Chapter 4 - The Secret Daniel Left Behind
Emily turned off the lights.
She moved behind a stack of boxes.
The footsteps stopped outside.
The door opened.
A man entered.
Emily held her breath.
The man walked toward the whiteboard.
He looked at Daniel's name.
Then he removed a folder.
Emily recognized him.
Marcus Hale.
He had aged since the photograph.
But there was no mistaking him.
Marcus opened the folder.
“Daniel,” he whispered.
Emily stepped out.
“Where is my husband?”
Marcus froze.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Marcus slowly turned.
“You shouldn't be here.”
“I asked where my husband is.”
Marcus looked at her with an expression that made Emily's heart sink.
“You believe Daniel is dead.”
“He is.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
Emily's knees weakened.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean Daniel was alive when you buried him.”
The room seemed to disappear around her.
“No.”
Marcus looked away.
“I wish I could tell you everything.”
“You can.”
“I can't.”
“You owe me.”
Marcus stared at her.
“I owe Daniel.”
Emily stepped closer.
“What happened to him?”
Marcus hesitated.
Then he pulled a small photograph from the folder.
It showed Daniel standing in an unfamiliar office.
He was holding a document.
On the desk behind him was a passport.
Emily saw the name.
Daniel Parker.
But the photograph was dated four months after his funeral.
She stared at it.
Marcus spoke quietly.
“Daniel discovered that your father was using Coleman Holdings to move money through companies that didn't officially exist.”
Emily shook her head.
“My father wouldn't do that.”
“He did.”
“Why?”
“Because someone was blackmailing him.”
“Who?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Vanessa.”
Emily's face changed.
“Vanessa?”
Marcus nodded.
“She wasn't a stranger when she met Richard.”
“What does that mean?”
“She knew Daniel.”
Emily remembered Vanessa's expression at dinner.
The confidence.
The contempt.
The way she had spoken as though she already understood the family.
“How?”
Marcus closed the folder.
“That's the part Daniel wanted you to discover yourself.”
“Why?”
“Because if I tell you, you may never trust anyone again.”
Emily felt anger rising.
“I already don't.”
Marcus looked toward the door.
“You need to leave.”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“No.”
She grabbed his arm.
“Tell me what happened to my husband.”
Marcus looked at her hand.
Then at her.
“Daniel didn't die.”
Emily stopped breathing.
“He disappeared.”
“Where?”
May you like
Marcus whispered,
“Somewhere your father could never reach him.”
