Chapter 4 - The Arrest That Wasn't an ArrestSomeone Wanted Daniel SilentThe police took Daniel away in front of dozens of cameras.
Reporters crowded the headquarters.
Flashes exploded.
Amara stood frozen.
Her husband, who had been pretending to be homeless only two days earlier, was now being accused of murder and fraud.
Her father's enemies.
Her father's secrets.
Daniel's dead wife.
Everything was collapsing at once.
Then a police officer approached her.
“Mrs. Williams.”
“Yes?”
“You need to come with us.”
“Why?”
“We need your statement.”
“About what?”
He lowered his voice.
“The account transfers.”
“What transfers?”
The officer showed her a document.
Her signature was printed beneath several bank transactions.
Amara's breathing stopped.
“I never signed this.”
“You're saying the documents are forged?”
“Yes.”
The officer frowned.
“Then we need to understand how your signature got there.”
She followed him to the station.
For three hours, investigators questioned her.
She repeated the same thing.
“I didn't authorize those transfers.”
Then a lawyer arrived.
He introduced himself as Daniel's attorney.
“Mrs. Williams, I need you to remain calm.”
“Where is my husband?”
“He is not in custody.”
She looked at him.
“What?”
“He was never arrested.”
“Then where is he?”
The lawyer smiled faintly.
“The police car that took him was not an official police vehicle.”
Amara's blood froze.
“What?”
“We've confirmed it.”
“Then who took him?”
“We don't know.”
She stood.
“No.”
Her voice shook.
“You need to find him.”
“We are.”
The lawyer leaned closer.
“There's more.”
“What?”
“Your father issued the arrest order through a private security contractor.”
Amara stared at him.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“That isn't possible.”
“Mrs. Williams, your father has been preparing for this for weeks.”
A phone was placed on the table.
The screen showed a video.
Daniel was sitting in a dark room.
His hands were tied.
His face was bruised.
Amara covered her mouth.
“Daniel!”
The video played.
A man stood behind him.
“You can stop this,” the man said.
Daniel lifted his head.
“How?”
“Give us the ledger.”
Daniel laughed weakly.
“You still don't understand.”
The man stepped closer.
“Where is it?”
Daniel's lips curled.
“Somewhere you'll never find it.”
The man struck him.
Amara cried out.
The video ended.
She looked at the lawyer.
“Who has him?”
“We believe your father is involved.”
“My father?”
“Yes.”
Amara stood.
“Take me to him.”
“You cannot.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows you're looking.”
She walked out anyway.
That night, she went to her father's estate.
The gates were closed.
Security refused to let her through.
She called her father.
“Dad.”
His voice was calm.
“Amara.”
“Where is Daniel?”
Silence.
“You knew he was being taken.”
“He made his choice.”
“You kidnapped my husband.”
“He is not your husband.”
Amara froze.
“What?”
Her father's tone changed.
“You were never supposed to fall for him.”
Her heart pounded.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your marriage was supposed to give me time.”
“Time for what?”
“To transfer the assets.”
“What assets?”
“You'll learn soon enough.”
“You lied to me.”
“No.”
Her father sounded almost amused.
“I protected you.”
“From Daniel?”
“From the man who destroyed your life before you even knew him.”
“What?”
Her father hung up.
Amara stared at the phone.
Then another message arrived.
A photograph.
Daniel's face.
A warehouse behind him.
Below it, one line:
COME ALONE.
She drove there immediately.
The warehouse was abandoned.
No security.
No lights.
She stepped inside.
“Daniel?”
Nothing.
Then footsteps echoed.
A man emerged from the darkness.
Kevin.
Amara stepped backward.
“You.”
Kevin smiled.
“You came.”
“Where is Daniel?”
Kevin looked at her.
“He's closer than you think.”
“What does that mean?”
Kevin moved toward her.
“You've been asking the wrong question.”
“Then what should I ask?”
Kevin's expression turned sinister.
“Why would the richest man in the country pretend to be homeless?”
Amara's throat tightened.
“You know?”
Kevin nodded.
“I know everything.”
He pulled out his phone.
A video began playing.
It showed Daniel.
But this time, the room was different.
And Daniel wasn't alone.
Standing beside him was a woman.
A woman Amara recognized instantly.
Daniel's first wife.
Alive.
Amara dropped the phone.
May you like
Kevin whispered:
“Your husband's dead wife never died.”
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