Chapter 7 - THE SWITCHING TOWERThe old switching tower stood at the edge of the rail yard.
Three stories of cracked concrete surrounded by weeds and rusted tracks.
James arrived at 10:08.
He found Charles's truck abandoned.
The driver's door was open.
Rainwater soaked the seats.
James entered.
The stairs creaked beneath him.
On the second floor, he found Elliot.
"Where's Connor?"
Elliot pointed upward.
"He said Connor went to find his uncle."
James froze.
"Tommy?"
Elliot nodded.
"Someone told Connor his uncle was inside."
James ran upstairs.
Connor was there.
So was Tommy.
Both were standing beside an old control panel.
And behind them was Elena's sister, Maria.
Maria raised her hands.
"James Mercer?"
"Where is the ledger?"
Maria stared at him.
"You already know too much."
"I know Victor Hale isn't the real mastermind."
Maria's expression changed.
"Then you know more than your father did."
"Who is it?"
Maria looked toward Connor.
"His mother found out six months before she died."
James waited.
"She discovered the real company wasn't Northstar."
"What was it?"
"Mercer Rail Holdings."
James felt as if the floor had disappeared.
His family's company.
"But that company was dissolved."
"On paper."
Tommy stepped forward.
"They kept the accounts alive through shell corporations."
James looked at Connor.
"Your mother knew my father?"
Connor nodded.
"My mom said your father tried to help us."
James looked at the control panel.
"What are we looking for?"
Maria pointed to a switch.
"That."
A small green light blinked.
James pressed it.
The entire tower hummed.
A hidden compartment opened beneath the floor.
Inside was a steel case.
Connor stepped closer.
"My mom said this was the last thing she protected."
Tommy opened the case.
Inside was a ledger.
Thick.
Handwritten.
Names.
Dates.
Amounts.
Property addresses.
And signatures.
James flipped through it.
Then stopped.
A page carried the Mercer family seal.
At the bottom was a signature.
His father's.
James stared.
"He signed this."
Maria shook her head.
"No."
James looked at her.
"That's his signature."
"It is."
"Then what's the problem?"
Maria pointed to the date.
Six months after his father's death.
James's face went white.
The signature had been used after his father died.
Someone had forged it.
And whoever forged it knew exactly how his father signed his name.
Then Elliot found something on the floor.
A second piece of paper.
He picked it up.
"Dad."
James turned.
It was an old employee list.
One name had been circled.
RICHARD MERCER.
James's uncle.
The man who had raised him after his father died.
The man who managed the family accounts.
The man who had always told James his father was an honest businessman.
James stared at the name.
Then the tower lights went out.
The door slammed shut.
May you like
And a voice came through the darkness.
"You should have left the hungry boy in the trash."
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