CHAPTER 13 : The Message Beneath the Water
Claire and Adrian escaped through an emergency tunnel as Grayhaven flooded.
Charles disappeared before authorities reached the island.
The surveillance equipment was destroyed by water, but Adrian recovered one hard drive.
Most files were corrupted.
One video survived.
It showed Daniel meeting Celeste three weeks before his disappearance.
Daniel handed her a folder.
“If Claire learns everything at once, she will never trust any of us again,” he said.
Celeste replied, “She deserves the truth.”
“She deserves to survive it.”
The two appeared close.
Too close.
Before leaving, Celeste touched Daniel’s face.
Claire paused the recording.
Adrian looked away.
“Were they together?” Claire asked.
“There may be another explanation.”
“There is always another explanation in this family.”
The folder Daniel gave Celeste was marked PROJECT MIRROR.
Naomi identified the project as an internal Ashford security program designed to create convincing digital doubles using voice recordings, private messages, and video footage.
With enough data, someone could imitate Daniel almost perfectly.
The phone calls might not have come from him.
The figure on the hotel balcony might have been a double.
Even the live feed from Grayhaven could have been manufactured.
Claire no longer knew whether her husband was alive.
That evening, Victoria asked to speak with her privately.
“I knew Celeste,” Victoria admitted. “But Charles kept her from me most of the time.”
“Did she have a relationship with Daniel?”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“Daniel believed Celeste could infiltrate Charles’s network. He trusted her more than he trusted me.”
“That was not my question.”
“I do not know what happened between them.”
Victoria handed Claire an envelope.
It contained a letter Daniel wrote shortly before vanishing.
Claire, if Celeste ever tells you Noah must choose between you, do not let him answer.
Before Claire could ask what it meant, alarms sounded throughout the hospital.
Victoria’s room lights failed.
When backup power returned, her bed was empty.
No sign of struggle.
No broken window.
Only her gold necklace remained on the pillow.
A nurse reported seeing Victoria leave with Claire ten minutes earlier.
Security footage confirmed it.
The video showed a woman with Claire’s face guiding Victoria into an elevator.
Claire was standing in the room at that exact time.
Celeste had returned.
Moments later, Claire received a voice message.
Her sister whispered:
“Charles lied about Noah.”
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In the background, a child was crying.
Then Celeste added, “He is not the youngest Ashford heir.”
