Chapter 107: The Secret Disappears
William clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Alright, gentlemen, no one is disturbing us now. You can continue."
The three of them breathed a collective sigh of relief, seeing that William hadn't killed the man. Teabing smiled at William. "William, you truly are Henry's grandson. You act decisively and with a clean finish. Most importantly, you are far more ruthless than Henry, haha."
"Thank you for the compliment, sir." William reverted to his polite demeanor, which stunned Langdon and Sophie. They could never have imagined that the man who had always been a gentleman in their presence could so easily dislocate a person's arm and nearly break his neck. Seeing his utter disregard for human life, a chill ran down their spines.
William noticed their fear and offered a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Professor, Sophie. I only do that to my enemies. I promise I won't hurt you."
"Okay," Professor Langdon managed, twisting his mouth uncomfortably. Sophie glanced at the white-haired man on the sofa with a conflicted expression. She now knew this was the man who had murdered her grandfather. Part of her wanted him dead, but another part wanted to hand him over to the police. After all, Sophie was an officer of the law herself.
Teabing, seeing the somber mood, broke the silence with a shout of pure joy. "It's unbelievable! It truly exists! I've studied this for a lifetime, nearly to the point of despair. I never expected to see it before I died—the holy object hidden beneath the rose."
Hearing Teabing's words, Langdon and Sophie turned their attention back to the cryptex in his hand. They were eager to hear what he would say next.
William picked up the wooden box that had held the cryptex and began to inspect it. He had already examined the cryptex itself, even scanning it with his mental power. Although he could sense the rolled-up note inside, he couldn't make out the overlapping words clearly.
Now, he carefully scanned the wooden box. He discovered that there were words engraved beneath the metal rose on the lid. Walking calmly to a nearby table, he picked up a pencil and used its tip to press down on a hidden catch. The metal rose popped up. Lifting it off, he saw the inscription beneath.
He looked closely and realized the words were written in reverse. William knew that such an inscription was meant to be read in a mirror.
Without alerting the other three, who were deep in discussion, he found a small decorative mirror. Holding it up to the inscription, he read the reflected words: 'In London, a knight a Pope interred. His holy wrath did fill the Holy See. His life's great work, a sacred orb inferred, rests with the brave, in knightly company.'
William felt a sudden jolt of familiarity. After a moment of thought, he understood completely and cursed inwardly. *Damn it, isn't this one of the three verses from the Oxford Ordinance in my own home?*
No wonder the Priory's Grand Master, Jacques Saunière, had told him the Cavendish family were the final guardians. It all made sense now. Scanning the cryptex again with his mental power, William instantly knew what was written on the note inside.
The message was the same as the one from the Oxford Ordinance: *The Holy Grail 'neath ancient Roslin waits. The blade and chalice guarding o'er Her gates. Adorned in masters' loving art, She lies. She rests at last beneath the starry skies.*
*Damn it.* He had expended all this energy only to find a secret he already knew. The realization infuriated him. He walked over to the drink cart, poured himself a glass of wine, and sat down. He couldn't let Langdon and the others continue their investigation. This knowledge could only belong to him.
Since the secret was no longer a secret, William had to devise a flawless plan to make it disappear, ensuring it would forever remain solely in the hands of the Cavendish family. He couldn't even let the Priory know the full truth.
He glanced over at the white-haired man lying on the ground and an idea formed. The man had been feigning stillness but was quietly writhing, enduring the severe pain of his dislocated shoulder as he tried to free his hands.
Seeing this, William used his mental power to lift a shard of glass—from the tumbler Langdon had broken earlier—and discreetly moved it within the man's reach. The struggling man's fingers soon brushed against it.
William sensed the man grasp the shard and smiled faintly. He stood up and asked the others, who were still hunched over their notes, "Is anyone hungry? Would you like to join me in the kitchen for some breakfast?"
"No, thanks," they replied in unison, too engrossed to look up. They were scribbling on paper, trying different letter combinations to solve the puzzle.
"Alright, I'll go eat by myself then. Does anyone want me to bring something up?" William asked again.
This time, no one spoke. Sophie just waved a dismissive hand in his direction.
In a good mood, he went to the kitchen and found some ham and eggs. He spent a few minutes frying them up, put them on a plate, and ate as he walked back upstairs, finishing his breakfast while standing in the corridor just outside the study.
