Chapter 6 - The Man Who Tried to Fix Everything
Daniel found Marcus in an abandoned office belonging to Anderson Meridian.
He was sitting in the dark.
When Daniel entered, Marcus raised his hands.
"I didn't betray you."
Daniel lowered his weapon.
"Then explain."
Marcus pointed toward the computer.
"I decoded the card."
Daniel's heart pounded.
"What's on it?"
"Everything."
They opened the files.
Video recordings.
Bank transfers.
Audio messages.
Photographs.
And a recording from Sarah.
Her voice was weak.
But clear.
"My name is Sarah Reynolds."
"If you're hearing this, I failed to keep my daughter safe."
She looked directly into the camera.
"Greg is alive."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"He's being held in a private facility."
"Daniel Anderson is the only person I trust enough to get him back."
Sarah paused.
Then said something that changed Daniel's understanding of everything.
"Daniel, you don't know me, but your father told me you were different."
She smiled faintly.
"He said you believed money was supposed to create freedom, not control."
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
His father.
The father he'd thought had died years ago.
He had apparently been fighting the same people.
The video continued.
"If anything happens to me, the original ledger is in the place where Daniel's father taught him to fish."
Daniel knew immediately.
The lake house.
His father's old cabin in Michigan.
But the recording wasn't finished.
"There is one more thing."
Sarah leaned closer.
"Greg was not the only one taken."
Daniel's blood went cold.
"Who else?"
"My sister."
Daniel looked at Marcus.
"Sarah had a sister?"
Marcus nodded.
"We found one record."
"Where is she?"
"Dead."
Daniel turned back to the screen.
Sarah continued.
"They took my sister because she knew the truth."
Then she whispered.
"Do not trust Richard."
Daniel looked at Marcus.
His uncle.
The man who had confessed.
The man who had given him the warehouse.
He had been lying.
Daniel returned home.
Richard was gone.
His family lawyer called.
"There has been an attempted transfer of controlling shares."
"By whom?"
"Richard Anderson."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Of course.
The conspiracy wasn't about money alone.
Richard wanted the company.
Voss wanted the company.
Greg had discovered it.
Sarah had witnessed it.
Daniel's father had opposed it.
Now Emma was the final loose end.
Daniel drove to Michigan.
Emma refused to stay behind.
"I want my dad."
Daniel looked at her.
"So do I."
They arrived at the cabin before dawn.
Inside, Daniel found an old fishing box beneath the floorboards.
A second ledger.
Original.
Handwritten.
Complete.
Names.
Accounts.
Payments.
Bribes.
Murder orders.
Everything.
At the bottom was one line from his father.
If Daniel ever finds this, tell him I was proud.
Daniel sat on the floor.
He hadn't cried at his father's funeral.
He hadn't cried when the company nearly collapsed.
He hadn't cried when Josh was missing.
But now he did.
Emma sat beside him.
"Are you sad?"
"Yes."
"Does crying help?"
"Sometimes."
She thought about it.
Then took his hand.
"My mom cried too."
Daniel squeezed her fingers.
"I know."
They returned to Chicago.
The evidence was enough to bring federal investigators into the case.
Arrests began.
Executives.
Security contractors.
Financial intermediaries.
But Samuel Voss was still free.
And Richard had disappeared.
Then, three days later, Daniel received a package.
Inside was Emma's missing jacket.
And a note.
Bring the girl.
No police.
Midnight.
Chicago Union Station.
Daniel stared at the note.
He knew it was a trap.
But he also knew they had Greg.
And maybe someone else.
He looked at Emma.
She was sitting on the floor with Josh.
May you like
He couldn't lose either child.
Not again.
