Chapter 11: Mr. Carter's Secret
Santos read the new message.
“Whoever is sending these knows what's happening inside this auditorium.””
Every parent looked around.
Phones lowered.
Whispers spread.
Marcus glanced toward the balcony.
The lighting booth.
The side exits.
The backstage doors.
Someone was watching.
Claire suddenly looked at her console.
“The livestream.””
Dr. Hayes turned.
“What livestream?””
“Graduation is being broadcast on the school website.””
Silence.
Claire's face fell.
“I forgot.””
“How many viewers?””
Claire checked.
Then blinked.
“Forty-eight thousand.””
Marcus stared at her.
“What?””
“It was two hundred when graduation started.””
Santos exhaled.
“So our anonymous sender doesn't need to be inside.””
Dr. Hayes immediately ordered Claire to stop displaying investigative material.
The projection switched to the Eastbrook crest.
But it was too late.
Everything had escaped the auditorium.
Marcus looked toward Vance.
“You can't put it back now.””
Vance stared at him.
“You have no idea what you've done to this institution.””
Marcus stepped closer to the microphone.
“What I've done?””
“You could have handled this privately.””
Marcus almost laughed.
There was that word again.
Privately.
“No.””
Vance's voice rose.
“Eastbrook employs hundreds of people. Thousands of students depend on it. Scholarships depend on donors. You think destroying public confidence has no consequences?””
Marcus stared at him.
“You're blaming me because people heard you?””
“I am saying immature people rarely understand the damage caused by public accusations.””
Laura Cole stepped forward.
“My son understood.””
Vance went silent.
Laura held Ethan's old speech against her chest.
“He understood so well that he stayed quiet for twelve years.””
Then the auditorium doors opened.
A man stood there.
Mid-thirties.
Thin.
Dark hair.
He looked like someone who had nearly turned around a hundred times before entering.
Laura whispered, “Ethan.””
Her son walked inside.
He didn't look at Vance.
He looked at Marcus.
“You didn't give him the paper.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No.””
Ethan smiled sadly.
“I did.””
The sentence hurt more than Marcus expected.
Ethan walked toward the stage.
“When Vance threatened my brother's scholarship, I handed over my speech.””
Vance interrupted.
“This is fiction.””
Ethan finally looked at him.
“You remember the blue tie?””
Vance frowned.
“You told me to wear a blue tie because it looked respectable in photographs.””
Vance said nothing.
“You took my speech. Then you gave me three sentences somebody else had written.””
Ethan's voice trembled.
“I thanked the faculty, congratulated my classmates, and sat down.””
Laura wiped her eyes.
“My mother asked what happened,” Ethan continued.
“I told her I got nervous.””
“You were seventeen,” Marcus said.
“So are you.””
They looked at each other.
Then Ethan nodded toward Marcus's speech.
“Read yours.””
Marcus's throat tightened.
“Not yet.””
“Why?””
“Because this isn't finished.””
Ethan gave a small nod.
“I said the same thing for twelve years.””
Before Marcus could respond, an officer returned from backstage.
“We located Mr. Carter.””
Marcus turned.
“Where?””
“Old science building.””
“Is he okay?””
The officer hesitated.
“He's locked himself inside a chemistry prep room.””
Angela gripped Marcus's arm.
Santos asked, “Is he armed?””
“No indication.””
“Has he threatened anyone?””
“No.””
“Then nobody escalates this.””
Marcus looked toward the doors.
“I want to talk to him.””
“No,” Angela said.
“Mom.””
“No.””
Santos shook her head too.
“He specifically tried to lure you there alone. You're not going anywhere near him.””
Marcus looked at the photograph on his phone.
“Maybe he didn't send the message.””
Everyone paused.
Santos frowned.
“Explain.””
“The sender said Carter has the original file.””
“Yes.””
“But if Carter wanted me alone, why send a photograph proving he was with Vance?””
David nodded slowly.
“Marcus is right.””
Santos looked at the image again.
“The message may have been designed to make us believe Carter sent it.””
Claire spoke from the console.
“Can I say something?””
“Yes.””
“The login.””
Everyone turned.
“Mr. Carter's faculty account accessed the file at 8:43.””
She pointed toward the now-dark projector.
“But faculty passwords aren't enough for remote archive access. The system uses a security token.””
Dr. Hayes frowned.
“A physical token?””
“Usually a school-issued phone.””
Marcus looked toward the officer.
“Does Mr. Carter have his phone?””
The officer radioed someone.
A reply came seconds later.
“No.””
“Where is it?””
“His wife reported it stolen yesterday.””
Marcus's heart jumped.
Mrs. Carter.
His elementary teacher.
The person who had nominated him nine years ago.
Santos immediately asked, “Where is Mrs. Carter?””
Dr. Hayes checked her directory.
“She retired from the elementary division three years ago.””
Marcus remembered the anonymous message.
If you still have the old Eastbrook files, tomorrow is your last chance.
David had received it.
Someone knew David had evidence.
Someone knew Carter had the original file.
Someone knew the tunnels.
Someone knew Phoenix.
Marcus whispered, “Mrs. Carter.””
Angela looked at him.
“What?””
“She knew about my rejection before anyone.””
David frowned.
“She may have been the one who warned your mother.””
Santos shook her head.
“We don't assume.””
Then her phone rang.
She answered.
“Santos.””
Her expression changed.
“Where?””
Everyone watched.
“When?””
She listened.
“Don't touch anything. We're coming.””
She ended the call.
“Mr. Carter has agreed to come out.””
Marcus exhaled.
“But he says he will only speak if his wife is present.””
“Where is she?””
Santos looked at Marcus.
“Missing.””
The auditorium went silent.
“What do you mean missing?”” Angela asked.
“Her husband hasn't seen her since yesterday afternoon.””
Marcus's skin prickled.
Santos continued.
“He says she left home carrying an archive file.””
“The Reed file?”” Marcus asked.
“He believes so.””
Vance suddenly sat down.
Not casually.
His knees seemed to give out.
Marcus saw it.
So did David.
“You know where she is,” David said.
Vance shook his head.
“No.””
“You know something.””
“No.””
David walked closer.
“William.””
“Stay away from me.””
“What happened to Helen Carter?””
Vance stared at the floor.
Santos stepped between them.
“Mr. Vance, if you have information concerning a potentially missing person, this is no longer about school administration.””
Vance closed his eyes.
Then whispered, “She called me last night.””
Marcus's heart stopped.
“What did she want?””
Vance looked up.
“The same thing she wanted nine years ago.””
Angela's voice shook.
“What?””
May you like
Vance stared directly at her.
“To tell you the truth about why Marcus was rejected.””
