Chapter 6 - Unit 214
Officer Brennan was furious when Daniel called.
"You went home?"
"I didn't go to the storage facility."
"Good."
"I found the key."
Silence.
"What key?"
"The one mentioned in the text."
Brennan exhaled.
"Photograph it. Don't handle it more than necessary."
Daniel almost laughed.
"I've already handled it."
"Then put it in an envelope."
"Do you think this is connected to the stolen safe?"
"I think someone wants you to think it is."
Daniel looked at his father's handwriting again.
"Maybe."
"Go back to the hospital."
Daniel did.
The next morning, Clara's blood levels improved.
Her doctor still refused discharge.
Daniel spent the day feeding Noah, answering police questions, and trying not to think about midnight.
At 11:15 p.m., Brennan appeared.
Daniel looked surprised.
"What are you doing here?"
"Preventing you from doing something stupid alone."
Daniel blinked.
"You believe the message?"
"I believe someone took your property and contacted you about it."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
Brennan glanced toward Clara's room.
"Does your wife know?"
"No."
"Good."
Daniel frowned.
"Why good?"
"Because if someone is watching your family, fewer people knowing our plans is better."
That sentence followed Daniel all the way to Riverside Storage.
Police units waited several blocks away.
Brennan drove.
At 11:58 p.m., they entered through a side gate.
Unit 214 was near the back.
No one stood nearby.
Brennan examined the lock.
"Looks old."
Daniel held up the brass key.
It fit.
The door opened.
Inside sat Daniel's fireproof safe.
Nothing else.
Daniel stared.
"That's it."
Brennan photographed everything before approaching.
No wires.
No obvious traps.
The safe itself was still locked.
Daniel knew the combination.
His father's birthday.
He opened it.
Birth certificates.
Insurance files.
Tax records.
Everything appeared intact.
Except the brown leather folder.
Gone.
And one new item had been placed inside.
A photograph.
Daniel picked it up only after Brennan nodded.
It showed Thomas Carter standing outside a courthouse.
Beside him was a woman Daniel had never seen.
The date printed in the corner was six months before Thomas died.
On the back, handwriting.
If you're reading this, Evelyn found Clara's file before Thomas's attorney reached you.
Daniel's heart hammered.
"Who's the woman?" Brennan asked.
"I don't know."
A noise echoed through the corridor.
Footsteps.
Brennan drew his weapon.
"Stay here."
He moved toward the corner.
A shadow shifted.
Then someone ran.
"Police! Stop!"
Brennan chased.
Daniel remained beside the storage unit.
Then he heard something behind him.
A quiet metallic click.
He turned.
A woman stood three units away.
Older.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
She held no weapon.
Daniel recognized her.
Not from life.
From the photograph.
"Daniel Carter?"
His mouth went dry.
"Who are you?"
"Your father's attorney."
Daniel stared.
"Why are you running?"
"I'm not."
"Someone just ran."
"That wasn't me."
She stepped forward.
"My name is Rebecca Sloan."
Daniel held up the photograph.
"You were with my father."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Rebecca looked toward the corridor where Brennan had disappeared.
"Because Thomas discovered what Evelyn had done."
"What did she do?"
Rebecca's expression was grim.
"She changed the beneficiary structure of your family's trust."
Daniel felt sick.
"How?"
"Fraud."
"What does that have to do with Clara?"
"More than you understand."
"Tell me."
Rebecca looked at the safe.
"Did you bring the key?"
Daniel's body stiffened.
"How do you know about the key?"
"Thomas told me."
"What does it open?"
Rebecca stared at him.
"Not this safe."
"Then what?"
Before she could answer, Brennan returned alone.
"Who is this?"
Rebecca held out her hands.
"I'm an attorney."
"Identification."
She reached slowly into her coat.
Brennan examined her driver's license and bar card.
Daniel asked again.
"What does the key open?"
Rebecca looked directly at him.
"A deposit box your mother believes was emptied twenty years ago."
Daniel felt his mouth go dry.
"And what's inside?"
May you like
Rebecca paused.
"The original birth records for the child Evelyn Carter was never supposed to inherit through."
