Chapter 5 - The House Beneath the House
Marcus didn't confront Voss.
He did something far more dangerous.
He disappeared.
For forty-eight hours, nobody outside Daniel, Rebecca and Eli knew where Marcus Hale was.
The media reported that the billionaire had suffered a medical emergency.
Richard Hale publicly requested privacy for his nephew.
Privately, Richard called Marcus thirty-seven times.
Marcus answered none of them.
Meanwhile, Daniel investigated Samuel Ward.
The trail led to a farmhouse outside Millbrook.
The property belonged to a shell corporation.
That corporation belonged to another corporation.
Eventually Daniel traced it to Hale Biodyne.
Marcus stared at the ownership records.
“They hid him on company property.”
Daniel nodded.
“Possibly.”
They arrived after midnight.
The farmhouse appeared abandoned.
Eli recognized it immediately.
“I've been here.”
Marcus looked at him.
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“With your mother?”
Eli nodded.
“She told me Grandpa was here.”
They entered through the rear door.
Dust covered everything.
Marcus used forearm crutches now.
Every step hurt.
But every step also reminded him that he had been lied to.
Eli moved toward the basement.
“There.”
They found a reinforced door.
Daniel broke the lock.
The basement was empty.
But it wasn't abandoned.
There was a hospital bed.
Medical equipment.
Restraint straps.
And surveillance cameras.
Marcus stared at the bed.
“They kept Samuel here.”
Eli walked toward the wall.
“Grandpa?”
His voice cracked.
Marcus watched him.
For the first time, Eli looked like what he actually was.
A frightened child.
Daniel found a cabinet.
Inside were medical records.
Not Samuel's.
Marcus's.
Hundreds of pages.
Daily reports.
Photographs.
Medication schedules.
Even private conversations Marcus remembered having inside his own home.
Marcus felt violated in a way he couldn't describe.
“They monitored me.”
Daniel turned a page.
“Constantly.”
Marcus found a document dated six years earlier.
SUBJECT HALE REPORTS INCREASED LOWER-LIMB SENSATION.
RECOMMEND DOSAGE ADJUSTMENT.
Marcus remembered that month.
He had told Voss his toes were moving.
Three days later, Voss increased his medication.
The movement stopped.
Marcus crushed the paper in his fist.
Eli suddenly called from another room.
“Marcus!”
They rushed toward him.
A photograph lay on the floor.
Anna Ward stood beside Samuel.
Between them was a young Marcus Hale.
Marcus stared.
“I don't remember this.”
Eli flipped the photograph over.
A date was written on the back.
Four days before Marcus's accident.
Marcus felt dizzy.
“I met them.”
Eli looked confused.
“You said you didn't.”
“I don't remember.”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“Your memory after the accident was incomplete.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
There were entire days before the crash he could never reconstruct.
Doctors blamed head trauma.
Now Marcus wasn't sure.
A sound came from upstairs.
Daniel immediately killed the flashlight.
Footsteps.
Someone had entered the farmhouse.
Eli moved closer to Marcus.
Daniel whispered.
“Stay here.”
The footsteps approached the basement.
One.
Two.
Three.
The door opened.
A man appeared.
He raised his hands.
“Don't shoot.”
Marcus recognized him instantly.
Dr. Adrian Voss.
Eli backed against the wall.
Marcus stared at the man who had controlled his life for eleven years.
Voss looked exhausted.
Terrified.
Marcus's voice was ice.
“Give me one reason Daniel shouldn't call the police.”
Voss looked at Eli.
Then at Marcus.
“Because the police won't protect you.”
Marcus took a step toward him.
“You drugged me.”
“Yes.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You kept me in a wheelchair.”
Voss closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Marcus's hands tightened around the crutches.
“Why?”
Voss opened his eyes.
“Because the alternative was letting Richard kill you.”
Marcus froze.
Voss swallowed.
“You think the wheelchair was your prison.”
May you like
He shook his head.
“It was the only reason you're still alive.”
