Chapter 7 - THE ISLAND OF MISSING PEOPLE
Makayla had not escaped willingly.
Video showed a transport officer entering her holding room with forged release papers.
The officer worked for Commissioner Kane.
By the time authorities discovered the deception, Makayla was already aboard a medical helicopter headed toward Bay Point Island.
Victor needed leverage.
He knew Hannah might still care about her mother despite everything.
He also knew I would not ignore a hostage.
Naomi forbade me from joining the tactical team.
“You are emotionally involved.”
“I also designed the original alarm network on that island.”
Her expression changed.
Fifteen years earlier, my company had installed security systems for a private medical retreat.
The client used a shell corporation.
I never knew Victor controlled it.
My knowledge of the underground layout could save lives.
Federal command approved my participation as a technical consultant.
We approached the island before dawn.
Heavy fog concealed the helicopters.
The mansion’s security network had been upgraded, but the original fiber routes remained.
I accessed a maintenance channel through an underwater junction.
Cameras came online one by one.
Patients were confined in underground rooms.
Makayla sat inside a surgical suite with her wrists tied.
Victor stood beside her.
He held a syringe.
Over the speaker, he addressed me directly.
“I know you are watching.”
Makayla began crying.
“Isaac, don’t come.”
It was the first time she had said anything that placed my safety above her own.
Victor pressed the needle against her arm.
“Bring the original flash drive.”
“Or Hannah loses her mother.”
I transmitted a reply.
“The evidence has already been copied.”
“You assume this is only about evidence.”
“What else?”
“Ownership.”
Victor believed people belonged to whoever controlled their fear.
Employees.
Victims.
Children.
Families.
He could not tolerate losing that control publicly.
The tactical team entered through the old service tunnels.
I disabled the first two security barriers.
The third refused my code.
Victor had installed explosives.
Pressure sensors covered the corridor.
Naomi’s explosives unit began disarming them.
Meanwhile, patients in the lower wing were losing ventilation.
Victor had begun sealing the rooms.
We had thirteen minutes before oxygen levels became dangerous.
I searched the old blueprints.
A laundry shaft connected the medical floor to the kitchen.
It had been sealed on updated plans.
The original remained behind a false wall.
Agents broke through and entered from above.
They opened the patient wing with four minutes remaining.
Thirty-seven people were rescued.
Some had been missing for years.
Others had been declared dead by families who received forged records.
Victor moved Makayla toward the airstrip.
I saw them through an exterior camera.
He held the syringe against her neck.
A small aircraft waited with its engine running.
The tactical team remained underground.
I was closer.
Against orders, I crossed the service yard.
Victor saw me and smiled.
“You always were predictable.”
“Let her go.”
“Give me the drive.”
I held up a duplicate.
He pushed Makayla forward.
She stumbled toward me.
Then Victor raised a pistol.
Makayla turned unexpectedly and struck his arm.
The shot went into the ground.
Naomi’s agents reached the yard.
Victor ran toward the aircraft.
The pilot attempted to take off.
A federal vehicle blocked the runway.
Victor fired twice before agents brought him down.
He survived.
Makayla collapsed beside me.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“For helping Gary hurt Hannah.”
“For lying to you.”
“For believing fear excused everything.”
I did not offer immediate forgiveness.
I held pressure against the wound on her wrist until medics arrived.
Compassion did not require rewriting the past.
Victor was taken into federal custody.
The island’s servers contained enough evidence to prosecute dozens of collaborators.
Yet the most disturbing discovery came from a locked room beneath the mansion.
Inside were recordings of families being manipulated against one another.
Victor studied them for weaknesses.
He had recorded Makayla and Gary years earlier.
The first video showed Gary meeting Victor before he ever married Makayla.
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Their marriage had not been accidental.
Gary had been sent into our family to gain access to Baxter Medical.
