Chapter 14 - The Father Who Never DiedWe reached Brooks Island just before dawn.
The island was privately owned.
No public records.
No registered residence.
No utilities listed.
It was exactly the kind of place a man could disappear.
Daniel stood beside me on the pier.
"My father died when I was twenty."
"Apparently not."
"He attended his own funeral."
I looked at him.
"What?"
Daniel's face was hollow.
"I saw the body."
"But?"
"I never saw his face."
Silence.
"You believed he was dead."
"Yes."
"He wanted you to believe it."
Daniel nodded.
"Why?"
"Maybe because he needed you to become someone else."
He looked at me.
"Someone useful."
We entered the main house.
Dust covered everything.
But one room was immaculate.
A study.
A desk.
A chair.
And photographs.
Hundreds.
Me.
Daniel.
Claire.
Emma.
Sophie.
My father.
My mother.
Victor.
Everyone.
The obsession was chilling.
Then Daniel found a hidden drawer.
Inside was a file.
DANIEL BROOKS.
He opened it.
Page after page.
School records.
Medical records.
Business evaluations.
Psychological profiles.
Marriage suitability.
I stared.
"Your father planned your entire life."
Daniel looked sick.
At the bottom was one line.
Primary objective: marry Hannah Mercer and secure succession.
Daniel closed the file.
"No."
I touched his arm.
"Daniel."
He shook his head.
"Everything I did..."
He couldn't finish.
"You thought it was your choice."
"It wasn't."
I looked at him.
"Some of it was."
He met my eyes.
"The part where you loved me."
Daniel swallowed.
"That part was mine."
A slow clap came from behind us.
We turned.
Robert Brooks stood in the doorway.
Older.
Thin.
But alive.
Daniel stared at him.
"Dad."
Robert smiled.
"Hello, son."
Daniel stepped forward.
"You've been alive all these years."
"Yes."
"You watched me mourn you."
"I watched you become successful."
"You used me."
Robert shrugged.
"I gave you an opportunity."
"You destroyed my life."
"No."
Robert looked at me.
"She did."
I stared at him.
"You orchestrated our marriage."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Thomas built the greatest real estate empire in the Southeast."
"And?"
"I wanted it."
"You couldn't have it."
"Not directly."
"So you used Daniel."
"Correct."
"And my mother?"
"A useful partner."
"Victor?"
"Another useful partner."
"Elliot?"
"A liability."
My blood ran cold.
"You killed him."
Robert smiled.
"He knew too much."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Did you kill my mother?"
Robert looked at him.
"Yes."
Daniel stopped.
I turned sharply.
"Your mother?"
Robert nodded.
"She wanted to leave me."
Daniel's face collapsed.
"You killed her."
"She betrayed me."
"She was my mother."
"She was weak."
Daniel's fist tightened.
I stepped between them.
"Why Emma?"
Robert's expression changed.
"Because Emma is the only heir I cannot control."
"She's a child."
"Exactly."
"You wanted her inheritance."
"No."
He smiled.
"I wanted the legal mechanism attached to her."
"What mechanism?"
"The Mercer succession foundation."
He had known everything.
The foundation controlled the final transfer of the empire.
But there was one condition.
Emma had to be acknowledged as the legitimate heir.
Then the controlling trustee would be whoever had legal custody of her.
Robert planned to take custody.
The entire empire would follow.
I looked at Daniel.
"He wanted you to divorce me and take Emma."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"That's what Claire warned me about."
Everything aligned.
The mysterious threats.
The overnight departure.
The pressure.
The fake betrayal.
But something still bothered me.
"Then why did you leave me?"
Daniel looked at me.
"Because I thought leaving would save you."
Robert laughed.
"You always were sentimental."
Daniel turned.
He attacked his father.
The two men crashed into the desk.
I grabbed the emergency phone.
Police were already on their way.
Robert pulled a hidden gun.
Daniel froze.
I stepped forward.
"Robert."
He pointed at me.
"Don't."
"You're finished."
He smiled.
"You think you won because you found the files?"
I held up my phone.
"Not the files."
He stared.
"The recording."
His smile disappeared.
"The one from the boat."
I had already uploaded everything.
To the police.
To the court.
To every major newspaper in Charleston.
Robert stared at me.
"You wouldn't."
"I already did."
He looked around.
Sirens approached outside.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
Daniel stepped away from him.
"You're done."
Robert laughed bitterly.
"Not yet."
He pulled a second device from his pocket.
Pressed a button.
The house alarm changed.
A countdown appeared.
00:03:00
I stared.
"What did you do?"
Robert smiled.
"I made sure the Mercer empire dies with me."
May you like
The walls shook.
And somewhere beneath the house, a deep mechanical sound began.
