Chapter 10 - The Room of NamesVictor Sable did not run like a frightened man.
He moved like someone who had built every hallway, memorized every exit, and planned every betrayal years in advance.
Julian followed the sound of his footsteps through a service corridor lined with old pipes and flickering lights. The explosion had damaged power in parts of the facility, throwing sections into darkness.
Julian preferred darkness.
In darkness, fear became honest.
He caught sight of Victor at the end of the hall and fired once. The shot struck a pipe near Victor’s head, sending steam bursting into the corridor.
Victor vanished through a door.
Julian kicked it open.
Then he stopped.
The room beyond was circular and enormous, hidden beneath the center of the farm.
Its walls were covered in photographs.
Hundreds of them.
Men. Women. Children. Dogs.
Names written beneath each face.
Dates.
Payments.
Outcomes.
Julian stepped inside slowly.
His father’s face stared at him from a framed photograph near the entrance.
Arthur Hart.
Smiling.
Shaking hands with Victor Sable.
Julian’s stomach turned.
Victor’s voice echoed from somewhere above. “Beautiful, isn’t it? A true family archive.”
Julian scanned the balcony circling the room.
“Show yourself.”
Victor laughed. “You never wondered why your father hated dogs?”
Julian raised his weapon toward the sound.
Victor continued. “He said animals remembered kindness better than sons did. He despised anything that could not be bought permanently.”
A door opened behind Julian.
Elena entered first, weapon ready.
Maisie came behind her with Cyrus. Finn followed, furious and terrified.
Julian turned. “I told you to stay back.”
Maisie pointed upward. “He’s above the left side.”
Julian looked.
Victor’s coat shifted behind a railing.
Mace entered from another door with two men, weapons raised.
Victor clapped slowly.
“The whole tragic family. How touching.”
Elena saw the photographs and went pale.
Finn moved closer to the wall, reading names.
Then he stopped.
“Maisie,” he whispered.
She turned toward him.
His voice broke. “Mom’s name is here.”
Elena closed her eyes.
Finn read from the wall. “Nora Doyle. Asset relocation. Infant retained. Vision anomaly noted.”
Maisie felt the floor tilt.
“Vision anomaly?” Finn said. “What does that mean?”
Victor answered before anyone else could.
“It means your sister was valuable before she could walk.”
Elena raised her gun. “Shut up.”
Victor leaned on the balcony rail. “Maisie hears patterns most people miss. Heartbeats. Lies. Mechanical rhythms. Trauma responses. Do you know what that is worth to intelligence brokers, criminal networks, private armies?”
“She’s a child,” Finn said.
“She is a tool,” Victor replied.
Cyrus snarled so loudly the room seemed to vibrate.
Julian’s voice dropped. “Come down.”
Victor smiled. “No.”
Maisie tilted her head again.
Under Victor’s voice, under the damaged lights, under the hum of hidden machines, she heard something.
A timer.
Soft.
Digital.
Fast.
“Bomb,” she whispered.
Julian’s head snapped toward her.
“How long?” he asked.
She listened.
“Three minutes. Maybe less.”
Victor’s smile widened. “Finally. Someone impressive.”
Mace cursed and started searching the room.
Elena grabbed Maisie. “Where?”
Maisie turned slowly, listening.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Not one.
Many.
Her face went pale.
“Everywhere.”
Julian aimed at Victor. “Disarm them.”
Victor lifted both hands. “I’m afraid I don’t have the code.”
Elena’s voice shook with rage. “You coward.”
“No,” Victor said. “I’m a businessman. And when a property becomes a liability, one burns the orchard.”
He stepped backward toward an exit on the balcony.
Cyrus lunged forward, barking.
Maisie shouted, “Wait!”
But Cyrus had heard something else.
Not Victor.
A child crying.
Everyone froze.
Finn looked around. “Did anyone else hear that?”
Maisie’s face changed. “There are kids here.”
Elena went white.
Julian turned to Mace. “Find them.”
“No time,” Mace said.
Julian grabbed him by the collar. “Find them.”
Maisie moved toward the center of the room.
Cyrus pulled her toward a section of the photo wall.
Behind it, the crying became clearer.
Elena ripped photographs from the wall. Finn helped, tearing down faces, names, lies.
Behind the panels was a hidden door.
No handle.
Just a speaker.
A child sobbed on the other side.
Maisie placed both hands on the metal.
“Hello?” she called. “My name is Maisie. We’re getting you out.”
A small voice answered, “He said nobody would come.”
Maisie’s lips trembled.
“He was wrong.”
Julian looked at the door’s keypad.
“Code?”
Elena shook her head. “I don’t know this one.”
Maisie listened to the timer.
Two minutes.
Then she listened to the child’s breathing.
Behind him, three more children.
And dogs.
She heard paws shifting.
Metal collars.
A ventilation fan turning unevenly.
“There’s another way,” she said.
May you like
Julian followed her face. “Where?”
“The air.”
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