Chapter 11 - The Truth About Marcus ReedMarcus slammed on the brakes.
The SUV skidded across the wet road before stopping beneath a bridge.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Marcus slowly turned toward my father.
“Explain.”
My father was breathing hard.
“You were there that night.”
Marcus's face lost all expression.
“You're mistaken.”
“I saw you.”
“You were unconscious.”
“Not at first.”
My father looked toward me.
“Fifteen years ago, Marcus worked security for Dominic's father. He was young, ambitious, and desperate to prove himself. Silas offered him money to provide access to the family estate.”
Marcus shook his head.
“That's not what happened.”
“You gave him the security codes.”
“I was told there was going to be a meeting.”
“And when the shooting started?”
Marcus stared at him.
My father continued.
“You ran.”
Rain hammered the roof.
I looked from one man to the other.
“Marcus, is it true?”
He kept his hands on the steering wheel.
“Yes.”
The word seemed to cost him everything.
“I gave Silas the codes. I thought they were going to steal financial records. I didn't know he intended to kill anyone.”
“You expect me to believe that?” I asked.
“No.”
He turned toward me.
“I don't expect you to believe anything I say.”
My father leaned forward.
“You were the reason I couldn't get the evidence out. Silas used your access to track every person who knew about the ledger. He found Claire because of you.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“You don't know what happened to her because of you.”
“I know enough.”
Marcus's voice was barely audible.
“After the shooting, Silas told me the family would kill my daughter if I spoke. I had just become a father. I was terrified. I signed a statement saying Daniel Carter had stolen money and caused the violence.”
My stomach twisted.
“You framed my father.”
“Yes.”
“And you helped make my mother disappear.”
“Yes.”
I slapped him.
His head turned with the force of it, but he didn't defend himself.
“You let me trust you.”
“I know.”
“You let me think you were protecting me.”
“I was trying to.”
“After everything you did?”
Marcus looked at me, his eyes wet.
“I don't have an answer that will make you forgive me.”
I wanted to hate him. Part of me did.
But I couldn't stop seeing his daughter's photograph. A frightened little girl whose life had been placed in the hands of a monster.
“What happened after you helped Silas?” I asked.
Marcus looked down.
“He rewarded me with a promotion. I spent years trying to make myself believe I had no choice. Eventually, Dominic brought me into his personal security detail. He saved my daughter from a medical crisis when she was six.”
“What did he do?”
“He paid for an operation her mother couldn't afford. He never asked for anything in return.”
I stared at him.
“And you repaid him by betraying him again.”
Marcus nodded.
“I did.”
My father reached into his pocket and removed the brass key.
“The ledger can expose Silas. But we need to recover the music box first.”
“Where is it?” Marcus asked.
I thought about the storage unit, the rocking horse, and my father's note.
The song remembers.
Then I remembered the tune my father used to hum when I was little.
A simple melody of six notes.
He had played it every night before bed, and my mother had once told me it was an old song from her childhood.
“The music box isn't in my storage unit,” I said slowly. “It's somewhere else.”
My father looked at me.
“Where?”
“Home.”
I closed my eyes, trying to picture my childhood bedroom.
The blue curtains. The chipped windowsill. The wooden floorboards that creaked whenever I walked past the wardrobe.
And the small loose board beneath my bed.
I had hidden things there as a child. Coins, drawings, birthday cards.
But I had never looked beneath it after I left.
“It's still in the house where I grew up,” I whispered. “My aunt sold the furniture, but nobody ever checked the floorboards.”
Marcus started the engine.
“We'll go there.”
My father caught my wrist.
“Lily, listen to me. Silas will be waiting.”
“Then we'll be ready.”
A phone vibrated inside Marcus's coat.
He checked the screen.
The color drained from his face.
“What?” I demanded.
He handed me the device.
A video was playing.
His daughter sat on a wooden chair, her wrists bound with rope. Beside her stood Silas Vale, smiling into the camera.
“Marcus,” Silas said. “You've been a disappointment.”
He placed one hand on the girl's shoulder.
“Bring me the ledger by midnight. If you don't, your daughter dies.”
The screen went black.
Marcus lowered his head.
“I won't let him touch her.”
My father looked at me.
“Neither will we.”
I swallowed hard.
For the first time, the three of us shared the same enemy.
But before we could move, headlights appeared at both ends of the bridge.
Black vehicles surrounded the SUV.
Men stepped out carrying rifles.
One raised a megaphone.
“Dominic Vale sends his regards.”
A familiar voice came through the speakers.
“Step out of the vehicle, Lily.”
My heart stopped.
May you like
Silas had found us again.
And this time, Dominic wasn't there to save us.
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