Chapter 13 - daniel's second life
Daniel backed away.
"That's insane."
Mercer did not move.
"Is it?"
"I was never at your safe house."
Corinne stared at Daniel.
"I saw you there."
Daniel turned.
"What?"
"Not you exactly."
Corinne swallowed.
"A man who looked enough like you that Claire panicked."
Ethan frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Mercer answered.
"Identity reconstruction."
Rebecca whispered, "No."
Ethan looked between them.
"Explain."
Mercer folded his hands.
"Halcyon doesn't just steal paperwork. For high value operations, they create functional identities."
"People pretending to be other people?"
"Sometimes."
Daniel's face hardened.
"You're suggesting someone impersonated me."
"Yes."
Ethan remembered the documents signed with his name.
The phone call Claire made to him that another man answered.
Someone had been building a version of Ethan.
Maybe also Daniel.
"How?"
Mercer continued.
"Voice samples. Social media. Financial records. Medical records. Behavioral profiles."
Ethan felt sick.
"Why us?"
"Because of Claire."
Corinne stepped closer.
"Anyone around her became useful."
Daniel looked at Ethan.
"I swear to you, I was never at that safe house."
Ethan believed him.
Not completely.
But enough.
Then Rebecca's phone buzzed.
The tracker had stopped moving.
Location.
A rural property seventy miles north.
Mercer looked at the map.
His expression changed.
"I know that place."
"What is it?" Ethan asked.
Mercer answered quietly.
"One of the original research facilities."
They left immediately.
Federal agents had not yet arrived at the warehouse.
Mercer claimed that was proof the wrong people had intercepted Rebecca's call.
Nobody argued.
Ethan insisted on stopping at the townhouse first.
He would not leave Maisie with security that might be compromised.
When they arrived, the front door was open.
Ethan ran inside.
The security guard lay unconscious near the staircase.
Maisie's crib was empty.
Ethan's scream tore through the house.
"MAISIE!"
Daniel searched upstairs.
Rebecca checked the kitchen.
Corinne stood frozen in the living room.
Then Ethan saw the stuffed rabbit on the floor.
Again.
This time something was tied around its neck.
A red ribbon.
And a note.
BRING ARTHUR MERCER.
Ethan turned toward the billionaire.
"You."
Mercer did not defend himself.
"This is about me now."
"It was always about you."
"Perhaps."
Ethan grabbed his coat.
Corinne moved toward him.
"I'm coming."
"No."
"Maisie knows me."
Ethan stared at her.
"She's afraid of you."
The words hit.
Corinne looked down.
"I know."
That quiet admission stopped him.
For the first time, she did not excuse herself.
She did not say Maisie was difficult.
She did not claim Ethan misunderstood.
She simply said, "I know."
Ethan's anger remained.
But something changed.
Corinne continued.
"I was losing control. I became everything I promised myself I wouldn't become."
"That doesn't excuse it."
"I know."
"If we get her back, you will not be alone with her."
Corinne nodded.
"I know."
"You will answer for what you did."
Another nod.
"Yes."
Ethan studied her.
"Then help me bring her home."
They drove north.
The rural property stood behind an abandoned orchard.
A concrete building half hidden underground.
The tracker signal came from inside.
No vehicles were visible.
Ethan entered first.
The hallway smelled of dust and antiseptic.
Old medical rooms lined both sides.
Some still contained rusted examination tables.
Mercer moved slowly.
"I haven't been here in thirty years."
At the end of the corridor, a light glowed beneath a door.
Ethan opened it.
Maisie sat in the center of the room.
Alive.
Unharmed.
Holding her rabbit.
Ethan rushed to her.
"Daddy."
He lifted her and held her so tightly she squeaked.
"I'm here. I'm here."
He kissed her hair.
Corinne began crying.
Then a voice came from a speaker.
"Arthur."
Mercer looked upward.
The voice sounded different this time.
Female.
Familiar.
Ethan froze.
The speaker crackled.
Then the woman said,
"Ethan, don't let Mercer leave."
Ethan's heart stopped.
May you like
He knew that voice.
Claire.
