Chương 3
A search for the truth.
A race against people who had already hidden it once.
Claire moved toward the door.
Daniel stopped her.
"No."
She turned.
"What?"
"We don't run."
Claire studied him.
"You know how dangerous this is."
Daniel looked at Ethan.
"I spent ten years believing I lost everything because of a choice someone else made."
His voice became firmer.
"I am not letting him spend the next ten years searching for answers that people refuse to give him."
Ethan looked at Daniel.
"You really knew my mom?"
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"What was she like?"
The question caught Daniel off guard.
For a moment, the powerful businessman disappeared.
The man standing there was someone remembering a person he had loved.
"She was stubborn."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"She argued with me even when she knew she was wrong."
Ethan almost smiled.
"That sounds like her."
Daniel looked at him.
"You remember?"
"Little things."
Ethan looked down.
"Her voice."
Daniel listened.
"She used to sing when she cooked."
Daniel's expression softened.
"She always burned the first batch of cookies."
Ethan looked surprised.
"You know that?"
Daniel gave a quiet breath.
"Yes."
For the first time since entering the office, Ethan looked less afraid.
He looked like a child who had found a missing piece of his family.
Then the elevator bell sounded outside.
Everyone became silent.
Claire immediately moved in front of Ethan.
Daniel placed the badge holder back on the desk.
The doors opened slowly.
A man in a dark coat stepped into the office.
He looked around calmly.
Too calmly.
Daniel recognized him instantly.
A person from the past.
Someone who should not have known where they were.
The man smiled faintly.
"Daniel Mercer."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"How did you find me?"
The man looked at the badge holder on the desk.
"I should be asking you the same question."
Ethan moved closer to Claire.
The man noticed him.
And his expression changed.
Only for a second.
But Daniel saw it.
Fear.
Real fear.
The man was not surprised to see Ethan.
He was afraid that Ethan existed.
Daniel stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The man looked at the boy.
Then back at Daniel.
"I am the reason Emily Carter disappeared."
The room froze.
And for the first time that night, Daniel understood that the badge had not uncovered an old secret.
It had opened a war that had never truly ended.
The man standing in the doorway did not move.
He simply watched them with the confidence of someone who believed every exit belonged to him.
Daniel felt the old instinct return immediately.
The instinct that had kept him alive in boardrooms, investigations, and situations where trust could become a weapon.
He studied the man's posture, his eyes, his breathing, and the way his hand remained slightly too close to the inside pocket of his coat.
"You are Victor Hale," Daniel said.
The man's faint smile disappeared for a moment.
"So you remember me."
"I remember everyone who destroys lives and calls it business."
Ethan looked at Daniel with confusion.
"Who is he?"
Victor ignored the question.
His eyes remained on the badge holder.
"You should have left the past buried."
Claire stepped forward.
"The past was never buried."
Victor looked at her.
"Claire Bennett."
His voice carried a strange mixture of respect and warning.
"You always did believe you could fix everything."
Claire's expression stayed cold.
"And you always believed people would stay silent forever."
Victor glanced around the office.
"You have no idea what you just started."
Daniel moved closer.
"Then explain it."
Victor laughed quietly.
"Still demanding answers."
"Still avoiding them."
The two men stared at each other.
Years of history existed between them, but Ethan only saw two adults speaking in half-truths.
Daniel noticed the boy's expression.
He understood that every hidden detail was creating another wound.
No child should have to discover their family history through threats and strangers.
"Victor," Daniel said, "you are going to tell us everything."
Victor looked toward Ethan.
"That boy should never have been brought here."
Ethan's face tightened.
"Why?"
Victor finally looked directly at him.
"Because your existence changes everything."
The words made the room colder.
Daniel stepped between them.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Victor looked back at Daniel.
"You think you are protecting him."
"I am."
"You are protecting a story."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
Victor walked slowly into the office.
Claire watched every movement.
She knew the danger was not just in what he said.
It was in what he refused to say.
"Emily Carter was not just someone who disappeared."
Victor stopped beside the desk.
"She discovered something."
Daniel looked at the badge holder.
"The emblem."
Victor nodded.
"That badge belonged to a private security division created by people who were supposed to protect powerful families."
Claire's voice became sharper.
"And instead they controlled them."
Victor did not deny it.
Ethan looked at Claire.
"What does that mean?"
Claire looked at him carefully.
"It means some people had access to information they should never have had."
Victor smiled slightly.
"And Emily found out."
Daniel remembered the last conversation he had with Emily.
The argument.
The fear in her eyes.
The way she kept looking toward the door as if someone was listening.
He had thought she was scared of losing him.
Now he wondered if she had been scared of losing her life.
"Why didn't she tell me?" Daniel asked.
Victor looked at him.
"Because she tried."
Daniel froze.
"What?"
"She tried to contact you three times."
The room went silent.
Daniel's expression changed.
"No."
Victor reached into his coat and removed a small envelope.
Claire immediately raised her hand.
"Do not move."
Victor stopped.
"I came here to show you the truth."
"People like you do not bring truth," Claire said.
"You bring leverage."
Victor looked at her.
"Sometimes they are the same thing."
Daniel stared at the envelope.
May you like
"What is that?"
"Something Emily left behind."
