Chương 5
Daniel ignored him.
"There is a manual access point behind the bookshelf."
Claire immediately moved toward it.
She pushed several books aside until she found a hidden panel.
A small metal lock was built into the wall.
"No key."
Daniel looked at Victor.
Victor understood immediately.
"Of course."
He reached into his coat.
Claire raised her weapon.
"Slowly."
Victor removed a small metal tool.
"This was not for you."
He inserted it into the lock.
The panel opened with a soft click.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
Ethan stared.
"You had a secret hallway?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Every building has secrets."
The boy looked toward the hallway.
"Does every family too?"
The question stopped Daniel for a moment.
Because he knew the answer.
"Sometimes."
Before anyone could move, the office lights turned off again.
This time they stayed off.
The emergency lights activated, casting the room in a dim red glow.
A loud impact came from the main door.
Someone was trying to break through.
Claire grabbed Ethan's hand.
"Now."
Daniel moved first.
Victor followed behind them.
They entered the narrow corridor just as the office door began to crack.
The passage smelled like dust and old concrete.
It was designed for emergencies but had rarely been used.
Daniel moved quickly through the darkness.
Behind them, the office door finally opened.
Voices echoed.
"They are gone."
Another voice answered.
"Find them."
Ethan looked back.
Daniel placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Do not look back."
The boy nodded.
They continued through the corridor.
After several minutes, they reached another door.
Daniel opened it carefully.
They stepped into an unfinished floor below the executive offices.
Construction materials covered the area.
The city lights entered through unfinished windows.
Claire looked at Daniel.
"Where do we go now?"
"Parking garage."
Victor stopped.
"No."
Daniel turned.
"What?"
Victor looked toward the far end of the floor.
"They will expect that."
Claire watched him.
"How would you know?"
Victor looked away.
Because he knew too much.
Daniel noticed.
"You have been working with them."
Victor did not answer.
Claire immediately became defensive.
"I knew it."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Victor."
The man sighed.
"I was trying to get Emily out."
The statement changed the atmosphere.
Ethan looked at him.
"You knew my mother?"
Victor nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"Did you help her?"
Victor looked at the ground.
"Not enough."
The honesty in his voice surprised everyone.
Daniel studied him.
"You failed her."
Victor accepted the accusation.
"Yes."
The word carried years of regret.
For the first time, Daniel saw Victor not as an enemy, but as someone carrying his own damage.
"What happened?"
Victor looked at Ethan.
"Your mother discovered that people were using private security records to control powerful families."
Claire nodded.
"Blackmail."
Victor continued.
"They collected secrets."
Daniel understood.
"And Emily found proof."
"Yes."
"Then why did she disappear?"
Victor looked at him.
"Because she tried to expose them."
The silence returned.
Ethan's voice trembled.
"Did she know I was in danger?"
Victor looked at him.
"Every day."
The answer hurt.
"But she still protected you."
Ethan looked down.
Daniel felt something break inside him.
Emily had not abandoned them.
She had sacrificed herself.
A sudden sound came from the lower floor.
Everyone became alert.
Footsteps.
More than one person.
Claire looked around.
"We need to move."
Daniel nodded.
They continued toward the parking area.
But as they reached the stairs, a figure appeared below them.
A woman.
Dark coat.
Calm expression.
She stood alone.
And somehow that made her more dangerous.
Daniel stopped.
He knew her.
Not personally.
But from photographs.
From files.
From reports that had disappeared.
"No," Claire whispered.
The woman looked up.
"Hello, Daniel."
His face hardened.
"Rachel Morgan."
Ethan looked at him.
"Who is she?"
Daniel did not answer immediately.
Because Rachel Morgan was the person whose name appeared every time someone asked where Emily Carter went.
Rachel smiled faintly.
"I see you found the child."
Daniel stepped forward.
"You knew."
"I knew everything."
Claire's expression turned cold.
"You were behind it."
Rachel looked at her.
"Behind what?"
"The disappearance."
Rachel tilted her head.
"That depends on what story you believe."
Daniel clenched his fists.
"Where is Emily?"
Rachel looked at Ethan.
Then back at Daniel.
"Still asking the same question after ten years."
"Answer me."
Rachel's smile disappeared.
"She is closer than you think."
Ethan stepped forward.
"What does that mean?"
Rachel looked at him with an expression Daniel could not read.
Almost sadness.
Almost regret.
Then she reached into her coat.
Claire immediately reacted.
"Do not move."
Rachel stopped.
"I am not here to hurt him."
Daniel watched carefully.
"Then why are you here?"
Rachel looked at the badge holder in his hand.
"Because that badge was never meant to reveal Emily's disappearance."
She paused.
"It was meant to reveal who your real enemy was."
Daniel felt the weight of those words.
"Who?"
Rachel looked toward the dark hallway behind her.
Then she said the name that changed everything.
"Your father."
The world seemed to stop.
Daniel stared at her.
"My father died fifteen years ago."
Rachel shook her head.
"No."
Her voice became quieter.
"That is the first lie they ever told you."
Daniel stared at Rachel as if the words had physically struck him.
The unfinished floor around them suddenly felt colder.
"My father is dead," Daniel said again.
Rachel did not flinch.
"That is what they wanted you to believe."
Claire looked between them.
"Daniel."
He raised a hand slightly, stopping her.
His eyes never left Rachel.
"You are telling me my father was alive."
"I am telling you that the man who died was not the man you thought he was."
Ethan stood quietly behind Claire, watching the adults unravel a history he had never known existed.
Daniel felt memories returning in fragments.
His father's funeral.
The closed casket.
The people who refused to answer questions.
May you like
The sudden transfer of family assets.
The warnings from older executives that some things were better left alone.
