Chapter 8: Blood of the Serpent
The room fell into stunned silence.
Everyone stared at Detective Bennett's phone.
The security camera image was grainy, blurred by smoke and rain, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
The man walking away from the burning Hale Construction headquarters had Owen's eyes.
The same strong jawline.
The same height.
The same confident stride.
Only he was older.
Perhaps by twenty-five years.
Richard whispered,
"...He looks just like you."
Owen couldn't answer.
For years he had wondered who he had inherited his face from.
Now that face was staring back at him through a security camera.
Except this man wore the silver snake ring.
A Name from the Past
Detective Bennett enlarged the image.
"There was no identification on him."
"But..."
She opened another file.
"We've seen him before."
A personnel record appeared on the screen.
The name read:
Victor Cross
Richard frowned.
"I've never heard of him."
Bennett nodded.
"Neither has anyone else."
"It's almost certainly an alias."
Emily crossed her arms.
"So who is he?"
Bennett took a slow breath.
"For twenty years, Victor Cross has appeared at the edges of nearly every investigation connected to Serpent."
"But every time we get close..."
"He disappears."
Owen couldn't stop staring at the photograph.
"He looks like family."
Bennett nodded.
"I thought the same thing."
The DNA Question
Richard looked at Owen.
"We need a DNA test."
Emily agreed.
"If this man is related to you..."
"...it changes everything."
Owen nodded.
"I'll do it."
Detective Bennett hesitated.
"I'm afraid that won't be easy."
"Why?"
"Because Victor Cross doesn't officially exist."
"No birth certificate."
"No fingerprints."
"No driver's license."
"No tax records."
"It's as though someone erased his life decades ago."
Sophie's Memory Returns
While the adults spoke, Sophie quietly walked toward the library window.
She watched the rain for several seconds.
Then she spoke without turning around.
"I've seen him before."
Everyone looked at her.
"When?"
"The man on the phone."
"The snake man."
Owen slowly approached.
"Where?"
She closed her eyes.
"He came to our apartment."
"We know that."
She shook her head.
"No."
"I mean after the fire."
Emily frowned.
"After?"
Sophie nodded.
"We were hiding."
"In the church."
Richard blinked.
"The church?"
"There was an old priest."
"He gave us bread."
"We slept there one night."
"And the snake man came."
Emily immediately wrote everything down.
"What happened?"
"He asked Father Michael if four little girls had been there."
"Did he see you?"
Sophie slowly shook her head.
"The priest lied."
"He said he'd never seen us."
"What happened then?"
Sophie looked down.
"The snake man smiled."
"Then he gave Father Michael some money."
Richard frowned.
"Money?"
"He said..."
"'If you remember anything later...call this number.'"
Father Michael
Detective Bennett immediately searched church records.
"There are three Father Michaels in Manhattan."
Richard looked hopeful.
"Let's visit them."
Bennett's expression slowly changed.
"I don't think we can."
"Why?"
She turned the tablet around.
One obituary filled the screen.
Father Michael Donovan
Died.
Three weeks earlier.
Heart attack.
Age sixty-eight.
Emily frowned.
"Natural causes?"
Bennett looked uneasy.
"Officially."
Another Letter
Richard suddenly remembered something.
"Sir..."
"What?"
"The envelope."
"What envelope?"
"The one hidden inside the piano."
Samuel Whitmore's letter.
Owen unfolded it again.
For the first time, he held it beneath a desk lamp.
Emily noticed faint writing beneath the visible ink.
"Wait..."
"There are more words."
Richard frowned.
"I don't see anything."
"Lemon juice."
Owen looked up.
"Invisible ink."
Emily smiled.
"My grandmother used it."
Richard hurried into the kitchen.
Minutes later he returned with a hair dryer.
Warm air slowly passed across the page.
Little by little...
Golden-brown letters began appearing.
Everyone held their breath.
The hidden message read:
Daniel never betrayed us.
Another line slowly appeared.
He became one of them...to destroy them from within.
Owen's heart pounded.
His father...
Hadn't joined Serpent.
He had infiltrated it.
The Last Sentence
More words slowly appeared.
The final line was barely visible.
Samuel had clearly written it in great haste.
Trust only the Keeper of the Compass.
Emily looked confused.
"The Keeper?"
Richard frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Nobody knew.
The Emergency Hearing
At exactly nine o'clock that morning, Owen arrived at Manhattan Family Court.
The four sisters remained together in a private waiting room with Emily.
Karen Miller was already there.
She wore an expensive white suit and a confident smile.
Beside her sat two attorneys.
Across the courtroom...
Another man quietly observed the proceedings.
Black suit.
Silver tie.
Dark sunglasses.
Owen had never seen him before.
But Detective Bennett had.
She immediately whispered,
"Don't look now."
Owen kept his eyes forward.
"What?"
"The man in the third row."
"He's Serpent."
"How do you know?"
"He testified under another name twelve years ago."
Karen's Performance
Karen walked to the witness stand.
Within minutes she transformed into the grieving aunt.
She cried.
She dabbed her eyes.
She spoke lovingly about her nieces.
"I've searched everywhere."
"I haven't slept."
"They're all I have left."
The judge listened carefully.
Owen watched silently.
Until Sophie suddenly whispered from the waiting area,
"She's lying."
Bella Speaks
Unexpectedly, Bella tugged on Emily's sleeve.
"I want to tell the judge."
Emily looked surprised.
"Are you sure?"
Bella nodded.
The judge allowed the little girl to speak privately in chambers.
No cameras.
No audience.
Only the judge.
Emily.
A child psychologist.
Bella took a deep breath.
Then quietly said,
"Aunt Karen never called us by our names."
The judge frowned.
"What did she call you?"
Bella looked down.
"Expenses."
Silence filled the room.
Then Bella added,
"She told us we'd be worth more if Daddy had bought life insurance."
Even the court reporter stopped typing.
The Twist
The hearing was suddenly interrupted.
A court officer rushed inside.
He handed the judge a sealed envelope.
The judge opened it.
His expression instantly changed.
He looked directly at Owen.
"Mr. Hayes..."
"I'm afraid today's hearing must be postponed."
Karen smiled.
She thought she had won.
Then the judge continued.
"Because the FBI has just requested custody of all evidence connected to this case."
The courtroom erupted in confusion.
Detective Bennett stood.
"The FBI?"
The judge nodded.
"They've opened a federal investigation."
Before anyone could react, two agents entered the courtroom.
One of them walked straight toward Owen.
He quietly placed a small envelope into Owen's hand.
"No one must see this."
"Who are you?" Owen whispered.
The agent leaned closer.
Then said seven words that made Owen's blood run cold.
"Your father is still alive... and he's waiting."
The agents immediately turned and left.
Owen slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a single key card.
Stamped with one location.
Grand Central Terminal
Locker 317
And beneath it, handwritten in familiar ink:
May you like
Come alone.
End of Chapter 8
