Chapter 5 - THE FILE THEY BURIED
We flew to Chicago the next morning.
Daniel insisted on bringing security.
I insisted the girls stay with Martin at a nearby hotel.
That was our first real argument since the wedding.
“They're my daughters too.”
“You've known them for less than twenty-four hours.”
His face tightened.
“I know.”
“You can't suddenly decide what happens to them.”
“I am not deciding.”
“You just tried.”
He looked down.
Then nodded.
“You're right.”
The admission stopped me.
Daniel had always hated being wrong.
Now he seemed willing to learn.
“I'll stay with them,” he said. “You and Martin go inside.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“We go together.”
That was how we entered Harden Systems headquarters after midnight.
The building was mostly dark.
My old badge no longer worked.
Daniel used his access.
The elevator opened on the twenty-third floor.
My old department had been renovated.
The walls were different.
The desks were gone.
But I still remembered where my cubicle had been.
I stood there silently.
Daniel watched me.
“You okay?”
“No.”
He nodded.
“I understand.”
We found the archive room.
Martin used an old key.
Inside were shelves of paper records.
Daniel looked stunned.
“Why keep these?”
“Your father distrusted digital systems.”
We searched for Northstar.
Nothing.
Project Columbus.
Nothing.
Then I noticed a filing cabinet marked LEGACY.
Inside were employee records.
I found my name.
Rachel Mercer.
My hands shook.
The file contained performance reviews.
Salary information.
Project assignments.
And one envelope.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Daniel looked over my shoulder.
It showed us.
Me and Daniel.
Sitting at a restaurant.
Eight years earlier.
I didn't remember anyone taking it.
On the back was a date.
The night before Eleanor called me.
Daniel stared.
“Someone was watching us.”
I nodded.
Then I found another document.
A payment authorization.
My name appeared at the bottom.
Except I hadn't signed it.
The signature looked almost identical.
Martin examined it.
“Forgery.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Who authorized the payment?”
We read the line.
Greg Harmon.
Again.
But then I noticed something.
Beneath Greg's signature was another authorization.
Eleanor Harden.
I looked at Daniel.
He stared at the paper.
“My mother approved the payment.”
“That doesn't mean she forged your signature.”
“No.”
He sounded tired.
“But it means she knew.”
A sound came from the hallway.
We froze.
Footsteps.
Daniel raised one hand.
Security moved silently.
The door opened.
Greg Harmon stood there.
He looked older than I remembered.
His hair was gray at the temples.
He wasn't carrying a weapon.
He simply looked exhausted.
“You came.”
Daniel stared.
“You knew we would.”
Greg nodded.
“I hoped you would.”
“Why?”
Greg looked at me.
“Because I owe you an explanation.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You've had eight years.”
“I know.”
“Then start.”
Greg swallowed.
“I never accused Rachel of stealing company information.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“You signed the investigation report.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Eleanor ordered me to.”
Daniel looked at me.
Greg continued.
“She told me if I refused, she'd expose my own involvement in Columbus.”
“What involvement?”
“I moved money.”
“Your money?”
“No.”
Greg shook his head.
“Your father's.”
Daniel stared.
“Where?”
“Through Northstar.”
“Why?”
“To keep the syndicate away from the company.”
Daniel's voice sharpened.
“You expect me to believe my CFO was secretly protecting the company?”
“No.”
Greg looked at me.
“I expect you to believe I was protecting my family.”
That stopped Daniel.
Greg's wife had died years earlier.
His daughter had been diagnosed with a serious illness.
I remembered hearing about it.
He had worked constantly.
Greg lowered his voice.
“The people behind Columbus threatened my daughter.”
Daniel's anger softened slightly.
“Who?”
“I never saw their faces.”
“Names?”
“Three companies.”
He listed them.
One was familiar.
Northstar Meridian.
Another belonged to an overseas investment group.
The third name made Martin go pale.
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
Martin pointed to the document.
“That company dissolved fifteen years ago.”
Greg shook his head.
“It didn't.”
“Who owns it?”
Greg looked at Daniel.
“Your father.”
Silence.
Daniel stared.
“My father?”
“Through another company.”
“Why?”
Greg's answer was quiet.
“Because the syndicate was never outside the family.”
I felt cold.
“What does that mean?”
Greg looked directly at me.
“Your father was trying to get out.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“And my mother?”
Greg hesitated.
“She knew.”
“Did she order Rachel's disappearance?”
Greg shook his head.
“She ordered the accusation.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
“Because she believed if you stayed, the syndicate would use you against Daniel.”
“That doesn't make it right.”
“I know.”
Daniel looked furious.
“You let her destroy Rachel.”
“I thought I was preventing something worse.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me believe she betrayed me.”
“Yes.”
Daniel's eyes filled with anger.
Then Greg said something unexpected.
“I also sent the money that got Rachel out of Chicago.”
I froze.
“What?”
Greg looked at me.
“I arranged the car.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Eleanor ordered me to make sure you left safely.”
Daniel stared at him.
“So my mother didn't want her dead.”
“No.”
Greg's face tightened.
“She wanted Rachel gone.”
The distinction felt cruel.
Then Greg reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small envelope.
“I kept this because I knew one day you would need it.”
He handed it to Daniel.
Inside was a letter.
Daniel read it.
His eyes moved rapidly.
Then he stopped.
“What?”
I asked.
He handed it to me.
It was from Eleanor.
But it wasn't addressed to Daniel.
It was addressed to Greg.
The first line read:
IF RACHEL EVER RETURNS, GIVE HER THIS.
I read on.
My hands began to shake.
Eleanor admitted she had ordered the investigation.
She admitted she had hidden the truth.
But she wrote something else.
She said the person who had originally arranged the false evidence was not her.
It was Daniel's father.
My breath caught.
Daniel read over my shoulder.
Then Greg spoke.
“Your father didn't want you to know because he had one final deal to complete.”
“What deal?”
Greg shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“Then who does?”
Greg looked toward the hallway.
“The person who still controls Columbus.”
A security alarm suddenly sounded.
Red lights flashed.
Daniel turned.
“What's happening?”
Greg's face changed.
“Someone entered the building.”
Martin grabbed the folder.
“Who?”
Greg whispered,
“The same people who were looking for Rachel eight years ago.”
The lights went out.
In the darkness, I heard glass breaking somewhere below.
Daniel grabbed my hand.
“Stay behind me.”
Then a voice came through the building's emergency speaker.
Calm.
Male.
Familiar.
“Rachel.”
I froze.
The voice continued.
“You were never supposed to survive long enough to find this file.”
Daniel looked at me.
May you like
And I realized he recognized the voice too.
It belonged to his father.
