Chapter 6 - THE WAREHOUSEThe Mercer warehouse stood on the edge of an industrial district.
Gray walls.
Broken windows.
Rusting fences.
It looked abandoned.
That was what made it frightening.
I hadn't told Rachel.
I hadn't told Daniel.
I had told myself I was only going to look.
That was the first lie I told myself after leaving Derek.
I parked two streets away.
Then walked.
Inside, the building smelled like dust and cold concrete.
My footsteps echoed.
“Samuel?”
No answer.
I walked farther.
A light flickered above me.
Then another.
The building was powered.
Someone was here.
A voice came from the darkness.
“You came alone.”
I turned.
Samuel Reed stepped into the light.
He was older than I remembered from the photographs.
Late fifties.
Gray hair.
Expensive coat.
Tired eyes.
“You remember me?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Because I don't remember you.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward an old desk.
On it sat a file.
My name was on the cover.
He pushed it toward me.
“Open it.”
I didn't move.
“What's inside?”
“The truth.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Samuel looked at me.
“Your husband has been lying to you since before you met him.”
I opened the file.
The first document was a photograph.
Me.
At twenty-three.
Sitting across from Samuel.
I was smiling.
He wasn't.
The date matched the mysterious meeting.
I stared at it.
“I don't remember this.”
“You were drugged.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
“You thought you went to a charity dinner.”
“I did.”
“You were taken there afterward.”
“By who?”
“Derek.”
My hands trembled.
“No.”
Samuel continued.
“He told you he worked for an investment firm.”
“That was true.”
“No.”
He placed another photograph in front of me.
Derek.
Much younger.
Standing beside Samuel.
Then another document.
A contract.
My signature.
A transfer of ownership.
I read it twice.
“What did I sign?”
“You signed control of a company.”
“I didn't own a company.”
“You did.”
“Then why didn't I know?”
“Because Derek arranged for you to forget.”
My head spun.
“Why?”
Samuel's expression changed.
“Because your father left you something.”
“What?”
“A fortune.”
I stared at him.
“How much?”
“Enough to make people kill.”
The warehouse seemed to tilt.
“My father wasn't rich.”
“He was.”
“My father was a school administrator.”
“That was the cover.”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
Samuel looked almost sad.
“Your father discovered that Mercer Holdings was laundering money through legitimate companies.”
“Then why was he involved?”
“He tried to expose it.”
“What happened?”
“He disappeared.”
“My parents died.”
“Yes.”
“Because of this?”
Samuel didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
“What does Derek have to do with it?”
Samuel looked toward the warehouse door.
“Everything.”
The lights suddenly went out.
I froze.
Then a door slammed somewhere behind me.
Samuel grabbed my arm.
“Don't move.”
A second door slammed.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Coming toward us.
“Who is that?”
Samuel whispered:
“Derek.”
My heart stopped.
“You said he wasn't coming.”
“I didn't know he followed you.”
The footsteps got closer.
Then Derek's voice echoed through the warehouse.
“Anna.”
I backed away.
“Derek.”
“You shouldn't be here.”
He stepped into the darkness.
No anger.
No shouting.
Just that cold calm voice.
“I knew you'd come.”
Samuel moved between us.
“You need to leave her alone.”
Derek smiled.
“You always did have a weakness for playing hero.”
He looked at me.
“Give me the file.”
“No.”
“Anna.”
“No.”
His smile disappeared.
“You have no idea what that file contains.”
“I know enough.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You know what Samuel wants you to believe.”
Samuel said nothing.
Derek's eyes remained on me.
“Do you want the real story?”
“Yes.”
“Then ask yourself why your father named you in his will.”
I stared at him.
“My father died before I met you.”
“Exactly.”
He pulled a folded paper from his coat.
He held it out.
I didn't take it.
“What is that?”
“Your father's final letter.”
My hands shook.
“Why do you have it?”
Derek's answer was barely audible.
“Because he gave it to me.”
I looked at Samuel.
Samuel's face had gone pale.
Derek smiled.
“He trusted me.”
I looked back at my husband.
For the first time since I had known him, I realized something.
Derek hadn't married me because he loved me.
He had married me because my father had died.
May you like
And whatever my father had left behind...
Derek wanted it.
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