Chapter 10: Marcus's Last Testimony
The black card felt unnaturally cold in Julian's hand.
YOU KNOW TOO MUCH.
Beneath the message, the unfamiliar symbol seemed almost deliberately elegant—a circle divided by three thin lines.
The same mark.
The same one stamped across every page of Project Echo.
Julian looked up.
"Take me to Marcus."
The ambulance sat outside the abandoned warehouse with its rear doors open.
Rain drummed steadily against the roof.
Paramedics worked frantically around Marcus Hale.
His wrists were deeply bruised from the ropes.
His face was swollen.
One eye was nearly shut.
Someone had beaten him with terrifying precision.
Not enough to kill him.
Just enough to send a message.
Julian stepped inside.
Marcus looked up with difficulty.
"You..."
His voice was barely audible.
"I wondered how long..."
"...it would take."
Julian remained standing.
"You've got one chance."
Marcus managed a weak smile.
"I know."
The detective switched on a recorder.
"State your name."
Marcus coughed violently.
"Marcus... Hale."
"Can you tell us who attacked you?"
Marcus slowly shook his head.
"I never saw their faces."
"Were they working for Evelyn Cross?"
A flicker of fear crossed Marcus's face.
He closed his eyes.
"You keep saying her name..."
"...like she's a person."
Julian frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Marcus looked directly at him.
"Evelyn Cross..."
"...isn't one woman."
Silence.
Nobody in the ambulance moved.
The detective leaned forward.
"Explain."
Marcus swallowed painfully.
"It's a title."
Julian stared at him.
"A title?"
Marcus nodded.
"People retire."
"People disappear."
"People die."
"But..."
"...there is always another Evelyn."
The detective frowned.
"So Project Echo..."
"...was never Victoria's operation."
Marcus laughed weakly.
"No."
"It existed long before Victoria."
Julian felt anger rising again.
"What does Project Echo do?"
Marcus looked toward the ambulance ceiling.
"It studies people."
"Powerful people."
"Wealthy families."
"Politicians."
"Executives."
"It finds their weakness."
Julian's jaw tightened.
"And Clara?"
Marcus closed his eyes.
"She wasn't the target."
Julian froze.
"What?"
"You were."
The words hit Julian harder than anything else.
"I was?"
Marcus nodded slowly.
"They wanted to know..."
"...how far a man would go..."
"...if the person he loved disappeared."
The detective stared at him in disbelief.
"You're saying this was an experiment?"
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
Instead...
He whispered,
"They watched everything."
Flashback.
A dark conference room.
Several figures sat around a polished black table.
Their faces hidden in shadow.
A woman's voice filled the room.
"Subject Julian Vance has exhausted investigators in six countries."
Another voice replied,
"He still refuses to stop searching."
A third voice.
"Remarkable resilience."
Someone wrote a note.
Continue Observation.
Back in the ambulance...
Julian's fists clenched.
"They destroyed my family..."
"...just to watch?"
Marcus nodded.
"They wanted to know..."
"...whether hope survives grief."
Julian could barely breathe.
The detective interrupted.
"Who are 'they'?"
Marcus hesitated.
For the first time...
He looked genuinely terrified.
"If I tell you..."
"...they'll kill everyone."
Julian stepped closer.
"They already tried."
Marcus slowly nodded.
"I suppose they did."
He reached inside his torn jacket.
A detective immediately grabbed his wrist.
"It's okay."
Marcus painfully removed a tiny brass key.
"Locker..."
He coughed.
"Union Station."
Julian took the key.
"What's inside?"
"Everything..."
Marcus whispered.
"The original files."
"The client list."
"The real names."
Julian looked at the tiny engraved number.
417
Marcus wrapped his trembling fingers around Julian's wrist.
"Don't trust..."
He struggled to breathe.
"...anyone..."
The heart monitor suddenly began screaming.
The paramedics rushed forward.
"He's crashing!"
Julian stepped back.
Doctors fought desperately to stabilize Marcus.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three.
Finally...
The senior paramedic looked up.
Time seemed to stop.
"I'm sorry."
Marcus Hale was dead.
Outside the ambulance, rain continued falling.
Julian stood silently beside Clara.
Neither of them spoke.
After several moments, Clara slipped her hand into his.
"He gave us something."
Julian looked down at the brass key.
Locker 417.
One final chance to uncover the truth.
Before he could respond, the lead detective's phone rang.
He answered immediately.
His expression changed.
"What happened?"
Julian asked.
The detective slowly lowered the phone.
"Union Station."
"What about it?"
He swallowed hard.
"An anonymous caller just reported..."
"...that Locker 417 has been opened."
Julian's eyes widened.
"But Marcus gave us the only key."
The detective looked him straight in the eye.
May you like
"Apparently..."
"...someone else had one."