Within a minute, William sensed that the white-haired man had cut through the tape binding his hands. The man was a true fanatic. Despite the agony of his dislocated arm, he had used his fingers to saw at the tape with a piece of broken glass for nearly ten minutes. William almost winced in sympathy; even moving a finger with a dislocated shoulder would be excruciating, let alone gripping a sharp object to cut bindings. Once free, the man was trembling with pain, sweat pouring down his forehead.
It took him several more minutes to free his feet. He lay on the ground, resting for a moment, then gritted his teeth and slammed his shoulder against the floor to force his arm back into its socket.
Langdon, Sophie, and Teabing were so absorbed in their work that they didn't even notice the faint pop.
After relocating his arm, the white-haired man lay on the floor like a dead fish. He watched the three of them at the desk for a long time. He knew he didn't have much time. He had to take advantage of William's absence to snatch the keystone.
When he was sure the three weren't paying attention, the man lunged at Teabing, grabbing for the cryptex. In his mind, the lame old man was the easiest target.
Teabing cried out in alarm as the man rushed him, stumbling backward in his chair. From the corridor, William, who had been watching the scene unfold in the study, smiled. The opportunity had arrived.
He secretly used his mental power to trip the white-haired man's feet. The man's lunge instantly turned into an uncontrolled fall, sending him crashing directly into Teabing.
With a loud thud, the two collided, and the cryptex flew from Teabing's grasp, sailing through the air toward the wall.
As the cryptex soared, William, the devious devil, gave it an extra push with his mental power, accelerating its flight.
*CRACK!*
The cryptex slammed violently against the wall, then fell to the floor and clattered to a stop. William immediately sensed that the glass vial of vinegar inside had shattered.
*Haha, perfect,* William thought, secretly delighted. He didn't miss a beat, rushing into the study and raising his pistol to shoot. But just as he took aim, Sophie jumped in front of him, blocking his shot. "William, no!"
When the white-haired man heard William's shout, he reacted instantly. He wrapped his arms around Teabing's neck and held the shard of glass to his throat. "Drop the gun! Drop the gun, or I'll cut his throat!"
*Damn it.* Failing to get a clean shot frustrated William. He felt a pang of guilt that Teabing was now in danger. William could only keep his gun trained on the man. "Let him go, or I'll shoot."
The man ducked behind Teabing's head. "Go ahead and try! I'll take him down with me!" He pressed the glass shard harder, drawing a thin line of blood on Teabing's neck.
"NO! William, don't shoot! Be careful!" Langdon shouted, jumping to his feet. "Don't be nervous," he said to the captor, "we can save him."
Teabing, however, was not panicking. His eyes were fixed on the cryptex on the floor. He knew it was broken. He had heard the distinct sound of it hitting the wall and was certain the vial inside had shattered.
"Langdon, the cryptex! Forget about me, go and check the cryptex!"
Langdon, who was also worried about the device, followed Teabing's frantic order. He hurried over and picked it up. His face fell as he felt liquid seeping from it. He lifted it to his nose and smelled the sharp scent of vinegar.
He turned to the others and slowly shook his head.
Chapter 108: The Mastermind
When Teabing saw Langdon shake his head, his heart sank. He knew the clue inside the cryptex had been destroyed. For a moment, his face turned ashen with despair.
He had studied the Holy Grail his entire life. His greatest wish was to unlock the secrets that had been sealed for two thousand years, to shatter the millennium-long power of the Holy See. To achieve this, he had even sold the secrets of the Priory of Sion to Opus Dei.
That's right. The elders of the Priory had been betrayed by him.
After all his intricate scheming, to have all his hopes dashed at the final moment... The irony was crushing. Suddenly, life felt meaningless. He regretted not agreeing when William offered to kill the man holding him hostage. But it was useless to think about that now.
All he could do was shout, "Kill him, William! He's the one who assassinated the elders of the Priory! Don't worry about me, William, just kill him!"
Teabing's sudden emotional outburst puzzled William, but he still didn't have a clear shot. The white-haired killer was keeping Teabing's head between them, making it impossible to fire.
As he hesitated, his eyes flickered to a security monitor on the wall. He saw a dozen figures moving on a lower floor and recognized them as police officers. During operations, French plainclothes police wore red armbands with the police emblem.
The police were here. William knew his window to take out the white-haired killer was closing fast.
He gritted his teeth, wondering if he should just take Teabing at his word and risk the shot, disregarding his safety. The thought lasted only a second before he dismissed it. With the police already in the building, he would be held responsible for any stray bullets.
Instead, he wondered why Teabing was so certain the white-haired man was the murderer. He recalled what Langdon had said—that Teabing must know the identities of some of the Priory's members and elders. Then he thought of Jacques Saunière, and the intricate arrangements the elder had made before his death.
