Chapter 11 - The Son Anna Left Behind)
Lucas chose a public library.
Midday.
Security cameras.
Families nearby.
Smart, Megan thought.
Daniel sat at a table near the windows.
Megan waited in a coffee shop across the street despite Lucas's instruction that Daniel come alone.
Daniel had agreed because Megan was six months past the point of trusting anonymous instructions.
Lucas arrived fifteen minutes late.
He wore a gray hoodie and carried a backpack.
Daniel knew him instantly.
The boy stopped several feet from the table.
"You look like her," Daniel said.
Lucas's expression hardened.
"Don't."
"I'm sorry."
"You don't know me."
"No."
"You didn't know her either."
Daniel absorbed the blow.
"I knew Anna."
"You knew the version she was allowed to be around you."
"Maybe."
Lucas sat.
For several seconds they looked at each other.
Daniel noticed a scar near Lucas's left eyebrow.
Anna had one in almost the same place from a childhood bicycle accident.
"Laura told you?"
"Some."
"She shouldn't have."
"She was trying to protect you."
"Everyone keeps saying that while lying to me."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Fair."
Lucas studied him.
"Did you find the trust amendment?"
"Yes."
"Then Richard knows."
"Probably."
"He definitely knows."
"How?"
"Because he has people watching everything connected to company archives."
"You broke into my office."
"I borrowed access."
"You started the fire?"
Lucas's face changed.
"No."
"I didn't think you did."
"Then don't ask stupid questions."
Daniel almost smiled.
Anna.
Exactly.
"Why my office?"
"Mom left instructions."
Daniel's eyes sharpened.
"Your mother?"
Lucas realized his mistake.
"What instructions?"
Lucas looked toward the windows.
"Laura had a box Anna left behind."
"Had?"
"I took it."
"Why?"
"Because Laura spent thirteen years being afraid."
"She kept you alive."
"She kept me hidden."
"Both can be true."
Lucas looked back at him.
For the first time, some of the anger weakened.
"Mom knew Grandfather Samuel had hidden documents in old company furniture. She thought the codicil might be in his desk."
"You knew about it?"
"No. Just that I had to search."
"What else did Anna leave?"
"Letters. Recordings. Names."
"Victor?"
Lucas's jaw tightened.
"You know about him."
"I know he existed."
"He still does."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"Did Anna know?"
"She met him after escaping Cedar Ridge."
"What happened?"
"Victor told her he could help expose Richard."
"And?"
"She stopped trusting him."
"Why?"
Lucas opened his backpack.
He placed an old photograph on the table.
Victor stood with Anna in a parking lot.
Beside them was a young woman holding a baby.
Daniel frowned.
"Who is she?"
"That's what I was trying to find out."
On the back, Anna had written:
Victor, Anna, Rebecca, baby E.
Daniel stared.
"The second child."
"Maybe."
"Who is Rebecca?"
"I found one Rebecca connected to Victor."
"His wife?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Lucas lowered his voice.
"A nurse at the hospital where Grandfather Samuel died."
Daniel felt the pieces moving.
"Why would her baby be connected to the trust?"
"I don't know."
"Where is Rebecca now?"
"Dead."
"How?"
"House fire."
Daniel stared at him.
"When?"
"Two months after Anna disappeared the second time."
"And the baby?"
"No body was identified for the baby."
Daniel sat back.
Another child who vanished.
Another dead woman.
Another fire.
"Lucas, you need to come somewhere safe."
Lucas laughed.
"With you?"
"Yes."
"You spent your whole life working for him."
"I didn't know."
"My mother knew enough to run."
"I was nineteen."
"And thirteen years later you were still there."
That hurt because it was true.
Daniel did not defend himself.
Lucas stood.
"Richard isn't afraid of you because you found out Anna survived."
"What is he afraid of?"
"You leaving the family."
"Why?"
"Because as long as you stayed, he controlled your voting share."
"He doesn't control mine."
Lucas shook his head.
"Read the marital succession clause."
Daniel frowned.
"What clause?"
Lucas walked away.
Daniel followed.
"Lucas."
The boy stopped near the stairs.
"Mom didn't hide everything from Richard."
"What do you mean?"
"She hid some things from you."
"Why?"
Lucas looked at him.
"Because she wasn't sure which brother would become their father."
Then he disappeared down the stairs.
Daniel returned to Natalie's office.
She found the clause within an hour.
The trust treated adult beneficiaries differently depending on whether they remained part of the family-controlled enterprise.
If Daniel voluntarily left Bennett Industries and demonstrated independent financial residence for twelve months, his shares became fully independent from trustee voting agreements.
Richard would lose Daniel's twenty-four percent voting control.
Combined with Lucas's potential inherited share, Richard could lose the company.
Megan understood.
"The company isn't just money."
Natalie nodded.
"It's protection. Access. People. Records."
Daniel stared at the trust documents.
"If I resign permanently, he loses control."
"In twelve months."
"And until then?"
"He will try to stop you."
Megan looked at Daniel.
"What are you going to do?"
He didn't answer.
Not yet.
When they returned to the rented house that evening, a package sat inside the entry hall.
Not outside.
Inside.
No forced entry.
No alarm.
The package was addressed to Sophie.
Daniel opened it carefully.
Inside was the white spaghetti bowl from Richard and Evelyn's kitchen.
May you like
And a note.
COME HOME BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT.
