Daniel.
"Run."
They rushed through the kitchen.
Evan followed.
Richard and Victoria came behind them.
They reached the basement stairs.
Daniel opened the door.
"Down."
They descended into darkness.
At the bottom was a narrow tunnel.
Naomi stared.
"Where does this go?"
Daniel pointed ahead.
"To the old railway."
They ran.
Behind them, footsteps echoed.
Martin shouted:
"Don't let them escape!"
Naomi ran as fast as she could.
Her lungs burned.
Evan was beside her.
"Are you okay?"
"Keep moving."
They reached the end of the tunnel.
A rusted metal door stood before them.
Daniel pushed it open.
They emerged beside an abandoned railway line.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Richard noticed something.
The flash drive was gone.
He looked at Naomi.
"Where is it?"
Naomi checked her pocket.
Nothing.
Her face went pale.
"Martin took it."
Evan looked back toward the tunnel.
"We need to go."
But Naomi shook her head.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
She took the photograph from her pocket.
The one showing Eleanor, Jonathan, Thomas, Richard, and Victoria.
She turned it over.
There was something she hadn't noticed before.
A second message had been written beneath the first.
If they take the evidence, let them.
The real evidence is where no Carrington would ever look.
Naomi stared at the sentence.
Then she smiled faintly.
Evan noticed.
"What?"
Naomi looked toward the city in the distance.
"My grandmother knew they would steal the drive."
"Then where is the real evidence?"
Naomi touched the silver pendant.
She suddenly understood.
"The place where I work."
Evan frowned.
"Carrington Plaza?"
Naomi nodded.
"The cleaning room."
Daniel stared at her.
"Why there?"
"Because nobody ever looks at the people who clean up after them."
Naomi turned toward the city.
"And my grandmother knew that."
For the first time that night, she understood why the pendant had been given to her.
Why the clock had stopped at eleven forty-seven.
Why the trust had waited until she turned thirty.
Everything had been designed for one person.
Not a lawyer.
Not a billionaire.
Not an executive.
Her.
And now Naomi Brooks was ready to stop running.
She was ready to walk back into Carrington Plaza.
Not as a cleaner.
Not as an unwanted guest.
But as the person who was about to uncover the secret the Carrington family had buried for twenty-seven years.
Chapter 10
By the time they reached Chicago, the sun was beginning to rise.
Naomi sat in the back seat of the car, staring through the window as the city slowly came alive.
People were walking to work.
Buses moved through crowded streets.
Coffee shops opened their doors.
Everything looked normal.
But Naomi knew nothing was normal anymore.
The farmhouse was behind them.
Martin Vale had the flash drive.
The Carrington family was divided.
And somewhere inside Carrington Plaza was the real evidence Eleanor had hidden for twenty-seven years.
Evan sat beside her.
For most of the drive, neither had spoken.
Finally, he broke the silence.
"Are you sure?"
Naomi looked at him.
"About what?"
"Going back."
"Yes."
"You could walk away."
She smiled faintly.
"Could I?"
Evan didn't answer.
Naomi looked back through the window.
"My whole life, I've been cleaning offices for people who never knew my name."
She touched the pendant.
"I thought I was just trying to survive."
She looked at him.
"Now I understand that my grandmother was protecting something."
Evan nodded.
"And you think she left it for you."
"I know she did."
Richard was sitting in the front passenger seat.
"There was always one thing Eleanor said."
Naomi looked at him.
"What?"
"She said the Carringtons understood money, lawyers, and power."
He turned around.
"But they didn't understand ordinary people."
Naomi smiled.
"That's why she hid it in the cleaning department."
Richard nodded.
"Probably."
Daniel was driving.
"There's another problem."
"What?"
"Martin knows where you're going."
Evan frowned.
"How?"
"Because he has the flash drive."
Naomi shook her head.
"He doesn't know about the cleaning room."
Daniel looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
"I've worked there for six months."
She thought carefully.
"Only a handful of people ever enter that room."
"Who?"
"Cleaning staff. Building maintenance. Sometimes security."
Evan asked, "Could Martin have access?"
"Not without being noticed."
Daniel smiled.
"Then we have a chance."
They reached Carrington Plaza shortly after six.
The main entrance was open.
Employees were beginning to arrive.
Naomi looked at the building.
It seemed almost peaceful.
She knew better.
Evan parked in an underground section.
They entered through the service entrance.
Naomi immediately noticed something unusual.
Her cleaning cart was missing.
She stopped.
"Someone's been here."
Daniel looked around.
"How do you know?"
"My cart is always here."
Richard frowned.
"Maybe security moved it."
"No."
Naomi walked toward the supply room.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, shelves had been disturbed.
Boxes were open.
Cleaning supplies were scattered across the floor.
Someone had searched the room.
Evan whispered, "Martin."
Naomi shook her head.
"No."
She pointed toward the floor.
There were muddy footprints.
"These aren't his."
Daniel looked at them.
"Someone else."
Naomi's heart began beating faster.
She opened the cabinet where the spare uniforms were stored.
Nothing.
Then she remembered something.
Her grandmother had once told her:
When people search for treasure, they look where treasure should be.
They never look where they believe nothing is valuable.
Naomi looked at the trash bins.
She walked toward the largest one.
Evan watched.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for something."
She opened the lid.
Nothing.
Then she noticed the bottom.
There was a false panel.
She lifted it.
Underneath was a small metal case.
Naomi stared.
Her hands shook.
She pulled it out.
The case had no lock.
Inside were several photographs, a small notebook, and a cassette tape.
Richard's eyes widened.
"Eleanor."
Naomi picked up the notebook.
The first page contained only one sentence.
For Naomi, when she is old enough to understand.
Naomi sat on the floor.
She opened it.
The pages contained dates.
Names.
Financial transactions.
Meetings.
Payments.
Everything was organized with extraordinary precision.
At the end of one page was a name.
Martin Vale.
Naomi looked up.
"He was involved."
Evan took the notebook.
"Martin wasn't even an executive back then."
Richard corrected him.
"His father was."
Naomi turned another page.
There were several payments made to a company called Vale Consulting.
Daniel whispered:
"Shell company."
Evan looked furious.
"My family knew."
"Some of them," Richard said.