Chapter 5 - The File Under My Father's NameRichard Cole was taken away in handcuffs.
But his smile stayed with me.
Because people do not smile when they're losing.
They smile when they know something you don't.
At 7:03 a.m., the boardroom had been transformed into a war room.
Every door was locked.
Every device was being examined.
Marcus had three forensic accountants on speakerphone.
Daniel sat across from me.
Claire sat beside Emma.
For the first time, Daniel and I were sitting in the same room without pretending to be a married couple.
"Tell me everything," I said.
Daniel looked exhausted.
"I met Claire six years ago."
"I know."
"She disappeared after her brother got into trouble."
"Financial trouble?"
"Something worse."
Claire answered.
"Elliot discovered an internal network inside Mercer Holdings."
My father.
Mercer Holdings.
The company had always seemed clean to me.
Successful.
Respected.
Untouchable.
Claire continued.
"They were laundering money through property acquisitions."
I frowned.
"Who?"
"We didn't know."
"Then what did Elliot discover?"
"A ledger."
Marcus looked up.
"What kind?"
"Physical."
Claire took a small black notebook from her bag.
She placed it on the table.
My heart began beating faster.
"Where did you get that?"
"Elliot mailed it to me."
I opened it.
Page after page contained dates, account numbers and initials.
Some names were familiar.
Some were not.
Then I saw one.
T.M.
I froze.
"My father."
Marcus reached for the ledger.
"That's impossible."
"Look at the dates," Claire said.
I did.
The earliest entry was twenty-one years old.
The most recent was only six months old.
My father had died three years ago.
I turned the page.
A note had been written in red ink.
Thomas Mercer never stopped the operation. He only changed who was in charge.
My throat tightened.
"Who?"
Claire shook her head.
"Elliot never found out."
Daniel finally spoke.
"But I did."
I looked at him.
"When?"
"Last year."
"What did you find?"
"That the money wasn't being stolen from Mercer Holdings."
He took a breath.
"It was being redirected."
"To where?"
"Political donations. Private security firms. Shell companies. Foreign property."
I stared at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was trying to protect you."
I almost snapped.
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
"Then why marry me?"
His face fell.
"Because your father gave me a choice."
I went still.
"What choice?"
Daniel looked at Claire.
She nodded.
"Tell her."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Your father knew I had discovered the network."
"And?"
"He told me I could walk away."
"Or?"
"Help him dismantle it."
I frowned.
"After his death?"
Daniel nodded.
"Your father knew he was sick."
I stared at him.
"He told you he'd die?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Six months before he died."
My chest tightened.
"Then why didn't he tell me?"
"Because he didn't trust anyone around you."
I looked at Marcus.
"Not even me?"
Marcus didn't answer.
That hurt more than anything else.
I turned back to Daniel.
"So what was the plan?"
"Keep the company running."
"That's all?"
"No."
He swallowed.
"Find the people inside Mercer Holdings who were helping the network."
"And Claire?"
"She was supposed to help me identify them."
I looked at Claire.
"Then why hide her?"
"Because someone tried to kill her."
"Twice," Claire said.
I stared at her.
"Elliot was the third."
Silence.
Daniel reached for Emma's hand.
She was asleep now, her head resting on Claire's shoulder.
"Then why leave me last night?"
This time, Daniel didn't hesitate.
"Because Claire called me and said someone had found Emma."
My stomach dropped.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the people behind the network knew about her."
"And?"
"They were coming for her."
I looked at the child.
"Why would they care about a seven-year-old?"
"Because if the DNA records are real..."
He stopped.
I finished the sentence.
"She inherits half the Mercer estate."
Daniel nodded.
"Exactly."
I sat back.
Suddenly the missing piece appeared.
The wedding.
The marriage.
Emma.
The empire.
The transfer.
None of it had been random.
Someone had orchestrated all of it.
But one question remained.
"Then why did you make it look like you were choosing Claire over me?"
Daniel looked down.
"Because someone was watching you."
I stared.
"We needed them to believe I was abandoning you."
"Why?"
"So they would stop watching you."
My heart sank.
"You staged our separation."
"No."
He met my eyes.
"I left for real."
That sentence hurt.
Even knowing everything else.
Even after the explanations.
"Why?"
"Because I knew if I stayed, they would come after you."
I whispered:
"You could have told me."
"I couldn't."
"Why?"
"Because..."
He reached into his jacket.
Pulled out his phone.
Opened a message.
And handed it to me.
It was sent at 1:58 a.m., fifteen minutes before he left.
Leave Hannah now or she dies before sunrise.
Below it was a photo.
My bedroom window.
Taken from outside.
Then another.
My father's grave.
Then another.
My car.
Then one more.
My father's attorney walking into my house.
Marcus.
There was one final message.
Do not warn her. Do not contact the police. Take Claire and Emma.
I looked up.
"Who sent this?"
Daniel shook his head.
"We don't know."
Marcus looked at the screen.
"Can you trace it?"
"Already tried."
"And?"
Daniel looked toward the window.
"It came from inside this building."
The room fell silent.
At that exact moment, every light in Mercer Tower went out.
Emma woke screaming.
The elevator alarm began to howl.
Then my phone illuminated.
One new message.
You should have listened to your father.
A second message appeared.
Now we take Emma.
May you like
The door exploded inward.
And a masked man stepped into the room.
Related Stories
