Chapter 6 - The Construction SiteI went anyway.
Not alone.
Harris insisted on bringing two officers.
But Daniel had anticipated that.
By the time we reached the construction site, the entire place was empty.
The building was unfinished.
Concrete walls.
Open floors.
No electricity.
Snow blowing through broken windows.
We split into teams.
Nothing.
Until I heard a woman's voice from the basement.
“Mara.”
Emily.
I ran.
Harris followed.
We found a folding chair.
Empty.
A phone on the floor.
And a fresh bloodstain.
My heart stopped.
“MARA!”
Harris caught my arm.
“Don't touch anything.”
The blood was still wet.
Then the phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Daniel.
“You always were predictable.”
“Where is my sister?”
“Safe.”
“You've got five seconds.”
“No.”
His tone remained calm.
“You have five minutes.”
“Why?”
“Because I want you to find something.”
“What?”
“A man.”
The line clicked dead.
Behind the chair was a door.
A metal one.
I opened it.
Inside was a narrow corridor.
At the end stood an older man.
Hands tied.
Mouth bleeding.
I recognized him immediately.
Lieutenant Grant.
He had been missing from the department for three years.
We freed him.
He was terrified.
“Where is Emily?”
Grant shook his head.
“Gone.”
“Who took her?”
“Daniel.”
“What does he want?”
Grant stared at me.
“Anna.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“You betrayed Lauren.”
He flinched.
“She was already dead.”
“You sold her.”
“I was forced.”
“By who?”
Grant looked toward the ceiling.
“By everyone.”
I wanted to scream.
Instead I leaned closer.
“You have one chance.”
His voice cracked.
“The Mercers aren't the top.”
“What does that mean?”
“They work for someone.”
“Who?”
He shook his head.
“Not a person.”
“What?”
“A network.”
He coughed.
“Daniel inherited it.”
“From his father?”
Grant shook his head.
“From people who were here before him.”
I looked at Harris.
The puzzle was expanding.
Then Grant grabbed my wrist.
“Your sister knows.”
“Anna?”
“Yes.”
“What does she know?”
“Who started it.”
“And?”
Grant stared directly into my eyes.
“She knows what happened the night she was supposed to die.”
A sound echoed behind us.
Footsteps.
We turned.
No one.
Then a voice came through the building's speakers.
Daniel.
“You're getting warmer.”
Harris shouted:
“Show yourself!”
Daniel laughed.
“You think a badge makes you untouchable?”
I looked around.
Cameras.
At least six.
He was watching us.
Then the speakers crackled again.
“Mara, your sister has always misunderstood the past.”
“Where is Emily?”
“I'll give her back.”
“When?”
“When you bring Anna.”
I stared at the camera.
“Then you better start praying she trusts me.”
Silence.
Then Daniel said:
“She doesn't.”
The building lights switched on.
Every screen lit simultaneously.
And on all six monitors appeared the same image.
Anna.
Standing behind a glass window.
Alive.
Older.
Terrified.
She was holding a gun.
A man stood behind her.
Daniel's security chief.
Caleb Rourke.
Daniel's voice came through the speakers.
“You want Emily?”
A pause.
“Bring me Anna.”
The screens went black.
Then one final message appeared.
12 HOURS.
Harris looked at me.
“We're going federal.”
I stared at the darkness.
“No.”
He frowned.
“No?”
“He wants Anna.”
“And?”
“He doesn't know what she has.”
I picked up the ledger.
“Neither do we.”
Harris stared at me.
“What are you thinking?”
I looked at the list of names.
Then at the screen.
“We let Daniel think he's winning.”
For the first time, Harris smiled.
“You're setting a trap.”
“No.”
I closed the binder.
“We're building one.”
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
COME TO THE OLD TRAIN BRIDGE AT MIDNIGHT.
Then another.
ALONE.
May you like
This time, I knew who had sent it.
Anna.
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