Chapter 73 The Eyes in the Walls
Marcus arrived two hours after the call with a case full of electronic detection equipment.
Elena watched from the doorway as he systematically swept the cabin, starting with the living room. The device in his hand beeped softly as he moved it along the walls, the windows, the furniture.
When it reached the bookshelf, the beeping turned to a steady tone making Marcus stop and reached behind a row of books, then pulled out a device the of a coin.
"It's a camera," he said, holding it up. "It's got audio and video at high-end. It's a professional grade."
Elena felt her stomach drop.
Pierce's voice came from the medical room. "How long has it been there?"
Marcus examined it. "Weeks, maybe longer. The battery's designed to last months."
"Keep looking," Pierce said, his voice tight.
Marcus found three more in the living room alone. One behind the television. One in the smoke detector. One disguised as a screw in the window frame.
Then he moved to the kitchen and found two more cameras. One in the overhead light, one in the coffee maker.
Elena watched in growing fear as Marcus collected device after device, laying them out on the dining table like evidence.
When he swept the medical room where Pierce lay, the detector went crazy.
"Son of a bitch," Marcus breathed.
He found one in the bedside lamp. Then another in the air vent. A third behind the picture frame on the wall.
Alfred had been watching everything. The medical station. Pierce's recovery.
"Check upstairs," Pierce said, his voice deadly quiet.
Marcus took the stairs two at a time. Elena followed, her hands shaking.
They found two more cameras there. One in the ceiling fan and another one in the dresser.
The bathroom had one hidden in the mirror.
By the time Marcus finished the sweep, he'd collected fourteen devices total. Cameras and audio bugs covering every room in the cabin.
Elena stared at the collection on the dining table, feeling violated in a way that made her skin crawl.
"He's been watching us this whole time," she whispered. "Everything we've said. Everything we've done."
"Not just watching." Marcus pulled out his laptop. "These transmit to a receiver. Alfred's been recording and storing footage."
Pierce's voice came from the medical room. "Bring them here. All of them."
Marcus gathered the devices and carried them to Pierce's bedside. Elena followed, her mind racing.
Alfred had seen Pierce get injured, had watched Elena treat him, had witnessed every moment of vulnerability, every strategic conversation, every intimate exchange.
Pierce stared at the devices with cold fury. "Can you trace the receiver?"
"Already working on it." Marcus was typing rapidly. "But boss, these are sophisticated. Whoever installed them knew what they were doing."
"How long?" Pierce demanded. "How long has Alfred been watching?"
Marcus examined the devices more closely. "Based on the models and battery wear, I'd say at least six weeks. Maybe two months."
Elena's mind went back. Two months ago they'd just arrived at the cabin after the press conference, after capturing Xander.
Alfred had watched all of it. The interrogation planning. The mission preparation. Pierce's injury and recovery.
"He knows everything," Elena said, her voice hollow. "Our routines. Our security protocols. Where Marcus positions his men."
"He knows I'm bedridden." Pierce's hands curled into fists on the blanket. "Unable to protect you."
The full weight of it crashed over Elena. Alfred hadn't just been watching. He'd been studying them. Learning their patterns and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"We need to sweep all our locations," Pierce said. "Every safe house, every facility. If he bugged the cabin..."
"Already on it," Marcus said. "I've got teams checking our other spots now."
Elena moved to the window, wrapping her arms around herself. The peaceful forest view now felt sinister. Who was out there watching? How close was Alfred?
"Can we access the footage?" Pierce asked. "See what he's seen?"
Marcus worked in silence for a few minutes, then nodded. "Got it. He's storing everything on a cloud server. Encrypted but I can crack it."
Twenty minutes later, Marcus had pulled up the footage on his laptop. He set it on the table beside Pierce's bed.
Elena forced herself to watch.
The first clip showed the living room, two months ago. Her and Pierce discussing about Rodrigo. Every word captured clearly.
The next showed the medical room. Elena treating Derek's gunshot wound. Another showed the kitchen, her and Pierce cooking dinner, talking quietly about the company lawsuit.
