"Then he was right. You finally found the door."
"Where is my father?"
Lily looked toward the end of the corridor.
"He's here."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"Where?"
She pointed to the final door.
It was marked with a single letter.
C.
Bennett moved forward.
"Is someone inside?"
Lily shook her head.
"Not anymore."
"What does that mean?"
She looked at me.
"Your father left this morning."
I felt my breath catch.
"Where did he go?"
"To find Adrian."
"Why?"
"Because Adrian has the original records."
Bennett stepped closer.
"We have the records."
Lily gave a faint, humorless smile.
"Those are copies."
"Where is the original?"
She looked down at the floor.
"Inside the river."
I stared at her.
"What is inside the river?"
Lily pointed to the door marked C.
"Not what."
She swallowed.
"Who."
A loud mechanical rumble shook the corridor.
The lights flickered.
Water began flowing through a narrow channel along the floor.
One of the officers shouted.
"Pressure's rising!"
Bennett grabbed Lily's arm.
"How do we get out?"
She looked toward the far end of the tunnel.
"There's another passage."
"Where?"
"Behind the holding chamber."
I turned toward the door.
"Then let's open it."
Lily caught my wrist.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because whatever is behind that door has been sealed for thirty years."
The rumbling grew louder.
A deep vibration passed through the walls.
Then came three slow knocks.
From behind the door marked C.
I stared at Lily.
"What is that?"
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"My father."
I couldn't move.
"Daniel Ruiz?"
She shook her head.
"No."
She looked directly at me.
"Adrian Cross."
The door handle began to turn.
And somewhere behind us, the water started rising.
The handle turned again.
Water rushed along the floor, covering the soles of our shoes. The lights flickered, and somewhere overhead, metal groaned under pressure.
Bennett raised his weapon.
"Everyone away from that door!"
Lily pulled me backward.
"You don't understand," she shouted. "If that door opens while the pressure system is running, the entire lower passage will flood."
"Then tell us how to shut it down!" Bennett yelled.
"Control room seventeen. There's a manual release."
"Where?"
"Behind the cabinets."
One of the officers hurried toward the service compartment. I looked at the door marked C.
The knocking had stopped.
"Adrian?" I called.
Lily grabbed my sleeve.
"Don't."
"He's your father."
"That's why I'm telling you not to."
A voice came from behind the door.
"Son?"
My blood went cold.
It was the same voice I had heard on the telephone.
My father's voice.
"Son, open the door."
I stared at the handle.
"Robert?" Bennett asked quietly.
The voice answered before I could.
"Tell him it's me."
Lily shook her head violently.
"That's not Robert."
The voice behind the door laughed.
"You always were a frightened child, Lily."
She flinched.
I looked at her.
"How do you know it's Adrian?"
"Because he used to say that whenever he wanted me to obey him."
The voice grew louder.
"Open the door, sweetheart."
Lily stepped behind Bennett.
"He's not my father."
"You're confused," the man said. "Your mother told you lies. Robert told you lies. Everyone used you."
"Stop talking!" Lily shouted.
The water reached our ankles.
Bennett turned toward the officer at the cabinets.
"How long?"
"Almost there!"
The officer pulled a rusted panel away from the wall. Behind it was a narrow lever, its handle painted red.
"Is this it?"
Lily nodded.
"Pull it down. Then turn the wheel clockwise."
The officer seized the lever.
It wouldn't move.
He braced his feet against the wall and pulled harder.
Nothing.
"Help me!"
Bennett joined him.
Together they forced the lever down. A violent metallic bang echoed through the tunnel. The flow of water slowed, but it did not stop.
Lily pointed toward the door.
"The second valve! It's inside the chamber!"
Bennett looked at the door.
"Can we open it safely?"
"Not until the pressure drops."
The voice behind the door became almost gentle.
"Please. I'm hurt."
I moved closer.
"How did you get in there?"
A pause.
Then:
"Your father put me here."
I looked at Lily.
She nodded slowly.
"Robert trapped him."
"Why?"
"Because Adrian tried to destroy the original records. Robert locked him inside the holding chamber while he went for help."
"How long ago?"
"Yesterday morning."
I stared at the door.
"Then who sent the photograph?"
"Adrian had access to the cameras. He could still communicate through the old maintenance system."