Chapter 51 - The Silence on the Line
A cold spike of dread pierced Emma’s chest. She froze, turning back to look at the laughing woman. "What did you do?"
"You left the child behind, didn't you?" Evelyn whispered, her eyes gleeful with madness. "You thought your little ex-soldier boy was clever. You thought a grimy apartment in Bermondsey was safe."
Emma’s breath seized. She immediately grabbed her comm-unit, dialing Daniel’s direct tactical channel. "Daniel! Check on the safehouse! Check on Lily right now!"
"Emma, I'm calling Miller now—stand by," Daniel’s voice came back, strained and tense.
Through the comms, Emma could hear the rhythmic ring of the encrypted line.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
Then, the connection clicked open.
"Miller! Status report!" Daniel barked.
There was no voice on the other end. Only the ragged, wet sound of someone drawing their final, bubbling breath, followed by the heavy, sickening thud of a body collapsing against a wooden floor.
Emma felt the blood drain entirely from her face. "Lily?! LILY!" she screamed into the microphone, tears blinding her vision as terror ripped through her heart.
A moment of dead silence hung over the line, heavy as a tombstone.
Then, the sound of slow, deliberate footsteps echoed across the receiver. A man's deep, aristocratic voice, smooth as silk and cold as ice, spoke softly into the phone from the London safehouse:
"Your mother was merely the accountant, Emma. She made a mess of things, as amateurs always do."
In the background of the call, Emma heard a small, muffled sob, and the sound of Lily’s voice crying out, "Mom! Help me—" before being abruptly cut off by a gag.
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"If you ever wish to see your daughter alive again," the man’s voice continued calmly, "you will log back into the Laurent master console and transfer the Sovereign Vault to the True Founders. You have exactly one hour before we cross the Channel."
The line went dead.
