Chapter 11 - The FireThe man holding the gun knew my name. He also knew the one secret Thomas had kept from me.
I was forced inside Northstar.
The building smelled of dust and oil.
Rows of empty service bays disappeared into darkness.
The gun pressed harder against my side.
“Walk.”
I obeyed.
We passed an old reception desk.
Then entered a basement.
The walls were covered with filing cabinets.
Thousands of them.
My captor removed his mask.
I knew him.
Jonah Price.
Kane Automotive's former head of security.
I had seen him once at a corporate event.
“You?”
He smiled.
“Thomas hired me twelve years ago.”
I felt the floor drop beneath me.
“You work for Thomas?”
“Used to.”
“What does he want?”
“To know whether you can be trusted.”
“By whom?”
“Your father.”
He opened a metal door.
Inside was a room filled with monitors.
My father sat in a chair.
Alive.
Older.
Weak.
But awake.
I ran toward him.
Two guards stopped me.
My father looked at me.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he smiled.
“Evan.”
I nearly broke.
“You're alive.”
“I've been trying to get home for seventeen years.”
“Why didn't you call?”
“Because every phone I used was monitored.”
I turned toward Jonah.
“Who took you?”
“Richard.”
“Who ordered it?”
My father looked at me.
“Victor.”
Then Jonah said something strange.
“Not anymore.”
“What does that mean?”
He closed the door.
“It means Richard has finally turned.”
“Against Victor?”
“Yes.”
My father nodded.
“Richard is protecting you.”
I laughed.
“After everything?”
“He's trying to undo what he did.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows Victor will kill Derek next.”
I looked at my father.
“You knew Derek wasn't his son.”
“Yes.”
“Richard knew?”
“Yes.”
“And he still raised him.”
My father nodded.
“That was the first thing Richard ever did that wasn't for himself.”
I couldn't process it.
Then the lights went out.
An alarm screamed.
Jonah ran to the monitors.
Fire.
Every hallway.
Someone had set Northstar on fire.
My father gripped my arm.
“Evan.”
“What?”
“Get the archive.”
“Where?”
He pointed toward the wall.
“Behind the third cabinet.”
I pulled it open.
A hidden passage appeared.
Inside was a steel vault.
My father gave me a combination.
I opened it.
Inside were hard drives.
Photographs.
Audio tapes.
Bank records.
And one folder.
BLACKWELL.
I opened it.
The first page had my name.
Evan Mercer.
I flipped through.
The Blackwell Project had begun three years earlier.
Thomas had recruited me without telling me.
Every job rejection.
Every employer who refused to hire me.
Every financial setback.
Every strange call.
It had all been monitored.
Thomas had been protecting me by keeping me away from the investigation.
But someone had manipulated my life to keep me desperate.
Thomas had not caused my suffering.
But he had allowed it.
I found one final document.
A payment authorization.
$500,000.
Recipient:
EVAN MERCER.
Date:
Tomorrow.
Reason:
LIQUIDATION.
I stared.
My father came behind me.
“That is what Victor wants you to believe.”
“Why?”
“Because the money isn't meant for you.”
“Then who?”
He pointed to the bottom of the page.
“Look at the account number.”
I did.
It wasn't mine.
It belonged to Richard Kane.
And beneath it was a handwritten note.
“After Evan dies, transfer all remaining assets.”
My father whispered:
“They are planning to erase Richard too.”
A massive explosion rocked the building.
The vault door slammed shut.
Smoke poured through the vents.
My father grabbed my shoulder.
“Evan, there's one more thing.”
“What?”
“Your mother isn't safe.”
My phone rang.
Unknown.
I answered.
Victor's voice.
“I'm sorry about your father.”
I froze.
Victor continued.
“But I thought you should hear this before the fire reaches him.”
I looked at my father.
Victor laughed softly.
“Your mother has made a deal.”
“What deal?”
“She exchanged your life for hers.”
The call ended.
My father grabbed me.
“Don't believe him.”
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Because your mother would never do that.”
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