Had Saunière suspected that there was a traitor within the Priory? A very high-level traitor? Otherwise, how could four sénéchaux have been assassinated in succession?
But what if it wasn't a traitor, but someone else who knew the Priory intimately and had sold them out? As soon as the idea surfaced, his suspicion fell squarely on Teabing. Although William couldn't imagine Teabing's motive for doing such a thing, once the seed of doubt was planted, it began to grow.
William took a few steps forward, extending his mental power to secretly press the broadcast button on a nearby desktop intercom.
"Let Teabing go! Let me be your hostage instead!" William said loudly, his voice booming through the chateau's speakers, ensuring the police downstairs would know there was a hostage situation.
Just then, the manservant, Remy, burst in with a gun. Having heard William's shout from the kitchen, he knew something was wrong and had grabbed a weapon, narrowly missing the police on his way up.
Seeing Teabing held captive, Remy aimed his pistol at the white-haired man. "Let Sir Leigh go!"
The arrival of another armed man made the white-haired killer even more agitated. "Put your guns down!" he screamed. "Or I'll take this old man down with me! I mean it!"
A fresh cut appeared on Teabing's neck, forcing William and Remy to freeze. The standoff held for a tense moment.
Teabing, a seasoned veteran of intrigue, managed to calm himself within minutes. Once his panic subsided, he found he didn't want to die after all. As long as he was alive, there were other ways to find the Grail.
He gave Remy a nearly imperceptible glance. William, who had been observing everything with his mental power, immediately sensed Remy, who was standing a meter and a half away, give the slightest of nods. Teabing then said to the killer, "Let me go. I'll be your hostage."
As he spoke, he took a half-step toward William, and Remy, who had been aiming at the white-haired man, suddenly swiveled his pistol toward William's head.
The move was so unexpected that the hair on William's neck stood on end. He dove behind a table without a second thought.
Remy reacted just as quickly. Seeing William take cover, he immediately grabbed Sophie, aimed his pistol at her head, and used her as a human shield.
He smiled at William. "Throw out your gun, Mr. Devonshire. I have two hostages now. Or should I kill Professor Langdon first?"
Hiding behind the table, William used his mental power to scan Remy, wondering why he hadn't just shot him when he first came in, but had instead focused on taking hostages. Something was very strange. Playing along for Sophie's safety, he shouted, "Don't shoot! I'm putting my gun down! Be careful!" William then tossed his pistol out from behind the table.
He still had another gun in his storage space. Crouching behind the table, he quietly retrieved the second pistol. Because the storage space kept it safe, William had gotten into the habit of keeping his weapons loaded and ready.
Tucking the new gun into the back of his waistband, he raised his hands and slowly walked out.
"Go stand with Langdon," Remy commanded.
William pretended to carefully avoid Remy's line of sight as he walked over to Langdon, who was panicked out of his wits. He was only feigning fear of being shot; as long as he wasn't caught completely by surprise, he was confident he could dodge.
"Why, Remy?" William asked, his voice steady.
Ignoring William's question, Remy said to the white-haired man, "Let the Sir go. You can tie these two up."
The white-haired man was still wary. "How do I know you're not acting with him to trick me into letting the old man go?" he demanded, not lowering his weapon from Teabing. "You put your gun down first."
Remy smiled. "Silas, you can let Sir Teabing go. We are on the same side."
Silas looked at Remy in surprise, then back at Teabing. "Are you... the Teacher?" he asked uncertainly.
Remy nodded. "Yes, Silas, I am. Sir Teabing is the one who gave me the names of the four Priory elders to pass on to you. Now, let him go and tie the others up."
To prove his identity, Remy recited the names of the four murdered elders and some specific details from his phone conversations with Silas.
This finally convinced Silas. He let Teabing go, his tense body finally relaxing. He felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his arms and broke out in a cold sweat.
He looked at William with bloodshot eyes, walked over, and picked up the gun William had tossed on the floor. Despite the excruciating pain, he wanted to kill William on the spot.
"Wait, Silas! You can't kill him. William is still useful," Teabing said quickly.
Silas looked at him, confused.
Teabing explained, "Now that the keystone is destroyed and the four elders are dead, all the clues are gone. Our only remaining hope is the Devonshire family. Devonshire's ancestor was one of the Templar Knights who discovered the Holy Grail. Although his family hasn't been involved with the Priory for hundreds of years, since the great purge 600 years ago, there might still be clues hidden in their family records.
