Chương 4
Ethan stepped forward.
"My mother wrote that?"
Victor looked at him.
"Yes."
The answer hit Ethan harder than expected.
His eyes became wet, but he refused to cry.
Daniel saw the same determination he had seen in Emily years ago.
A determination that refused to break even when everything hurt.
Victor placed the envelope on the desk.
Daniel did not touch it immediately.
He looked at Ethan.
Then at Claire.
Then at Victor.
"What is your price?"
Victor's expression changed.
"Not everything is a transaction."
Daniel gave him a cold look.
"Everything involving you is."
For the first time, Victor looked tired.
Not angry.
Not threatening.
Tired.
"Emily trusted the wrong people."
Daniel looked at the envelope.
"Who?"
Victor did not answer.
Instead, he looked toward the badge holder.
"Open it."
Daniel picked up the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
The image showed Emily standing outside a building.
She was younger.
She looked exhausted.
But she was smiling.
Standing beside her was a man Daniel did not recognize.
And beside that man was Victor.
Ethan looked at the photograph.
"Who is that?"
Victor answered quietly.
"Someone who wanted your mother gone."
Daniel studied the image.
"Why are you showing me this?"
"Because that person knows Ethan is alive."
Claire's face changed.
"What?"
Victor nodded.
"They thought the child disappeared with Emily."
Ethan stepped backward.
"Why would someone think that?"
No one answered immediately.
Daniel looked at the boy.
Because he finally understood the terrible reality.
Ethan was not just a forgotten child.
He was evidence.
Evidence that someone had failed to erase.
Daniel placed the photograph down.
"Where is Emily now?"
Victor looked away.
That small movement told Daniel everything.
"You know."
Victor remained silent.
"You know where she is."
Victor slowly looked back.
"I know where she was taken."
The room became completely still.
Ethan's voice was barely audible.
"Taken?"
Victor nodded.
"She was alive when they moved her."
Daniel felt anger rise inside him.
A controlled anger.
The kind that came before action.
"Who took her?"
Victor looked toward the office windows.
"The same people who are coming for that badge."
At that exact moment, the building lights flickered.
The office went dark for two seconds.
When the lights returned, everyone was already moving.
Claire pulled Ethan behind her.
Daniel reached toward the desk.
The badge holder was gone.
His eyes immediately turned toward Victor.
But Victor was standing exactly where he had been.
"I did not take it."
Daniel did not believe him.
Then he noticed the broken window sensor near the desk.
Someone else had entered.
Someone they never saw.
Claire looked toward the ceiling.
"Security cameras are offline."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
Victor looked almost disappointed.
"They are faster than I expected."
Ethan looked frightened.
"Who are they?"
Daniel looked at him.
This time, he did not hide the truth.
"They are people who are afraid of you finding out who you are."
The office doors suddenly locked automatically.
A red security light flashed above them.
A voice came through the speaker system.
"Daniel Mercer."
Everyone looked upward.
The voice was distorted.
"You should have listened when we warned you."
Daniel stepped toward the speaker.
"Who is this?"
The voice continued.
"You have five minutes to hand over the boy."
Ethan grabbed Daniel's sleeve.
Daniel looked down at him.
For a moment, he saw the frightened child.
Then he remembered Emily.
The woman who had fought to protect him.
The woman who had left behind every clue she could.
Daniel turned toward the locked doors.
"No one is taking him."
The voice became silent.
Then came a final message.
"You made the same mistake Emily made."
Daniel looked at Claire.
"What mistake?"
Claire stared at the door.
"Trusting that the truth would protect you."
The lights flickered again.
And somewhere inside the building, footsteps began moving closer.
The footsteps grew louder with every second.
Daniel could hear the measured pace of the people approaching through the hallway.
They were not rushing.
They were confident.
That was what worried him most.
People who moved slowly during a crisis were people who believed they had already won.
Claire moved toward the side wall and checked the emergency panel hidden behind a framed document.
"The security system has been overridden," she said.
Daniel kept his eyes on the office entrance.
"Can you unlock the door?"
"Not from here."
Victor looked around the room.
"For once, we are all trapped together."
Daniel glanced at him.
"Do not mistake a shared enemy for trust."
Victor gave a small nod.
"I expected you to say that."
Ethan stood near the desk, trying to understand everything happening around him.
His entire world had changed in less than an hour.
He had entered an office looking for answers about a badge.
Now armed people were moving toward them because of something connected to his mother.
Daniel noticed the fear in his eyes.
He walked over and lowered himself slightly so they were at the same level.
"Ethan."
The boy looked at him.
"Listen to me."
Ethan nodded.
"You are going to stay close to Claire."
"Are you leaving?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"Then why are you telling me that?"
"Because when people are scared, they make mistakes."
Ethan looked confused.
"What mistake?"
Daniel looked directly into his eyes.
"They make you think you are the problem."
The boy remained silent.
"You are not the problem."
The words affected Ethan more than Daniel expected.
For years, he had probably wondered why his life had been different.
Why people avoided certain questions.
Why his mother looked afraid whenever someone mentioned the past.
Now Daniel was giving him something he had never received.
Certainty.
Claire moved closer.
"We need another way out."
Daniel looked around the office.
The windows were reinforced.
The main door was locked.
The private elevator required the security system.
There was only one possibility.
"The maintenance corridor."
Claire looked at him.
"You remember?"
"I built this floor."
May you like
Victor looked surprised.
"You built the security design?"
