Chapter 10 - THE MAN WHO BUILT THE PLAN
Daniel forced his hands to relax.
Senator Mercer studied him with mild disappointment.
“You were always disciplined.”
“Unlike your daughter?”
Richard’s expression hardened.
“Olivia has sacrificed more than you understand.”
“For money?”
“For justice.”
Daniel laughed quietly.
“What injustice did my family commit against yours?”
The senator leaned back.
“Your father destroyed my brother.”
Daniel remembered Congressman Arthur Mercer.
Twenty-two years earlier, Arthur had been convicted of stealing money from a children’s hospital charity.
Thomas Bennett had provided the financial records that led to the conviction.
Arthur died in prison.
“My father exposed a thief,” Daniel said.
“Your father manufactured evidence.”
“Do you have proof?”
“I have the truth.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
Richard stood.
“The Bennett family built its reputation by burying other people.”
“So you sent your daughter to marry me.”
“I gave her a purpose.”
“Did you tell her to drug me?”
“I told her to secure the trust.”
Daniel looked at the camera again.
Richard followed his gaze and smiled.
“No one is recording us.”
“Then why are you being honest?”
“Because by tomorrow, you won’t remember this conversation clearly.”
Richard removed a small vial from his pocket.
Daniel’s breathing changed.
“What is that?”
“Your next dose.”
The senator walked toward the call button near the door.
Before he could press it, an alarm sounded in the hallway.
Red lights flashed.
Richard turned.
The door unlocked automatically.
Noah entered wearing a maintenance uniform.
He struck Richard in the stomach, caught him as he fell, and lowered him quietly to the floor.
Daniel stared at him.
“How did you get in?”
“Your sister stole a security badge.”
Noah unlocked the restraints.
“Can you walk?”
“I think so.”
“Then move.”
Daniel sat up.
The room tilted, but he remained conscious.
Noah handed him a pair of shoes and a dark jacket.
“What happened to Emma?”
“She’s safe for now.”
“My mother?”
“With her.”
“The evidence?”
Noah’s face became grim.
“We have a bigger problem.”
They stepped into the service hallway.
A hospital employee lay unconscious beside a supply cart.
Noah led Daniel toward a stairwell.
“The recording device from Olivia’s dress was encrypted.”
“Can you open it?”
“Eventually.”
“Then what’s the bigger problem?”
Noah stopped on the landing.
“Your father’s signature appears on the offshore account.”
Daniel stared at him.
“My father has been dead for five years.”
“I know.”
Noah handed him a printed bank record.
A transfer had been authorized that morning.
The approval code belonged to Thomas Bennett.
At the bottom of the page was a surveillance image.
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An older man in a dark coat stood inside the foundation vault.
He had Thomas Bennett’s face.