"Silas, you heard William. He's very devoted to his mother. We'll take these three with us to Oxford, England, and find William's mother. Do you understand, Silas?"
Silas nodded and lowered the gun. William stared at the floor, rage burning in his heart. He made a promise to himself then and there: the moment he had a chance, he would kill every last one of them.
Chapter 109: The Truth is Revealed
When Sophie heard that Teabing was the mastermind behind everything and that they had all been manipulated, she was filled with despair. "Why?" she cried. "Why would you do this? Why did you kill my grandfather and those innocent people?"
"Innocent? Haha," Teabing laughed as if he'd heard the world's greatest joke. "The Priory is anything but innocent."
Leaning on his cane, Teabing limped over to Silas, who was trembling in pain on the floor. He took the gun from the monk's hand and pointed it at Sophie. "The Priory of Sion and their Knights Templar are the most shameful, evil group in the world."
He then walked to the desk and sat down, but the words he spoke next were ones Silas could scarcely believe.
"If the Knights Templar hadn't, in their greed and stupidity, made a deal with the Church a thousand years ago, allowing it to escape a catastrophe that would have led to its collapse, we wouldn't have been ruled by them for a millennium. The Church has committed countless shameless massacres throughout history, imprisoning the minds of humanity for centuries."
Before Silas could react, Teabing swung the gun toward him. "Did you think I was providing you with the Priory's secrets to protect the Church? Haha, I'm doing this to destroy the Church. Finding the Holy Grail will provide scientific proof that the version of God the Church preaches is a lie. When people find out that what they believe in is false, do you think the Church can possibly survive? It's time for it to pay the price for the sins it has committed for a thousand years."
Hearing the one answer he least wanted to hear, Silas stared at Teabing with a vacant expression, his hands falling limp at his sides. His spirit seemed to have been completely crushed.
He had believed that everything he did was guided by God, that he was desperately fighting to eliminate the Priory for the sake of the Church. But it was all a conspiracy, orchestrated by the old man before him. Thinking of the torment and anguish he had felt after each murder, Silas roared and lunged at Teabing.
*Bang!*
A single gunshot echoed through the room. Silas clutched his chest, his legs slowly giving way as he knelt on the floor. He stared at the ceiling with lifeless eyes and murmured sadly, "I am just a shadow."
"Ah! Ahhh!"
Sophie screamed at the sound of the gunshot. Standing so close to her, Remy flinched as the scream pierced his ears, instinctively ducking his head. In that split second, William, who was standing nearby, drew the gun from his waistband and shot Remy clean through the head.
He then pivoted, aiming at Teabing. *Bang!* The second shot sent Teabing flying from his chair, knocked to the ground by the bullet's impact.
The police who had been lying in ambush outside stormed in after hearing the first gunshot, but the entire sequence—from Teabing shooting Silas to William shooting Teabing—had taken less than three seconds. By the time they entered, three bodies lay on the archives floor.
"Don't move! French police! Put down your weapons! You're surrounded!"
William immediately raised his hands and shouted, "Raise your hands, Langdon! Sophie!"
Langdon reacted instantly, raising his hands, but Sophie was so terrified that her legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor.
The police who rushed in stared in surprise at William and the three bodies. They had heard the gunshots and charged in, but they never expected to find that William had single-handedly reversed the situation in mere seconds.
The officers nervously kept their guns trained on William. After making sure he wasn't going to resist, one of them carefully approached and confiscated his pistol.
"Alright, let the three of them go," Fache said, walking in with a cigar in his mouth. He glanced at the bodies of Teabing, Remy, and Silas, shook his head, and remarked, "I never expected things to turn out like this."
Fache walked over to Sophie and helped her to her feet. "It's alright, Sophie. I hope to see your report on my desk tomorrow."
Sophie's face was still a mask of horror; William had killed Remy right beside her. Hearing Fache's words, she stammered for a long moment before calming herself enough to say, "I understand, sir. I'll write you a detailed report. Thank you."
Fache nodded, then turned to William. "Mr. Devonshire, although it appears you acted in self-defense, we still need to follow procedure. You are temporarily restricted from leaving the country. Do you have a firearms license for France? If not, you could be in serious trouble."
Things had gone just as William had hoped. The keystone was destroyed, and the villains were all dead. He felt a deep sense of satisfaction. "I understand, officer," he said with a smile. "But may I make a phone call? I believe the British Foreign Office can give you a reasonable explanation."
Fache looked at him in surprise. "Are you certain?"
