Chapter 6 - The Dead Man's MessageMy Father Had Left One Final Trap

Victor entered the cabin alone.

Claire aimed the gun at him.

"Don't move."

Victor stopped.

"I came alone."

"You're lying."

"I am."

Claire's finger tightened around the trigger.

Victor slowly raised his hands.

"Daniel."

I looked at him.

"What did my father know?"

Victor's face changed.

"What?"

"The video."

Silence.

"You knew about it?"

"I knew he made one."

"What did he say?"

Victor looked at Claire.

Then at me.

"He was afraid."

"Of you?"

"Of everyone."

I stepped forward.

"What did my father do?"

Victor laughed bitterly.

"Your father tried to leave."

"Leave what?"

"The organization."

I stared at him.

"What organization?"

Victor's eyes hardened.

"The part of his business you were never supposed to see."

Claire lowered the gun slightly.

Victor continued.

"He built something enormous."

"Money?"

"Influence."

"How enormous?"

"Large enough that senators returned his calls."

"Police?"

"Sometimes."

"Judges?"

"Sometimes."

"And you?"

"I was the accountant."

I stared at him.

"You were his friend."

"I was his friend."

"Then you betrayed him."

"I betrayed everyone."

He looked toward Hope's crib.

"I thought I could control it."

Claire asked,

"Where is the ledger?"

Victor's expression changed.

"You have it."

Claire shook her head.

"No."

Victor looked at me.

"Daniel has it."

I lifted the black case.

Victor smiled.

"Then we're already too late."

A loud crash came from outside.

Everyone turned.

Another car.

Then another.

Victor cursed.

"How many people know we're here?" I asked.

"Too many."

Claire moved toward Hope.

"Take her."

"What?"

"Take the baby."

I scooped Hope into my arms.

She stirred, then settled against my chest.

Claire grabbed the flash drive.

"Where are we going?"

"There's a tunnel beneath the cabin."

Victor stared at her.

"You found it?"

"I built it."

He smiled.

"You really were planning everything."

Claire didn't answer.

We moved toward the kitchen.

Victor followed.

The floorboard beneath the rug opened.

A hidden staircase descended into darkness.

We went down.

The tunnel was narrow and wet.

We could hear distant footsteps above.

Hope began to cry.

I held her tighter.

"She's scared."

Claire turned.

"So am I."

I looked at her.

"Claire..."

She kept walking.

"I should have told you sooner."

"Tell me now."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because we aren't alone."

I turned.

Victor was behind us.

But someone else stood farther down the tunnel.

A woman.

She stepped out of the darkness.

Older.

Elegant.

Impossible.

I had seen her in the photograph.

Margaret Hale.

Victor's mother.

Supposedly dead.

She looked directly at me.

"Daniel," she said.

"My son never told you the truth."

Victor whispered,

"Mother."

Margaret looked at him.

"You had your chance."

Then she looked at me.

"Your father wasn't murdered."

I felt Hope move in my arms.

"He was killed by someone he trusted."

I looked at Victor.

Margaret continued.

"And that person wasn't my son."

She pointed at Claire.

I froze.

"Ask your wife what she was doing the week before your father died."

Claire closed her eyes.

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Then Margaret spoke the words that shattered everything.

"Because Claire Bennett was the last person your father ever called."