Chương 6
At the time, he thought grief had made everything feel suspicious.
Now he wondered if his grief had been carefully designed.
"What was his name?" Daniel asked.
Rachel's expression changed slightly.
"You know his name."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"You knew him as Richard Mercer."
The name echoed through the empty floor.
Daniel remembered the photographs.
The business empire.
The father who always seemed more interested in control than family.
The man who taught him that emotions were weaknesses.
The man who disappeared behind locked doors and private meetings.
"Richard Mercer died," Daniel said.
Rachel looked at him.
"Richard Mercer did."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"Then who are you saying survived?"
Rachel took a slow breath.
"The person who created Richard Mercer."
Claire stepped closer.
"What does that mean?"
Rachel looked at her.
"It means the man Daniel called his father was only one identity."
The silence that followed was heavier than before.
Victor looked away.
Daniel noticed.
"You knew."
Victor did not deny it.
"I knew there were things about your family that were hidden."
Daniel turned toward him.
"And you never told me."
"I tried."
Daniel laughed once without humor.
"Everyone says that."
Victor accepted the anger.
"Because it is true."
Rachel moved down one step.
"The people who controlled your father built an entire network around secrets."
Daniel looked at the badge holder.
"And this badge belonged to them."
Rachel nodded.
"It was an access symbol."
"Access to what?"
"Everything."
Her answer was simple.
Too simple.
Daniel understood that the truth was larger than he had imagined.
The badge was not just a record.
It was a key.
Rachel continued.
"Your father collected information on powerful people."
Claire's voice became cold.
"Blackmail files."
"Yes."
Daniel looked at Ethan.
"And Emily found them."
Rachel nodded.
"She found the archive."
Ethan looked confused.
"Why would my mother care about that?"
Rachel looked at him.
"Because she discovered that children were being used as leverage."
The boy froze.
"What?"
Rachel's expression softened.
"Families were threatened."
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
"What are you saying?"
"I am saying your mother found records of people who had their lives destroyed because someone wanted control."
Claire looked at Daniel.
"And Ethan was one of those records."
Rachel nodded.
"Not because of who he was."
She paused.
"Because of who his father was."
Daniel looked at Ethan.
The realization arrived slowly.
A possibility he did not want to accept.
Ethan looked back at him.
"What does that mean?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Daniel felt every piece of the puzzle moving into place.
Emily had hidden the badge.
Emily had left the note.
Emily had protected Ethan.
But from whom?
The answer was becoming clearer.
And it terrified him.
Rachel looked at Daniel.
"You need to tell him."
Daniel's voice was quiet.
"Tell him what?"
Rachel held his gaze.
"The truth about why Emily disappeared."
Ethan looked at Daniel.
"Why is everyone looking at you?"
Daniel opened his mouth.
No words came.
Because the truth he feared was not about the past anymore.
It was about the present.
It was about him.
Claire stepped closer to Daniel.
"You do not have to do this here."
Daniel looked at Ethan.
"No."
He shook his head.
"He deserves the truth."
The boy waited.
Daniel lowered himself so they were face to face.
"Ethan."
The boy looked nervous.
"Yes?"
Daniel took a breath.
"Your mother and I knew each other a long time ago."
Ethan listened.
"She was someone I trusted."
"More than that?"
Daniel looked away for a second.
Then back.
"Yes."
The boy's expression changed.
"You loved her."
Daniel did not answer immediately.
But he did not need to.
Ethan understood.
"Then why did you leave?"
The question hurt more than any accusation.
Daniel looked down.
"Because I was told she left me."
Ethan's eyes became wet.
"And you believed that?"
Daniel had no defense.
"No."
The honesty surprised the boy.
"I wanted to believe there was another explanation."
Rachel watched silently.
Daniel continued.
"I searched."
His voice became quieter.
"I searched for years."
Ethan looked at him.
"Then why didn't you find her?"
Daniel looked toward Rachel.
"Because someone made sure I couldn't."
Rachel nodded.
"Exactly."
A sudden sound interrupted them.
A phone ringing.
Everyone looked toward Victor.
He reached into his pocket and saw the screen.
His face changed.
"Who is it?" Claire asked.
Victor did not answer.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Show me."
Victor hesitated.
Then turned the phone around.
A single message appeared.
WE HAVE YOUR LOCATION.
Daniel immediately understood.
"They are tracking all of us."
Rachel looked toward the stairwell.
"Not all of us."
Everyone turned.
"What does that mean?" Claire asked.
Rachel looked at Ethan.
"It means they only need one person."
The emergency lights flickered.
A distant alarm started.
Daniel looked around.
They were no longer escaping.
They were being guided.
"Where do you want us to go?" Daniel asked.
Rachel looked surprised.
"You understand."
"You are not running from them."
"No."
"Then you are leading them."
Rachel said nothing.
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Why?"
Rachel looked at him.
"Because Emily asked me to."
The answer stopped him.
"When?"
"Ten years ago."
Daniel stared.
"She is alive."
Rachel looked away.
"Yes."
Ethan's breath caught.
"My mother is alive?"
Rachel nodded slowly.
"She has been alive this entire time."
The boy covered his mouth.
For years, he had lived with a loss he never fully understood.
Now the impossible had become possible.
Daniel felt something he had not allowed himself to feel in a decade.
Hope.
But hope came with fear.
"Where is she?"
Rachel looked toward the lower levels.
"Below this building."
Claire frowned.
"That makes no sense."
Rachel looked at her.
"The people who controlled your father owned more than companies."
She paused.
"They owned places no one knew existed."
Daniel looked at the badge holder.
"And this takes us there."
Rachel nodded.
May you like
"That badge is the only thing that can open the archive."
A heavy impact echoed from the stairwell.