Marcus fast-forwarded through hours of footage. Days of their lives recorded without their knowledge. Then he stopped on a clip from one week ago.
The mission briefing. Pierce going over the tactical plan for the warehouse assault. Every detail of their strategy laid out on the dining table.
"Alfred saw all of this," Marcus said quietly. "He could've passed it to Rodrigo."
Pierce went very still. "The explosion. Rodrigo knowing we were coming. The charges were already planted on the third floor."
"It was a trap," Elena said. "Alfred told Rodrigo we were coming."
Alfred hadn't just been watching, he'd been actively sabotaging them. Feeding their plans to their enemies.
Pierce could've died because of it.
"Keep going," Pierce said, his voice ice.
Marcus scrolled through more footage. Showed the aftermath of the mission. Elena performing emergency surgery on Pierce. Her hands covered in his blood. Her face stained with tears.
Her desperate attempts to keep him alive.
Alfred had watched all of it.
"Turn it off," Elena said suddenly. "I can't...I don't want to see anymore."
Marcus closed the laptop.
Silence filled the room.
"We remove the devices," Derek said from the doorway. Elena hadn't heard him approach. "Cut off Alfred's access."
"No." Pierce's voice was firm. "We leave them."
Everyone looked at him.
"Boss.." Marcus started.
"We leave them exactly where they are." Pierce's eyes were fierce. "Alfred thinks he has an advantage. He thinks he knows everything. We use that."
Elena understood immediately. "Feed him misinformation."
"Exactly." Pierce looked at Marcus. "Can you loop the footage? Make it look like the cameras are still active but show him what we want him to see?"
"Yeah. I can set up a dummy feed." Marcus said. "Show recorded footage on repeat while we operate in the blind spots."
"Do it." Pierce's voice was sharp. "We let Alfred think he's still watching. But everything he sees from now on is what we want him to see."
"What do we want him to see?" Elena asked.
Pierce met her eyes. "You getting ready to hand over the company, making meeting preparations. You being cooperative, scared, alone."
"It's a bait," Elena said.
"Yes," Pierce said. "We make Alfred think you're vulnerable. That you're giving in to his demands. When he comes for you..."
"We're ready by then." Marcus's voice was serious. "With a full team and a controlled environment."
Elena processed using Alfred's surveillance against him. Letting him think he had the upper hand while they planned the entire situation.
"What about the real planning?" Derek asked. "If we can't talk in the cabin..."
"We plan outside in a different locations. Coded communications only." Pierce looked at Marcus. "Can you have the dummy feeds running by tonight?"
"Give me four hours."
After Marcus left to work on the feeds, Elena sat beside Pierce's bed.
"He watched everything," she said quietly. "Every private moment."
"When we get him." Pierce's voice was tight. "He'll pay for every second of it."
Elena looked at the camera in the bedside lamp, knowing it was still recording. Knowing Alfred might be watching right now.
She forced herself to lean closer to Pierce, to keep her voice low and worried. To look like someone who was breaking under pressure.
"What if he doesn't wait the full week?" She made sure the camera could pick up her words. "What if he comes sooner?"
Pierce played along, his voice reassuring but just loud enough. "Then we handle it. But Elena, maybe you should consider his offer. The company isn't worth your life."
"I can't just give him everything my father built."
"Your father would want you alive." Pierce's hand found hers. "Maybe we negotiate. Give him partial control. Anything to keep you safe."
The words felt wrong in Elena's mouth but she forced them out. "You really think he'd accept that?"
"It's worth trying." Pierce said. "We can't keep running forever."
They continued the performance, playing broken and desperate and willing to negotiate, giving Alfred exactly what he wanted to see.
When they finally stopped, Pierce squeezed her hand three times. Which was their signal.
Elena understood. Everything from now on was a performance. Every conversation in the cabin designed for Alfred's consumption.
The real planning would happen elsewhere.
In four hours, Marcus would have the dummy feeds running. Alfred would see what they wanted him to see and slowly, carefully, they'd lead him into a trap.