William just smiled and shrugged. "Yes."
"Very well," Fache said, shaking his head. "You three will come to the station to give a statement."
Sitting in the police car, William called Anthony from his law firm and explained the general situation. After hanging up, he dialed Gareth Mallory of the British Security Committee.
The phone rang for what felt like an eternity before it was answered, followed by Gareth's grumbling.
It was only six in the morning, but William didn't care about his complaints.
After William explained the situation, Gareth simply replied, "I know," and hung up.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the police station. As soon as William stepped out of the car, he saw four or five people in suits walking toward him. "Mr. Devonshire? I'm Terry, from the British Embassy in France."
"We've been briefed on your situation," Terry continued. "We will handle the firearms license issue. Please rest assured, it won't cause you any trouble."
William shook his hand. "Thank you. I appreciate you coming."
Terry smiled. "You're welcome, Mr. Devonshire. If there's nothing else, we'll be heading back to the consulate."
"Of course. Thank you again," William said, seeing them off. He then turned to his lawyer. "Let's go give our statements."
After two hours at the police station, he was notified that he was free to leave.
When he walked out, it was already bright daylight. He saw Professor Langdon and Sophie waiting for him by the entrance.
"Are you alright, William?" Langdon asked.
William nodded with a smile. "I'm fine, Professor. Were you waiting for me?"
"Of course," Sophie said. "Let us take you to breakfast. We can talk while we eat."
They found a small restaurant and ordered. As they ate, Langdon and Sophie exchanged a look, and Langdon finally asked, "William, if I may ask… does the Devonshire family have any other clues about the Holy Grail?"
William's good mood instantly soured. These two were relentless. After everything that had happened last night, they still wanted to keep looking.
"My grandfather died because of the Holy Grail," Sophie said stubbornly. "I want to find it, to see what it really is. And since I've been suspended, I have plenty of time to look."
William was starting to find the woman incredibly annoying. He turned his gaze to Professor Langdon.
Langdon looked a little embarrassed under William's stare. "I can't sleep at night not knowing," he admitted. "And I want to see if Teabing's claims were true. This could force us to re-examine history. It has immense value for archaeological research."
There was no way in hell William was taking these two nuisances with him. "No," he said flatly.
Seeing him refuse so quickly, Sophie's face fell. "But what do you know, William? With the three of us, it would be easier to find. And Langdon's professional knowledge would definitely help you."
William shook his head firmly. He didn't want to bring them along, but he felt he owed them something. If it weren't for them, Teabing might not have been exposed so quickly. So, he adopted a sincere tone.
"If I knew anything else, I wouldn't have come to France to find Professor Saunière in the first place. My grandfather left very few clues. His final instructions just said to find the professor, and that he would tell me everything. But you know what happened. The professor is dead, and the keystone has been destroyed. That secret has been taken to the grave. I'm sorry, but I can't help you."
Langdon and Sophie, who had lived through it all, knew William's words rang true. They could only shake their heads in helpless disappointment. After breakfast, the three of them separated. Langdon headed for the American consulate, and Sophie drove off.
As he watched the two "plague gods" depart, William noticed they seemed to have developed feelings for each other, though they hadn't acted on it yet. It would be good if they got together.
Chapter 110: A Cunning Deduction
William slept until 5 p.m. After getting up, he showered, combed his hair, and put on a coat before heading to the hotel restaurant for a meal.
After placing his order, he noticed some travel albums on a nearby bookshelf. Bored, he picked one up and brought it back to his seat.
Flipping through it, he came across a section on Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, which detailed the church's origin, history, and connections to various sects. William was stunned to see an emblem of the Priory of Sion on the keystone. Suddenly, the words from the cryptex cylinder flashed in his mind: "The Holy Grail 'neath ancient Roslin waits."
*Damn it, why didn't I think of it before?* Combining that sentence with the symbol in the picture, William immediately knew where the Holy Grail was hidden.
He snapped his fingers for the waiter and instructed the hotel to book him a flight to Edinburgh. He had to get there overnight.
Half an hour after he finished his dinner, the hotel concierge approached him. "Mr. Devonshire, the plane you requested is ready. You can take off at any time."
"Thank you." William handed the man a £20 tip and took the car provided by the hotel directly to the airport. Since money was no object, he had chartered a small private jet. The moment he arrived, the plane was ready for takeoff.
At 9 p.m., the plane landed. A luxury sedan was waiting on the runway and drove him to a Four Seasons hotel in Edinburgh. Exhausted from the day's events, he had a small drink and went to bed.
