Chapter 5 - Inside Arthur Vance’s Lair
The hum of the server racks inside the cabin vibrated faintly through the wooden siding. Daniel stood right behind me, his breath hitching as he looked through the gap in the blinds.
“That’s him,” Daniel murmured. “That’s Arthur Vance.”
“Look at the screens,” I whispered back.
Every single camera feed from our house—and even angles I didn’t recognize, hidden micro-lenses planted inside our smoke detectors—was displayed across a wall of monitors. On one screen, a live feed of our motel room showed Rachel sitting quietly in a chair, reading a book while Emma slept.
“He’s watching them right now,” I said, my heart pounding a fierce, rhythmic beat against my ribs. “He’s been inside our walls the whole time.”
I tested the side window latch. It gave a soft click, unlocked.
Adrenaline surged through my veins, overriding every ounce of fear. I motioned for Daniel to stay back, drew my firearm, and pushed the window upward. It slid open smoothly.
I vaulted over the sill, landing softly on the dusty linoleum floor of the server room.
Arthur Vance didn’t turn around immediately. He kept his eyes locked on the monitor showing Emma.
“You’re late, Melissa,” the old man said, his voice raspy and calm, as if he had been expecting us all evening.
I leveled my pistol directly at the back of his chair. “Hands where I can see them. Turn around slowly.”
Arthur raised his hands, his fingers trembling slightly as he swiveled his chair around. Up close, his face was a map of deep wrinkles, sorrow, and exhaustion. His eyes were wide and unnervingly bright.
“You can’t shoot me,” Arthur said quietly. “If you shoot me, the dead man’s switch on my network goes off. The encrypted files detailing everything about your husband’s past go straight to your commanding officer at Fort Liberty.”
My finger tightened slightly on the trigger. “What are you talking about? What does my husband have to do with this?”
Daniel scrambled through the window behind me, landing heavily on the floor. “Mel, don’t listen to him. He’s crazy.”
“Am I crazy, Daniel?” Arthur asked, turning his gaze toward my husband with a bitter, humorless smile. “Tell your wife. Tell her why you were really in Atlanta last week.”
I looked back at Daniel. The color had completely drained from his face. He looked like a man standing on the edge of a precipice.
“Daniel?” I asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “What is he talking about?”
Daniel swallowed hard, his eyes darting between me and the old man. “Mel... it’s not what you think.”
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“Then tell me,” I demanded, keeping the gun trained on Arthur while my entire world began to tilt off its axis.
“Daniel didn’t go to a sales meeting in Atlanta, Melissa,” Arthur said softly, turning back to his monitors. “He came here. To see me. Because twelve years ago, Daniel was the young intern who helped me design the security grid for this very neighborhood. And he knew exactly how to bypass the cameras the night my daughter was taken.”
