneath the emergency lighting.Elena stared at him.“You're alive.”Victor gave a tired smile.“So is Miriam.”Miriam stepped forward.“You shouldn't be here.”“Neither should you.”“You tried to destroy the archive.”“No.”Victor looked at the shelves around them.“I tried to stop Thomas from getting it.”Adrian moved between Victor and Elena.“You expect us to believe that?”“No.”Victor's answer was immediate.“I expect you to verify everything.”Elena looked at the black envelope.“Then why are you telling me not to open it?”Victor's expression changed.“Because Daniel knew what would happen after you read it.”“What?”“You would stop looking for the person responsible.”
Every door in the estate unlocked at once.A succession of metallic clicks echoed through the corridors.Elena froze.Adrian immediately moved in front of her.“Stay behind me.”Mara stared at her monitors.“I didn't do that.”“I know.”“The entire security system has been overridden.”Gabriel rushed toward the main corridor.“Then we lock the doors manually.”“No,” Mara said. “They're already being controlled remotely.”Samuel looked toward the entrance.“Then whoever did this wants us inside.”Elena's eyes remained fixed on the security monitor.The woman was still standing outside the gate.Miriam Cross.Or at least someone claiming to be her.Claire could barely breathe.“She said she remembers what I did.”Lydia turned toward her.“What did you do?”Claire shook her head.“I don't know.”“You signed the transfer.”“I know.”“You said you couldn't remember.”“I can't.”Elena stepped between them.“Stop.”Everyone went quiet.“If that woman really is Miriam, we're not going to wast
The gunshot echoed through the estate.Elena flinched.Adrian immediately pulled her down.“Everyone away from the windows!”Another shot did not come.Only silence.For three seconds, nobody moved.Then Mara whispered, “That sounded like it came from the eastern grounds.”Gabriel was already moving.“Stay here.”Adrian caught his arm.“No.”Gabriel looked at him.“That’s my family out there.”“And that’s exactly why you’re staying inside.”Samuel moved toward the corridor instead.“I’ll check the cameras.”“Already doing it,” Mara said.Her fingers flew across the keyboard.The monitors came back one by one.Garden.Driveway.East gate.Nothing.No people.No vehicle.No movement.Then one camera flickered.A figure appeared near the old greenhouse.Mara froze.“Wait.”Everyone gathered around the screen.The figure was standing perfectly still.A man.Dark coat.His face hidden by the angle of the camera.Elena stared.“Victor?”Mara zoomed in.The figure lifted one hand.Something
The metallic click came again.Someone was unlocking the main entrance.Adrian moved first.He pulled Elena behind him and signaled for Gabriel and Samuel to move toward the corridor. Lydia stepped back, clutching her phone. Claire remained frozen beside the table, her eyes fixed on the file bearing Miriam Cross’s name.“Everyone stay quiet,” Adrian whispered.The lock turned.The estate doors opened slowly.A man stepped inside.He wore a dark coat, carried no visible weapon, and held a slim leather folder beneath one arm.Behind him stood two others.Mara’s face tightened.“I know him,” she whispered.“Who is he?” Elena asked.“Bernard’s assistant.”Bernard frowned. “That is impossible. He left the courthouse with me.”The man looked toward them.Then he smiled.“Good evening.”Adrian’s body stiffened.“Don’t com
The phone rang again.No one moved.Lydia stood in the center of the room, staring at the screen as though the name displayed there had the power to drag her back into the past.THOMAS CROSS.The crying continued.A child.Small. Frightened. Breathless.Elena felt her stomach tighten.“Lydia,” she whispered. “Answer it.”Claire immediately grabbed her wrist. “No.”“Why not?”“Because Thomas never calls unless he has already calculated the consequences of every possible answer.”Lydia’s expression hardened.“He has the archive,” she said. “The remaining records. The original transfer ledgers. The names of everyone Thomas used.”“And he wants something in return,” Adrian said.Lydia looked at him. “He wants Elena.”The phone stopped ringing.For a brief moment, the room fell silent.Then a message appeared.ANSWER THE CALL, OR THE ORIGINAL TRUSTEES WILL NEVER SEE THE REST OF THE RECORDS.Below it was an audio attachment.Lydia stared at it.Mara, pale but standing, stepped closer. “Don’







