Cross left them alone in the conference room with two guards watching the door. Sophia sat quietly, her mind racing as she tried to think of a way out.
The flash drive in her shoe felt like it was burning against her foot. This small piece of technology contained enough evidence to destroy four criminal dynasties. But it was useless if they couldn't escape.
"We need to get out of here."
Alexander spoke in a low whisper, barely moving his lips.
"I know. But how?"
Sophia glanced at the guards. They were both large men with guns, standing about ten feet away from the table.
"The bathroom. I need to use the bathroom."
Alexander looked at her strangely, then understood.
"Guard!"
One of the men walked over to their table.
"What?"
"My wife needs to use the restroom."
The guard looked annoyed.
"She can wait."
"Please. It's been hours since we've had a break."
The guard considered this for a moment, then motioned to his partner.
"Take her. Stay right outside the door."
Sophia stood up slowly, trying to look weak and defeated. The second guard led her down a hallway to a small bathroom.
"You have two minutes."
He closed the door but remained right outside.
Sophia quickly examined the bathroom. There was a small window, but it was too high and too small to climb through. No other exits.
But there was a ventilation grate near the ceiling.
She stood on the toilet and carefully pushed at the grate. It was loose, held in place by just two screws. Working quietly, she managed to remove it completely.
The opening was barely large enough for a person to crawl through, but it might work.
She replaced the grate and flushed the toilet to cover any noise she had made.
"I need a few more minutes. I'm not feeling well."
"Hurry up."
Sophia waited another minute, then opened the door.
"Thank you."
The guard led her back to the conference room. As they walked, she memorized the layout of the building. Two exits that she could see - the main entrance and a door marked "Emergency Exit" at the far end of the hallway.
Back at the table, she sat down next to Alexander.
"How did it go?"
She nodded slightly, indicating she had found something useful.
Twenty minutes later, Cross returned with more documents.
"I hope you've been thinking about my offer."
"We have. But we need more information."
Cross sat back down at the head of the table.
"What kind of information?"
"You say the four families have been working together for a century. But there must have been conflicts. Wars between the families."
"Of course. Power struggles are inevitable."
Alexander leaned forward, appearing interested.
"Tell us about the biggest conflicts. We need to understand what we're getting into."
Cross seemed pleased by their apparent interest.
"The most serious conflict was in the 1970s. The Sterling family tried to take control of all four territories."
He pulled out a photo showing newspaper headlines about a series of mysterious deaths.
"Victoria Sterling's father, Marcus Sterling, decided that sharing power was inefficient. He started eliminating leaders from the other families."
"What happened?"
"The other three families formed an alliance against him. It was brutal. Over fifty people died in six months."
Cross's eyes gleamed as he remembered the stories.
"My grandfather was just a young man then, but he played a key role in stopping the Sterling takeover."
"How?"
"He discovered that Marcus Sterling was planning to frame the other families for a major crime. Something that would have destroyed them all."
Sophia pretended to be fascinated by the story.
"What kind of crime?"
"The assassination of a federal judge. Sterling was going to kill Judge Morrison and make it look like the Whitmores ordered it."
Cross continued talking, clearly enjoying having an audience for his family's history.
"My grandfather warned the other families and they set a trap. Marcus Sterling was found dead in his car a week later."
While Cross was distracted by his storytelling, Sophia caught Alexander's eye and mouthed the word "bathroom" and held up two fingers. Then she pointed toward the ceiling.
Alexander nodded slightly, understanding her plan.
"That's fascinating. What about more recent conflicts?"
"The most recent major problem was your mother's rebellion, of course."
Cross's expression became serious again.
"Isabella thought she could expose all four families and somehow escape the consequences."
"But she failed."
"She failed because she underestimated how far we would go to protect ourselves."
Cross stood up and walked to a file cabinet.
"Actually, I have something that might interest you."
He pulled out a manila envelope and returned to the table.
"These are photographs from Isabella's final days."
Sophia's heart stopped as Cross opened the envelope and spread out several black and white photos.
The first photo showed her mother in what looked like a basement or cellar. Isabella looked frightened but alive.
"This was taken three days before her body was found in the river."
The second photo showed Isabella writing in a journal.
"She spent her last days writing. Letters, diary entries, confessions. She seemed to think someone would find her words and continue her mission."
Sophia stared at the photos, trying to control her emotions.
"Where was this taken?"
"A safe house owned by the Whitmore family. They kept her there while we decided what to do with her."
"You mean while you decided how to kill her."
Cross shrugged.
"She was a threat to four families and thousands of people who depended on our operations for their livelihoods."
He pulled out another photo, this one showing Isabella holding a baby.
Sophia gasped.
"That's me."
"Yes. This was taken on your second birthday. Just a few days before Isabella's death."
In the photo, Isabella was smiling and holding a small child. But there was sadness in her eyes, as if she knew her time was running out.
"She loved you very much. That's why she made arrangements for your safety."
"What arrangements?"
