Chapter 6 - The Man Behind the Friendly Smile
I had trusted Daniel Harper for twelve years.
He had sat beside me during the company's first funding round.
He had taken my side in board fights.
He knew my family's history.
He knew every account.
Every acquisition.
Every vulnerability.
If Nathan was right, Daniel had been betraying me from the beginning.
I called him.
He answered immediately.
“Ethan?”
“Where are you?”
“At the office.”
I looked at Nathan.
He shook his head.
“Don't tell him.”
I said,
“I need the Bellweather acquisition files.”
“They're already in your system.”
“Who accessed them this morning?”
Silence.
Then Daniel said,
“Why?”
I smiled.
“You always answer my questions with another question.”
“I'm concerned.”
“You should be.”
He went quiet.
“Ethan, what's happening?”
“I'm finally learning who my friends are.”
I ended the call.
Then I turned to Maya.
“Can you trust Daniel?”
“No.”
“Good.”
We left the lighthouse through a rear path.
Nathan had a hidden vehicle.
We drove to a temporary safe location.
There, we opened the archive.
It contained names.
Hundreds of them.
Some were dead.
Some were alive.
Some sat in positions of power.
Maya stared at the screen.
“What do we do with this?”
“Release it.”
Nathan shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if we release it all at once, people disappear.”
“So?”
“So they'll destroy evidence and run.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“We need to hand it to federal investigators.”
I nodded.
“That’s the plan.”
Before we could act, Lily walked in.
She had woken early.
She held a drawing.
She placed it in front of me.
It showed three people.
Maya.
Daniel.
And me.
“That's us.”
She smiled.
“Family.”
Maya looked at me.
I felt something unexpected.
Warmth.
I had met this child two days ago.
Yet she had somehow made space for me in a picture where I didn't belong.
I touched the page.
“You forgot Nathan.”
Lily frowned.
“Who?”
“My brother.”
She looked at Nathan.
Then drew him in.
We laughed.
For a brief moment, none of the danger mattered.
Then someone knocked.
We all froze.
Three knocks.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Nathan reached for his weapon.
I stood.
“Who?”
A familiar voice answered.
“Ethan.”
Daniel Harper.
I moved to the door.
Nathan grabbed my arm.
“No.”
I stepped back.
The door opened from the outside.
It was locked.
He had bypassed it.
Daniel entered holding a gun.
“Give me the archive.”
I looked at him.
“How long?”
“What?”
“How long have you been doing this?”
He laughed.
“You still think this is personal.”
“It is.”
“No.”
He pointed the gun toward Maya.
“It became personal when Daniel Cross refused to cooperate.”
Maya went pale.
“You killed my husband?”
“No.”
Daniel smiled.
“I kept him alive.”
“Why?”
“Because he had the key.”
“What key?”
“The one hidden inside Lily's identity records.”
Nathan moved forward.
Daniel raised the gun.
“Don't.”
I looked at Lily.
She stood behind Maya.
“Let them go.”
“No.”
“Take me instead.”
Daniel laughed.
“You still believe money matters.”
He wasn't wrong.
For the first time in my adult life, money felt completely useless.
I could buy buildings.
Hire lawyers.
Move markets.
But I could not buy my way out of a gun pointed at the people I cared about.
Then Maya spoke.
“You need me.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Then listen.”
She stepped forward.
“I know where the archive's second copy is.”
His expression changed.
“Where?”
“Inside Mercer Dynamics.”
“That server was wiped.”
“Not completely.”
She stared him down.
“You need my access code.”
Daniel thought for a moment.
“Fine.”
He lowered the gun slightly.
“Come with me.”
“No.”
“I'll take Lily too.”
“No.”
“Then you'll come.”
Maya looked at me.
I knew what she was doing.
Buying time.
I nodded.
“Go.”
She stared at me.
“You're not coming?”
“I'll find you.”
She shook her head subtly.
Don't.
Trust me.
I understood.
Daniel took Maya.
He left Lily behind.
The moment the door closed, I called the police.
Then Nathan said,
“We can't rely on them alone.”
“What do you mean?”
“Daniel has people everywhere.”
I looked at Lily.
“We get her somewhere safe.”
Sophie arrived.
We sent Lily with her.
Then Nathan and I went to Mercer Dynamics.
The building was already in chaos.
Employees were evacuating.
Fire alarms were ringing.
Daniel had triggered an emergency protocol.
We reached the server level.
The backup system had been opened.
There.
A single red light blinked.
I entered my executive credentials.
The system rejected them.
Nathan swore.
“He's locked you out.”
“Then we do it manually.”
We opened the physical storage chamber.
Inside was a hidden drive.
I held it.
The archive.
Then my phone rang.
Maya.
I answered.
“Where are you?”
Her voice whispered.
“Underground parking.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Is Daniel there?”
“No.”
“Where is he?”
“Gone.”
“What happened?”
“He found the second archive.”
My stomach dropped.
“What did he do?”
“Ethan…”
May you like
She started crying.
“He knows where Lily is.”
