Chapter 5 - THE MAN WITH THE GUNNobody moved.
The fire alarm continued screaming.
Smoke crawled along the ceiling.
Marcus held the gun low, almost casually.
Sophie buried her face against my chest.
Amanda whispered, “Marcus, don't.”
He looked at her.
“You've become a liability.”
Helen stepped between us.
“Put the weapon down.”
Marcus laughed.
“You still think this is your operation?”
Her face tightened.
“No.”
“Good.”
I looked at him.
“You were never working for Gregory.”
He smiled.
“Gregory works for someone else.”
“Who?”
Marcus raised the gun.
“Your family.”
My blood went cold.
“My family is dead.”
“Not all of them.”
A noise came from the ballroom.
The doors finally opened.
Guests fled into the lobby.
Security guards rushed in.
For one second, Marcus turned his head.
That was enough.
Helen attacked his wrist.
The gun fired.
The bullet struck the wall.
I ran.
I didn't know where.
I only knew I had to get Sophie out.
Amanda ran behind me.
“Daniel!”
We reached the service elevator.
I hit the button.
Nothing.
The system had been disabled.
“Stairs.”
We ran.
At the second-floor landing, Sophie pointed toward a door.
“Daddy!”
“What?”
“That room.”
“What about it?”
“A man put Bunny there.”
I stopped.
Amanda stared at her.
“What man?”
Sophie looked at me.
“The man who smiled at me.”
My stomach dropped.
We opened the door.
Inside was a surveillance room.
Monitors covered the walls.
Every screen showed a different camera feed.
The ballroom.
Parking lot.
Kitchen.
Bridal suite.
Even the nursery I'd arranged for Sophie.
One monitor showed our house.
Live.
Another showed my office.
Another showed the bank.
Someone had been watching everything.
Amanda whispered, “They had access to all your cameras.”
I walked toward the central desk.
A laptop sat open.
Files were labeled with dates.
I clicked one.
PROJECT: CROWN CHILD
I opened it.
A photograph of Sophie appeared.
Underneath:
AGE: 4
PRIMARY BENEFICIARY
EMOTIONAL DEPENDENCY: FATHER
LEGAL VULNERABILITY: HIGH
I felt sick.
They had studied my daughter like a business asset.
Then I found another file.
MARRIAGE EVENT
Inside were instructions.
The wedding wasn't just designed to secure my signature.
It was designed to create evidence.
Photographs.
Witnesses.
A recorded argument between Amanda and me.
A staged report claiming I was unstable.
A forged custody complaint.
They were planning to use the ceremony itself as proof that I was incapable of caring for Sophie.
Amanda began crying.
“They told me it was only about the house.”
“You knew they wanted custody.”
“I didn't know everything.”
“You knew enough.”
She lowered her head.
“I was afraid.”
“For yourself?”
“For my brother.”
I looked at her.
“What brother?”
She hesitated.
“Daniel, I have a brother.”
“That isn't exactly a shocking revelation.”
“He's missing.”
I stared.
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because they used him to control me.”
“Who?”
“The same people.”
“What is his name?”
She whispered:
“Elias.”
Helen entered the room.
“Elias isn't missing.”
Amanda turned.
Helen continued.
“He's dead.”
Amanda screamed.
“No.”
“I saw the file.”
“You're lying!”
Helen shook her head.
“He died six months ago.”
Amanda collapsed into a chair.
I saw the pain on her face.
For the first time, I believed she wasn't pretending.
Then the laptop chimed.
An incoming file.
ELIAS_FINAL_MESSAGE.mp4
I clicked it.
The screen showed a man I had never met.
Amanda gasped.
“Elias…”
He looked exhausted.
Bruised.
Terrified.
He stared into the camera.
“If Daniel is watching this, the wedding has already begun.”
He paused.
“Your daughter is not the reason they want the trust.”
Another pause.
“They want what your wife hid inside it.”
I leaned closer.
Elias swallowed.
“She discovered the money wasn't being stolen.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“They were moving it.”
The screen flickered.
“Moving it to finance something much bigger.”
Then Elias looked over his shoulder.
Someone was approaching.
He whispered:
“The person behind all of this is…”
The video cut to black.
Amanda stared at the screen.
“What happened?”
Helen looked at the door.
“The file was interrupted.”
“By who?”
Before she answered, the door opened.
A man stood there.
He was wearing the suit my late wife's father had given me on our wedding day.
I knew him.
I had buried him.
At least, I thought I had.
My father's voice came softly from the doorway.
“Daniel.”
I couldn't breathe.
“My father is dead.”
The man smiled.
“No, son.”
May you like
Then he closed the door behind him.
“I've been waiting fourteen years for you to find me.”
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