Chapter 24 - The FilmWe escaped through a maintenance tunnel beneath Building C.
Eleanor moved faster than I expected, guiding us through a maze of rusted pipes and concrete corridors.
By the time we reached the outer fence, the rain had become a hard silver curtain.
A black SUV waited on the access road.
Eleanor opened the rear door.
“Get in.”
I hesitated.
She looked at me.
“If I wanted you dead, Daniel, I would have left you in that room.”
We drove to a private house outside the city, a place hidden behind tall cedar trees and an iron gate.
Inside, Eleanor locked three doors before she finally exhaled.
Noah sat on a leather sofa, staring at the metal case.
“Who were those people?” he asked.
“People who believe ownership is more important than life,” Eleanor said.
I set the film reel on the table.
“Who is in this?”
“Your father. Adrian. And Claire.”
My chest tightened.
“Claire?”
Eleanor nodded.
“Six weeks before she died, Claire came to me. She had discovered the Northstar agreement and realized Vanessa's theft was only part of a larger operation.”
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“Because she believed you were being monitored.”
“By whom?”
Eleanor looked at the security cameras mounted in the corners.
“By people inside your own company.”
She threaded the film through an old projector.
The image flickered onto a white wall.
My father appeared first, younger than I remembered him. His hair was dark, his shoulders straight.
Adrian Vale stood beside him.
A younger Claire sat at a table, holding a file.
My father's voice filled the room.
“If anything happens to me, control must pass to Daniel.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Daniel is too trusting.”
Claire leaned forward.
“Then trust Noah's future instead.”
The film jumped.
A second scene appeared.
Claire was alone, speaking directly to the camera.
“Eleanor, if you are showing this to Daniel, then the first plan failed.”
I stepped closer.
Claire's eyes looked tired, but determined.
“Northstar is not just a trust. It is a network. The company has been used to move money, influence elections inside corporate boards, and control people who never knew they were being controlled.”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
Claire continued.
“Vanessa is not the architect. She is a door. Elliot is not the architect either. He is a servant.”
The film distorted.
A final image appeared.
A document bearing the Northstar symbol.
At the bottom was a name.
SUCCESSOR DESIGNATION: NOAH CARTER.
The projector clicked.
The room went dark.
May you like
Then Eleanor whispered:
“Someone has just accessed the house's security system.”
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