What William didn't know was that as Sophie was seeing Langdon off, she had spotted him from a second-floor viewing platform. Through the tinted glass, she watched William get out of a car and walk toward a private jet.
Unwilling to give up the search for the Holy Grail and despite being suspended, Sophie still had friends in the police department. It was a simple matter to have one of them find out that William had booked a flight to Edinburgh.
She and Langdon quickly decided to follow. But they didn't have William's wealth and could only book tickets on a commercial flight departing at midnight. By the time Sophie and Langdon arrived at the Edinburgh airport after 1 a.m., William was already fast asleep.
Sophie looked at Langdon. "We're in Edinburgh, but I can't ask my contacts to track him any further. What should we do?"
Langdon thought for a moment. "I was wondering why William would come to Edinburgh, until I saw this on the plane." He took out a travel guide to Edinburgh and turned to the page on Rosslyn Chapel.
"What does this prove?" Sophie asked.
Langdon smiled. "'The Holy Grail 'neath the rose.' Remember what Teabing said? Rosslyn Chapel was built on the Rose Line meridian, and the symbol for the meridian on maps is a rose. The Devonshire family must have some clue about the Holy Grail, but William hadn't put it all together before."
"When we were studying the cryptex this morning, William told us he was hungry and asked if we wanted to go with him. Remember?"
Sophie nodded. "We were focused on the cryptex, so we didn't go. I didn't think anything of it. Was there something strange about that?"
"Yes, very strange," Langdon said with a grim smile. "William asked us twice. Now, I think I've guessed what was really happening. He probably knew where the Holy Grail was at that moment. And think about how fast he reacted when Silas lunged at Teabing. William rushed into the study from the data room. Wasn't it too fast? Just two seconds after they hit the ground, he burst in with a gun, as if he knew all along that Silas would break free from the tape and was just waiting outside."
Sophie thought back, her eyes widening in shock. "Now that you say it, it did feel like William was waiting outside."
"Exactly. Looking back, William must have already known the location of the Holy Grail, which is why he didn't care when the cryptex was broken and the map inside was destroyed. In fact, he looked almost relieved. At the time, I just thought he was trying to save Teabing. But now I think he saw it as a stroke of luck. The cryptex was broken, the map was destroyed, and he became the only person in the world who knew the secret."
"How is that possible?" Sophie exclaimed, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Does that mean when William went outside, he knew Silas would break free? He reminded us twice to leave… He didn't care about Teabing's safety at all. He wanted to legally kill Silas while Silas was holding Teabing hostage!"
Sophie covered her mouth with her hands. "My God. Silas threatened his family, so he never gave up the idea of killing him. The only reason he didn't shoot immediately was because I was in his line of fire. Instead, Silas grabbed Teabing and used him as a shield, which prevented William from killing him on the spot."
Langdon nodded grimly. "It seems so. A normal person would only ask once if you want to get food. William is a smart man; he wouldn't have repeated himself after we clearly refused. But we were all so immersed in solving the cryptex that we didn't notice. It seems he isn't completely cold-blooded, though. He knew Silas would break free and was worried for our safety, which is why he tried to get us out of there."
"God, that man holds a grudge," Sophie said, trembling. "Just because Silas threatened him, he was willing to risk Teabing's life to get his revenge. This guy is too dangerous, Langdon. If William finds out we're at Rosslyn Chapel, would he… would he kill us?" She grabbed Langdon's arm tightly.
Sophie's words made Langdon nervous. He wasn't sure what William was capable of. "How about we go to Rosslyn Chapel right now?"
"But it's closed. We can't get in without a key. There are priceless antiques in there. If we're found breaking in, the police will arrest us as thieves."
"Then let's call William now," Langdon volunteered. "I'll meet him alone. You can watch us from a distance with a camera. If William tries to harm me, call the police immediately and get away. If he knows you're watching, he won't dare to kill me."
Sophie thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I'll go. My grandfather was the Grand Master of the Priory and the guardian of the Holy Grail. My reason for seeking him out is more plausible. William might hesitate to kill me." Seeing Langdon still hesitating, she made the decision. "This is how we'll do it, Langdon. He might not kill me, but he might kill you."
Langdon considered it and proposed a plan. "Let's meet William in the airport lobby. We'll buy a camera first. After he arrives, I'll be on the second floor with my phone and the camera, watching you. If he tries to take you anywhere, I'll shout and get the attention of the airport police."
"Alright, let's do that. I'll call William now," Sophie said, taking out her phone to make the call.
---
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