Chapter 8 - The Brother They BuriedDaniel Carter Wasn't DeadSmoke swallowed the archive.
Alexander grabbed Sofie.
Elena coughed.
Elias had disappeared.
The fire spread unnaturally fast.
“Move!”
Alexander kicked the emergency panel.
Nothing.
The room had been designed to trap anyone who entered.
He pulled Elena toward the far wall.
Sofie pointed.
“Down.”
Alexander looked.
A ventilation panel.
He tore it open.
A narrow passage appeared.
“Everyone inside.”
They crawled.
The heat intensified behind them.
Alexander pushed Sofie forward.
Elena followed.
The passage led into an old maintenance tunnel.
They emerged beneath the tower.
Alexander collapsed against the wall, breathing hard.
Elena was crying.
Sofie was silent.
Alexander stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me Daniel was her father?”
Elena shook her head.
“Your father told me Daniel was dead.”
“You were there.”
“I knew he was alive when he left.”
Alexander froze.
“What?”
Elena looked at him.
“The night before the accident, Daniel told me he was leaving.”
“Leaving where?”
“I don't know.”
“Why?”
“He had discovered Richard was stealing from the company.”
Alexander closed his eyes.
Everything was falling into place.
Daniel discovered the crime.
William created the Orchid Trust.
Elena witnessed the attack.
Richard tried to silence her.
Then Daniel supposedly died.
But someone had kept the truth hidden.
Alexander turned to Sofie.
She was holding the bracelet.
Suddenly it began vibrating.
Alexander took it.
A tiny message appeared on the screen.
4:17
Then:
ROOM 17.
Alexander stared.
“Where is Room 17?”
Elena whispered:
“The old Carter hospital.”
The hospital where Daniel had supposedly died.
Alexander made one call.
Within twenty minutes, a private car took them there.
The old medical wing had been abandoned for years.
The building smelled of dust and disinfectant.
Alexander found the basement.
Room 17.
The door was locked.
Sofie stared at the wall.
“Behind.”
Alexander knocked.
Hollow.
He broke the panel.
Inside was a small box.
A medical bracelet.
A passport.
And a photograph.
Daniel Carter.
Alive.
Alexander couldn't speak.
Elena covered her mouth.
Sofie reached for the photograph.
“Daddy.”
Alexander looked at her.
She wasn't pointing at him.
She was pointing at Daniel.
Daniel.
Her father.
Alexander felt something break inside him.
Then he saw the passport.
The name wasn't Daniel Carter.
It was David Hale.
There was also a recorded message.
Alexander pressed play.
Daniel's face appeared.
Older than Alexander remembered.
Tired.
Terrified.
“If Alexander finds this, I'm probably dead.”
Alexander stopped breathing.
Daniel continued.
“I'm sorry.”
He looked directly into the camera.
“I didn't die in that hospital.”
Elena whispered:
“I knew it.”
Daniel's voice shook.
“Richard found out I had evidence. Dad tried to protect me, but he couldn't.”
A pause.
“So we made everyone believe I died.”
Alexander stepped closer to the screen.
“Daniel…”
Daniel continued.
“I left Elena because the only way to keep her alive was to disappear.”
Elena began sobbing.
“I watched her believe I was dead.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
Then he said something that changed everything.
“But there's something neither Dad nor I knew.”
Alexander's heart stopped.
“Richard wasn't the one controlling the operation.”
Daniel looked terrified.
“Elias Kane was.”
The recording ended.
Alexander stared at the blank screen.
Then the door behind them opened.
A man entered.
Older.
Thin.
Scar across his cheek.
Alexander raised his gun.
The man looked at him.
“Elena.”
She went white.
“Daniel?”
The man nodded.
Alexander froze.
Sofie dropped the photograph.
The man slowly removed his coat.
There was an old scar beneath his chin.
The same mark from the original photograph.
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Daniel Carter was alive.
And he had been hiding for thirteen years.
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