Chapter 9 - the trap at the lake house
Trevor did not wait for the vehicles to stop.
He drove through a broken section of fence and across the overgrown lawn.
Walter’s car struck the porch steps and stopped.
“Inside,” Trevor ordered.
They ran into the lake house.
Dust covered the floors.
The furniture had been removed years earlier, leaving only faded outlines against the walls.
Trevor locked the front door.
Naomi searched for another exit.
“There’s a tunnel beneath the kitchen,” Trevor said.
Walter stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“I found Margaret here three years ago.”
“Why was she living in a nursing facility?”
“She became ill. I placed her there under a false name.”
“And let me believe she was dead.”
“She was afraid you would lead Daniel to her.”
Walter grabbed the front of Trevor’s coat.
“I mourned her for twelve years.”
Trevor did not resist.
“So did I.”
A vehicle door slammed outside.
Evelyn moved toward the kitchen.
“Where is the tunnel?”
Trevor pointed toward an old iron stove.
They pushed it aside, revealing a trapdoor.
Naomi opened it.
A narrow stone staircase descended into darkness.
Walter released Trevor.
“Where is the amendment?”
“Inside the tunnel.”
A voice came from the porch.
“Walter.”
Daniel.
The front door shook under a heavy impact.
Trevor handed Evelyn a flashlight.
“Take Naomi and go.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll delay them.”
“You expect me to believe you’re protecting us?”
“I’m protecting the document.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“At least you’re honest.”
She descended into the tunnel.
Walter followed.
Naomi came last.
Trevor closed the trapdoor above them.
The tunnel ran beneath the house toward the lake.
Water dripped from the ceiling.
They reached a chamber lined with metal shelves.
Dozens of boxes filled the room.
Walter opened the nearest one.
Inside were Hale Development records dating back thirty years.
Another contained photographs, bank statements, and recorded interviews.
Naomi examined the labels.
“Margaret built an archive.”
Evelyn found a box marked Bellmere Foundation.
Inside lay the original charter and several amendments.
One document carried Margaret’s signature.
Another carried Caroline’s.
The final page listed two protected beneficiaries.
Evelyn Mercer.
Daniel Hale Junior.
Walter read the name twice.
“Daniel Junior?”
A gunshot sounded above them.
Evelyn flinched.
Trevor shouted.
Then everything became quiet.
Walter moved toward the stairs.
Naomi blocked him.
“You cannot help him by walking into Daniel’s hands.”
“He’s my son.”
“You just learned he may not be.”
Walter’s expression hardened.
“He is still my son.”
They heard footsteps entering the kitchen.
The trapdoor opened.
Trevor fell down the stairs and struck the wall.
He was conscious, but blood darkened one sleeve.
Evelyn looked away from the injury and helped him sit.
Daniel appeared at the top of the stairs.
Adrian stood behind him.
“Family reunions are always disappointing,” Daniel said.
Walter stepped in front of the others.
“What did Father do to you?”
Daniel descended slowly.
“He erased me.”
“Why?”
“Because I refused to live by his rules.”
“You stole from the company.”
“I took money that should have been mine.”
“You nearly destroyed everyone around you.”
Daniel smiled.
“You sound exactly like him.”
Adrian entered the chamber and began searching the boxes.
Trevor pressed a hand against his injured arm.
“You promised you wouldn’t hurt Margaret.”
Daniel looked at him with mild amusement.
“I promised many things.”
Evelyn held the amendment behind her.
Daniel noticed.
“That belongs to me.”
“No,” she said.
“The foundation was created with Hale money.”
“My grandmother created it before I married Trevor.”
“Your grandmother built it with evidence she stole from my family.”
Naomi stepped forward.
“Then settle the dispute in court.”
Daniel laughed.
“Courts require names. I have spent decades without one.”
Walter looked at the document in Evelyn’s hand.
“Who is Daniel Hale Junior?”
Daniel’s smile disappeared.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
A sound came from the far end of the tunnel.
Someone was approaching from the lake entrance.
Adrian raised his weapon.
A woman stepped into the chamber.
Her hair was silver, and a scar crossed one side of her forehead.
Walter whispered her name.
“Margaret.”
Behind her stood Caroline.
Evelyn could not move.
Her mother looked older and thinner than the woman in the photograph, but her eyes were the same.
Caroline raised a small recorder.
“Daniel Hale Junior is the witness you spent twelve years trying to find.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“Where is he?”
May you like
Caroline looked directly at Trevor.
“He has been standing in front of you all along.”
