Chapter 7 - I grabbed Sabrina's hand.“Stay with me.”
The emergency lights flickered on.
Guests were stumbling through the ballroom.
Someone had triggered the fire alarm.
Marcus was shouting instructions.
Security guards rushed toward the east hallway.
I looked behind me.
The office was empty.
Emily was gone.
Victoria was gone.
Raymond was gone.
Only the documents remained.
“Dad!”
Sabrina pointed toward the balcony.
A figure in black was climbing over the railing.
I ran.
The balcony door slammed behind the stranger.
By the time I reached it, the figure was gone.
I looked down.
Thirty feet below, an alley stretched between the building and the marina.
No one was there.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
Come to the old boathouse. Alone.
I showed Sabrina.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Sabrina.”
“You spent twenty years protecting me. You don't get to leave me behind now.”
I stared at her.
Then nodded.
We drove to the old boathouse.
It had been abandoned for years.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, the smell of salt and old wood hung in the air.
A single lamp illuminated a table.
On it sat another envelope.
I opened it.
Inside was a key.
And a handwritten message.
Storage locker 17.
We drove to the marina.
Locker 17 was at the far end of the dock.
The key fit.
Inside was a metal box.
I opened it.
There were photographs.
Receipts.
Contracts.
And one cassette tape.
I stared at the tape.
Sabrina frowned.
“What is it?”
“My father used these.”
There was an old recorder inside the box.
I inserted the tape.
A man's voice filled the small room.
My father's voice.
“Daniel, if you ever hear this, then Victoria has succeeded in convincing you that Raymond is the father.”
I closed my eyes.
“Your mother…”
My father paused.
“…was not involved.”
Sabrina looked confused.
The recording continued.
“Victoria came to me twenty-three years ago because she was pregnant. She told me Raymond was the father. I knew he wasn't. I knew because I was the father.”
Sabrina covered her mouth.
“My father…”
The recording continued.
“She threatened to expose the affair unless I paid her.”
My stomach tightened.
“I refused.”
My father's voice became shaky.
“Then she disappeared with the child.”
The tape crackled.
“I spent years searching.”
I looked at Sabrina.
“Your grandfather knew about you.”
She was crying.
“He tried to find you.”
The recording continued.
“He created a trust for you.”
I stared at the box.
“Not me.”
The next words made me freeze.
“Not Daniel.”
Sabrina looked at me.
“Then who?”
My father's voice answered.
“My granddaughter.”
A separate document confirmed it.
The trust beneficiary was Sabrina.
Not me.
Not Victoria.
Sabrina.
Sixty million dollars.
Protected from creditors.
Protected from spouses.
Protected from anyone who might attempt to control it.
I looked at her.
“They weren't stealing from me.”
She shook her head.
“They were stealing from you.”
My daughter stared at the document.
“How much?”
“Sixty million.”
Her face went pale.
Then a sound came from outside.
Footsteps.
We turned.
The boathouse door slowly opened.
Raymond stepped inside.
His hands were raised.
“I didn't hurt anyone.”
“Where's Victoria?”
He didn't answer.
“Where is she?”
“She left.”
“Where?”
“Airport.”
“Why?”
“Because she knows the truth is coming out.”
Sabrina stepped toward him.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“You lied to me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Raymond's face crumpled.
“Because she paid me.”
“For what?”
“To pretend to be your father.”
Sabrina stared at him.
“How long?”
“Twenty-three years.”
I stepped closer.
“Who else was involved?”
Raymond looked at me.
“Your father’s business partner.”
“Who?”
He whispered:
“Marcus.”
I froze.
“Marcus Reed?”
Raymond nodded.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“The manager at Bayfront?”
“Yes.”
I thought of the replaced cameras.
My access code.
The fake ownership documents.
Marcus had been at the venue.
He had access.
He knew the building.
And he knew the trust.
I pulled out my phone.
Marcus answered immediately.
“Mr. Mercer?”
“Where are you?”
“Bayfront.”
“Lock the building.”
A pause.
Then:
“Why?”
“Because you're involved.”
Silence.
His voice changed.
“Daniel…”
I hung up.
Sabrina looked at me.
“What now?”
I looked toward the ocean.
“Now we find out who has been stealing your future.”
My phone rang again.
Marcus.
I answered.
His voice was shaking.
“Daniel, you need to come back.”
“Why?”
“I found something in the server room.”
“What?”
“A file with your name on it.”
“What file?”
May you like
Marcus whispered:
“Your death certificate.”
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