Cross hesitated, as if deciding how much to reveal.
"Isabella made a deal. Her life in exchange for yours. She gave us the location of some hidden assets in return for a promise that you would be placed somewhere safe."
"The orphanage."
"Yes. My father kept that promise. It was one of the few honorable things he ever did."
Sophia studied the photos more carefully. Something was bothering her about them.
"These photos... the lighting is wrong."
"What do you mean?"
Alexander looked at the pictures too.
"She's right. The shadows don't match. And look at Isabella's hair - it's different lengths in photos that were supposedly taken on the same day."
Cross's face darkened.
"What are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting these photos were taken at different times. Maybe even different years."
Sophia picked up the photo of Isabella holding the baby.
"This isn't me. This baby is too young. If this was taken on my second birthday, I would have looked much older."
Alexander examined another photo.
"And this one shows Isabella writing, but the handwriting sample you showed us earlier was completely different."
Cross stood up abruptly, his hand moving toward his gun.
"You're being ridiculous. Isabella is dead. I have her death certificate."
"Death certificates can be faked. Especially by people who control the legal system."
Sophia's heart was racing as the implications became clear.
"She's alive, isn't she? Isabella is still alive."
"Don't be stupid."
But Cross's reaction told them everything they needed to know.
"Where is she?"
"She's dead. Her body was found in the river."
"Whose body?"
Cross didn't answer.
Alexander leaned forward.
"You killed someone else and claimed it was Isabella. But you kept her alive for some reason."
"Why would we do that?"
"Because she's the only one who knows where all the Ashford assets are hidden. You need her alive to access the money."
Cross's hand was now resting on his gun.
"This conversation is over."
"Where is my mother?"
Sophia stood up, her voice rising with emotion.
"Where is Isabella?"
"Sit down!"
Cross drew his gun and pointed it at her.
"Isabella Ashford died twenty years ago. Accept it and move on."
But Sophia could see the truth in his eyes. Her mother was alive somewhere, probably being held prisoner by one of the four families.
"Guard!"
The two men at the door stepped forward.
"Take them to the holding room. I need to make some phone calls."
As they were being led away, Sophia whispered to Alexander.
"Tonight. When they change shifts."
"Are you sure about the ventilation system?"
"It's our only chance."
They were locked in a small room with no windows and only one door. A single guard was posted outside.
Sophia sat on the narrow bed and tried to process everything she had learned. Her mother was alive. The photos proved that Isabella had survived much longer than anyone claimed.
But where was she now? And why had the four families kept her alive for twenty years?
"Alexander."
"What?"
"If Isabella is alive, she might still have copies of those records. Maybe that's why they can't kill her."
"You think she's hiding more evidence?"
"I think she's been playing a very long game. Staying alive, gathering information, waiting for the right moment to strike back."
Alexander nodded slowly.
"And now that we have the flash drive, that moment might have come."
They waited until after midnight, when the sounds from the main office area had died down. Through the door, they could hear their guard moving around, probably trying to stay awake.
Sophia stood on the bed and carefully pushed at the ceiling tiles. The third one lifted easily, revealing the ventilation shaft she had seen from the bathroom.
"Can you boost me up?"
Alexander cupped his hands and lifted her toward the opening. It was a tight squeeze, but she managed to pull herself into the shaft.
The metal ductwork was barely wide enough for her to crawl through. She moved slowly to avoid making noise.
Following the shaft, she found herself above the bathroom where she had first discovered this route. From there, she could access the main ventilation system that ran throughout the building.
It took her twenty minutes to reach the area above the emergency exit. She found a grate that looked down into the hallway near the door.
The hallway was empty. One guard was visible at the far end, but he was facing the other direction.
Sophia carefully removed the grate and lowered herself down into the hallway. Her feet hit the floor silently.
The emergency exit was alarmed, but she had noticed earlier that the alarm system had a manual override switch near the door.
Working quickly, she disabled the alarm and cracked the door open. Cool night air rushed in.
Now she had to go back for Alexander.
The return trip through the ventilation system was faster, since she knew the route. She made it back to their holding room and whispered down through the ceiling.
"Alexander. I'm here."
He stood on the bed and she helped pull him up into the shaft.
Moving through the narrow space with two people was much more difficult. They had to go slowly to avoid making noise that would alert the guards.
When they reached the area above the emergency exit, Sophia went first, dropping down into the hallway. Alexander followed a moment later.
The guard at the far end of the hallway was still facing away from them.
They slipped out the emergency exit and found themselves in an alley behind the warehouse.
"Which way?"
Alexander pointed toward the street.
"The main road is that way. We need to find a phone and call for help."
They ran through the dark alley, expecting to hear shouts and gunfire behind them at any moment.
But the night remained quiet.
They had escaped. But Sophia knew this was just the beginning.
Somewhere out there, her mother was still alive, still a prisoner of the four families.
And now Cross knew that they suspected the truth.
The real fight was just starting.
**End of Chapter**