Chapter 11 - THE FATHER WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
Daniel studied the grainy image.
The man’s hair was whiter than his father’s had been.
His shoulders were thinner.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
“This is impossible.”
Noah pushed open the stairwell door.
“We can argue with the impossible after we leave.”
They entered the underground parking garage.
Emma waited inside a delivery van with Margaret and Caleb.
The moment Margaret saw Daniel, she embraced him.
“I thought they were going to keep you there.”
Daniel looked at his mother.
“Did Dad have a twin?”
Her body became still.
Emma noticed.
“Mom?”
Margaret stepped back.
“There are things Thomas made me promise never to tell you.”
Daniel held up the surveillance image.
“Start with this.”
Margaret looked at the photograph.
Her face collapsed.
“He’s alive.”
Emma covered her mouth.
Daniel felt anger cutting through the medication still clouding his mind.
“You knew?”
“I knew he might be.”
“Might be?”
Margaret sat against the side of the van.
“Your father discovered that someone inside the Bennett Foundation was working with Senator Mercer.”
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
“A year before he died.”
Margaret nodded.
“Thomas believed Mercer was laundering campaign money through charitable grants.”
“Why didn’t he go to the authorities?”
“He did.”
“What happened?”
“The investigator assigned to the case disappeared.”
The garage door opened in the distance.
Noah started the van.
“We need to move.”
As they drove away, Margaret continued.
“Thomas staged his death because he believed Mercer would target all of us.”
Daniel struggled to understand.
“You let us bury an empty coffin.”
“He said it was the only way to keep you alive.”
“He abandoned us.”
“He was trying to expose them.”
“Where has he been?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel looked at the bank record.
“Someone used his credentials today.”
Margaret’s voice dropped.
“Then he is trying to tell us something.”
The van turned onto the highway.
Noah checked the mirrors.
A black SUV followed them through the intersection.
“We have company.”
Emma held Caleb against her chest.
The SUV accelerated.
Noah took the next exit.
The vehicle stayed behind them.
Daniel reached beneath the seat and found a metal tire iron.
The SUV pulled alongside.
The rear window lowered.
A man aimed a handgun toward the van.
Noah slammed the brakes.
The SUV shot ahead.
A second vehicle appeared behind them.
They were trapped between both cars.
Then every phone inside the van rang at the same time.
Daniel answered.
A familiar voice spoke.
“Son, listen carefully.”
Daniel’s hands began to shake.
May you like
It was his father.
“Do exactly what I say if you want your family to survive.”
