Chapter 21 - THE HOLLOW WORLD
The globe stood in Robert Carter's library, dusty and motionless.
Noah pressed the Atlantic Ocean. A curved panel opened.
Inside lay the battered novel and a small iron key. Notes crowded its margins in Claire's handwriting. Some islands had been circled, but their first letters spelled a warning:
BELOW THE HOUSE.
The iron key opened a door beneath the wine cellar. Daniel descended into a narrow archive lined with waterproof cabinets.
He found photographs of judges, executives, and politicians entering private Carter Meridian retreats. He found payment ledgers and recordings. His father had not merely built a company.
He had built leverage.
In the final cabinet, Daniel found Claire's missing corporate ledger—and a photograph of Vanessa as a teenager standing beside Robert Carter.
On the back his father had written:
VANESSA REED. KEEP HER MOTHER QUIET.
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Daniel heard the floorboard above him creak.
Someone was in the house.
