Chapter Thirty-Five: The Woman on the Intercom

The electronic lock clicked into place.

A heavy silence settled over my office.

No one rushed for the door.

No one panicked.

After everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, a locked room barely registered.

Dr. Evelyn Mercer's voice returned through the intercom.

"Please don't waste your energy."

Marcus immediately pressed the release button beside the door.

Nothing happened.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

"The lock has been disconnected from the building's network," he muttered.

Inspector Mara Voss walked to the control panel and removed the cover.

Several wires had been cut cleanly.

"This wasn't done remotely."

She examined the severed cables.

"Someone prepared this room before we arrived."

Ronan wasn't looking at the door.

He was looking at my desk.

"What are you seeing?" I asked.

"The room."

"What about it?"

"It changed."

I frowned.

"The cleaners?"

"No."

He slowly crossed the office.

"My chair is exactly where it should be."

He pointed toward the bookshelf.

"The books are perfectly aligned."

Then toward the framed certificates.

"They're centered to the millimeter."

Marcus blinked.

"I don't understand."

Ronan looked around one final time.

"This office wasn't cleaned."

He met my eyes.

"It was reconstructed."

A chill spread through me.

I walked to my desk.

The fountain pen sat precisely parallel to the edge.

The folders were stacked in perfect descending order.

Even the clock on the wall showed the correct time.

Too perfect.

Someone hadn't restored my office.

They had recreated it from memory.

As though the original scene had never existed.

Evelyn spoke again.

"I wondered how long it would take you."

"You've been inside my office," I said.

"Many times."

"When?"

"You'd be surprised how often people fail to notice those they aren't looking for."

Her answer unsettled me more than any threat could have.

Ronan opened the cabinet beneath the coffee station.

Empty.

He frowned.

"What?"

"The coffee."

Marcus looked confused.

"What about it?"

"You drink Ethiopian roast every morning."

I nodded.

"There isn't any."

Instead, a different brand sat unopened on the shelf.

Someone had replaced it.

A tiny detail.

The sort of detail almost no one would notice.

Almost.

"She wants us to know," Ronan said.

"Know what?"

"That she could enter your life without leaving obvious evidence."

Inspector Voss looked toward the ceiling.

"Can we locate the intercom source?"

One of her officers connected a portable receiver.

The signal appeared almost instantly.

Then everyone's expression changed.

"It's not coming from the building."

"What?"

The officer checked again.

"The transmission is external."

Marcus stared.

"She's not even here."

"No," Ronan corrected.

"She's nearby."

A soft laugh echoed through the speakers.

"Very good, Ronan."

For the first time, she addressed him directly.

"I was curious whether the academy exaggerated your reputation."

His expression didn't change.

"You've been studying us."

"For years."

"Why?"

"Because one day..."

She paused.

"...the two of you would eventually ask the right questions."

I stepped toward the intercom.

"Where's my father?"

Silence.

Then—

"Still protecting you."

My chest tightened.

"Is he alive?"

Another pause.

"Yes."

Relief flooded through me so suddenly that my knees almost weakened.

Ronan noticed.

Without a word, he stepped slightly closer.

A silent reminder to stay focused.

I forced myself to ask the next question.

"Where is he?"

"I can't tell you."

"Because you don't know?"

"Because he asked me not to."

The answer hit harder than I expected.

If she was telling the truth...

Then my father had chosen to remain hidden.

Why?

Before I could press further, Ronan interrupted.

"You're lying."

The office fell silent.

Evelyn didn't answer immediately.

"You responded too quickly."

He looked at the broken transmitter lying inside the evidence bag.

"You wanted Adrian to believe his father was safe."

"And?"

"If Sebastian truly wanted to stay hidden..."

Ronan's pale blue eyes narrowed.

"...he would've contacted Adrian himself."

Silence.

Longer this time.

When Evelyn finally spoke, there was something different in her voice.

Not amusement.

Approval.

"He's right."

Marcus stared at the speaker.

"You admitted it?"

"I lied."

My heartbeat slowed again.

"Then my father..."

"I genuinely don't know where he is."

Every word was calm.

Measured.

"If I did..."

Another pause.

"...I would've reached him before you."

The office fell completely silent.

It was the first answer she had given that sounded undeniably honest.

Inspector Voss quietly whispered,

"She's looking for him too."

No one disagreed.

Evelyn spoke one final time.

"Chairman Vale."

"Yes?"

"Your father left you a key."

My hand instinctively moved toward my pocket.

"The brass key."

"You've found it."

"What does it open?"

"It doesn't open a room."

I frowned.

"Then what?"

"It opens a choice."

The speakers crackled.

The transmission weakened.

"One last piece of advice."

Her voice became almost impossible to hear.

"When Arthur Hale offers you peace..."

A burst of static interrupted her.

"...don't believe..."

More static.

Then only three words remained audible.

"...the second contract."

The transmission ended.

The intercom went dead.

At that exact moment, Marcus's phone vibrated.

He glanced at the screen.

His face drained of color.

"What is it?" I asked.

He looked up slowly.

"Chairman Hale just called."

"He was missing."

Marcus nodded once.

"He says..."

His voice caught.

"...he wants to surrender."