Chapter 8 - THE HOUSE OF PRESCOTT
The federal warrant for the Prescott estate was approved the following morning.
Agent Hale asked Emily whether she wanted to remain at the safe house.
She shook her head.
“I need to tell them where the guest house is.”
“You can describe it on a map.”
“There are hidden paths.”
Her voice remained unsteady.
But there was determination beneath it.
“I know where they keep the outside keys.”
I wanted to protect her by leaving her behind.
Protection was the excuse Ethan had used when taking away her choices.
So I asked a different question.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
She wore a plain gray sweater and jeans provided by the survivor center.
Her injuries were still visible.
She did not hide them.
A federal convoy entered the Prescott estate shortly after noon.
The iron gates opened only after agents threatened to cut through them.
Margaret stood on the front steps.
She wore a navy suit and pearl earrings.
Ethan and Brandon were not visible.
“You are making a spectacle of a private family matter,” she told Hale.
“This warrant authorizes a search of the residence, guest buildings, offices, vehicles, and medical records connected to Senator William Prescott.”
Margaret’s face remained composed.
“My husband is not well enough for visitors.”
“We are not visitors.”
Agents spread through the estate.
Emily guided one team toward the guest house.
The outside lock had been removed.
The bedroom had been repainted.
The carpet was new.
But under ultraviolet light, investigators found blood traces near the bed and doorway.
Emily stood at the threshold.
Her breathing became shallow.
I took her hand.
“You do not have to enter.”
“Yes, I do.”
She stepped inside.
She walked to the closet and pressed against a loose wooden panel.
Behind it was a small space where she had hidden scraps of paper.
Dates.
Times.
Names.
Descriptions of what they had done.
She had created a record because she feared she would stop trusting her own memory.
One note contained a license plate.
Another contained the name of a Haven clinic director.
The final note said:
IF I DISAPPEAR, ASK WHY ETHAN NEEDED MY INHERITANCE.
Hale read it twice.
“What inheritance?”
My parents had created a trust for Emily when she was born.
The money could not be controlled by a spouse.
But after Emily turned thirty, she had authority to change the trust beneficiaries.
Ethan had pressured her to name the Prescott Foundation.
She refused.
Two weeks later, the confinement began.
Agents searched the main house.
They found no sign of Senator Prescott.
His bedroom had been stripped.
His medical equipment was gone.
Margaret claimed he had been moved to a private clinic that morning.
She refused to provide the address.
Hale ordered her detained for obstruction.
She smiled.
“My attorney will have me home before dinner.”
Then shouting came from the west wing.
An agent pushed open a concealed elevator behind a library shelf.
It descended beneath the house.
In the underground room, they found a hospital bed.
Leather restraints were attached to its rails.
Medication bottles covered a metal table.
The patient was gone.
But the wheelchair remained.
Lena had told the truth.
An agent removed the seat cushion.
Inside was the original memory card.
Hale inserted it into a secured computer.
The first video showed Senator Prescott sitting upright in his study.
He spoke directly to the camera.
“My wife and sons have used our foundation to silence women, seize assets, and protect political allies.”
Emily covered her mouth.
The second video showed Margaret entering the room.
She saw the camera.
The footage shook.
Then William shouted.
“Do not touch me.”
A hand struck him.
The video ended.
The third file had been recorded only six hours earlier.
William lay in the underground hospital bed while Brandon injected something into his arm.
Ethan stood beside him.
“Where are they taking him?” Emily whispered.
Before anyone could answer, an agent entered the room.
They had found a flight plan.
A medical jet was scheduled to leave Charlotte within forty minutes.
May you like
The passenger list contained one name.
William Prescott.
