Chapter 8 - The Woman Who Raised Him
Lena reached the service level barefoot.
Her head throbbed. Blood warmed the edge of her hairline, but Hope’s faint crying pulled her forward.
At the end of the corridor, Mrs. Alden stood beside a laundry cart.
The baby was hidden beneath folded sheets.
Lena stepped between the cart and the elevator.
“Give her back.”
Mrs. Alden’s face twisted with grief.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand that you helped keep me underground.”
“I brought you food.”
“You also locked the door.”
Mrs. Alden began to cry.
“Evelyn said Daniel would be ruined if that child inherited Arthur’s trust. She said thousands of employees would lose everything.”
Lena moved closer.
“That isn’t why you obeyed her.”
Mrs. Alden’s shoulders collapsed.
Years earlier, Evelyn had covered up a drunken crash caused by Mrs. Alden’s son. In return, Mrs. Alden became her servant, spy, and accomplice.
“She owns everyone through shame,” Mrs. Alden whispered.
Hope cried louder.
Lena reached for her.
Mrs. Alden hesitated, then placed the baby in Lena’s arms.
The service elevator opened behind them.
Evelyn’s private security contractor, Grant Mercer, stepped out with two men.
Mrs. Alden turned pale.
Mercer had supervised Lena’s captivity.
“You were told to bring the child downstairs,” he said.
Mrs. Alden moved in front of Lena.
“No.”
Mercer struck her aside with one violent shove.
Lena backed toward the fire door, shielding Hope.
Before Mercer could reach them, Marcus appeared from the stairwell and drove him against the wall.
The corridor erupted into a struggle.
Lena ran.
Behind her, Mercer shouted a sentence that made her stop.
“Take the baby! Evelyn said the mother can die for real this time!”
Marcus’s body camera recorded every word.
But Mercer escaped through the loading dock before federal agents arrived.
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And he took Mrs. Alden with him.
👉 The kidnappers had lost Hope—but Mercer was heading toward the bunker with the one witness who knew how many victims Evelyn had buried.
