Chapter 11 - The Man in the PhotographThe man in the photograph was not Michael.
Not Jonathan Hale.
Not Daniel.
Someone else.
A stranger.
Daniel took the photograph to Marcus.
Marcus stared at it for a long time.
Then he whispered:
“I know him.”
Daniel looked up.
“Who?”
“Thomas Vale.”
“Who is he?”
“The founder of NorthStar.”
Daniel stared.
“I thought Jonathan Hale founded it.”
“He took over after Vale disappeared.”
Marcus zoomed in on the photograph.
“Vale disappeared fifteen years ago.”
“Where?”
“No one knows.”
Daniel looked at Lily.
“So he was Rachel’s secret.”
Maya nodded.
“Rachel met him before she met you.”
Daniel felt a bitter ache.
“What did he do?”
“He tried to expose NorthStar.”
“Why would Rachel have his child?”
Maya looked at him.
“She didn’t.”
Daniel blinked.
“What?”
Maya shook her head.
“The photograph is misleading.”
“Then what does it mean?”
“Rachel was helping Thomas protect his child.”
Daniel stared at Lily.
“You said I was her father.”
“Yes.”
“Then why is Thomas here?”
“Because Lily isn’t his daughter.”
Daniel looked confused.
Maya continued.
“Thomas discovered that the network had genetically engineered a false identity trail.”
Marcus frowned.
“That sounds insane.”
“It does.”
“But?”
“But it worked.”
Maya pulled out another document.
“Lily’s DNA was altered in the records.”
Daniel stared.
“Why?”
“To make people believe she belonged to someone else.”
“Who?”
Maya looked toward Emma.
“That’s the part nobody knows.”
Emma suddenly spoke.
“Daddy.”
Daniel turned.
“There was a man at the factory.”
“What man?”
“He had the same scar as the man in the picture.”
Daniel froze.
“What did he look like?”
Emma described him.
Marcus searched his files.
Then stopped.
“I found him.”
Daniel walked closer.
“Who?”
Marcus turned the screen.
A missing persons report.
THOMAS VALE.
But the photograph was older.
Much older.
The current age estimate was sixty-one.
The man in the factory looked about forty-five.
Then Marcus opened another record.
A passport application.
Thomas Vale.
Current photograph.
Daniel stared.
The man in the factory was Thomas.
Alive.
But there was something else.
The passport had been issued only six months ago.
Which meant someone had helped Thomas disappear.
Daniel asked:
“Where is he now?”
Marcus looked at the records.
“Florida.”
Daniel frowned.
“What’s in Florida?”
Marcus found another entry.
A private clinic.
A fertility laboratory.
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
Maya whispered:
“Rachel went there.”
“When?”
“Two months before she died.”
“Why?”
“She was trying to prove something.”
“What?”
Maya looked at Lily.
“That you were not supposed to be Lily’s father.”
Daniel stared.
“What?”
Maya continued.
“Rachel believed your marriage had been watched from the beginning.”
Daniel felt the air leave his lungs.
“You’re saying our entire marriage was monitored?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because someone wanted access to your family.”
Daniel looked at Emma.
A terrifying thought entered his mind.
“What did they want from me?”
Maya hesitated.
“Your blood.”
Daniel stared.
Then Marcus’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face slowly changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at Daniel.
“We found Thomas Vale.”
“Where?”
Marcus swallowed.
“He’s dead.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Then who gave us the photograph?”
Marcus whispered:
“His daughter.”
May you like
Daniel looked at Lily.
And somewhere outside, a car door slammed.
