Part 2: Secrets Buried Behind the Family Name
Daniel didn't move.
His phone was still in his hand.
His father's weak voice echoed inside his head.
"They know I'm still alive..."
Then silence.
The call had ended.
Across the street, the black SUV remained parked beside the curb.
Two men stepped out.
Neither of them looked like police.
Both wore dark suits.
Both watched Daniel's apartment without trying to hide it.
Daniel slowly stepped away from the window.
His instincts told him one thing.
This wasn't about the family anymore.
Someone else had entered the game.
Five minutes later, another phone rang.
This time it belonged to Daniel's attorney.
Evelyn Carter.
He answered immediately.
"Evelyn."
"I was about to call you," she replied. "Whatever you did last night... it worked."
"I assumed it would."
"You underestimated your sister."
Daniel frowned.
"What happened?"
"Vanessa didn't just lose access to the company."
Evelyn took a deep breath.
"She tried forcing her way into headquarters."
Daniel wasn't surprised.
"And?"
"Security escorted her out."
He smiled slightly.
"That's all?"
"No."
Evelyn's voice turned serious.
"She smashed the lobby display with a fire extinguisher."
Daniel closed his eyes.
That sounded exactly like Vanessa.
"When security restrained her," Evelyn continued, "she kept screaming that your father promised her everything."
Daniel remained silent.
"He never did."
Meanwhile...
Across town...
Vanessa sat inside her Mercedes, gripping the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white.
Blake sat beside her.
Neither of them spoke for nearly a minute.
Finally Blake whispered,
"What if Daniel really controls everything?"
Vanessa glared at him.
"He doesn't."
"The security system says he does."
"The security system is wrong."
"The bank?"
"Wrong."
"The lawyers?"
"They're lying."
Blake looked out the window.
"You keep saying everyone's lying."
Vanessa slammed both hands against the steering wheel.
"Because someone changed everything!"
She suddenly froze.
One memory returned.
Six weeks earlier.
Boston General Hospital.
Their father's hospital room.
She had tried visiting unexpectedly.
A nurse had stopped her.
"Only approved visitors today."
She had argued for ten minutes before leaving.
At the time she thought nothing of it.
Now...
She realized someone had met with Richard privately.
Someone...
Was Daniel.
Back at his apartment, Daniel unlocked an old wooden box he hadn't opened in years.
Inside were dozens of handwritten letters.
Every one came from his father.
Letters Richard had written during business trips when Daniel was a child.
One envelope stood apart from the others.
It wasn't old.
It had been written just seven weeks ago.
Across the front, Richard had written only three words.
If anything happens.
Daniel carefully unfolded the paper.
His father's handwriting shook across the page.
"If you're reading this, I either couldn't reach you... or someone made sure I never could."
Daniel swallowed hard.
"Do not trust your mother."
His eyes widened.
"Patricia has hidden things from me for years."
"I discovered missing company funds."
"Someone has been transferring money through shell companies."
"The signatures looked like mine."
"They weren't."
Daniel's heartbeat quickened.
His father continued.
"I wanted to confront Vanessa."
"Before I could..."
"I had the stroke."
Daniel lowered the letter.
His hands trembled.
His father hadn't simply become ill.
He had been investigating something.
Something dangerous.
Suddenly...
Someone knocked on the apartment door.
Three slow knocks.
Daniel looked through the peephole.
No one.
Then he noticed something lying on the floor outside.
A sealed envelope.
He opened the door carefully.
The hallway was empty.
The elevator doors were closing.
Whoever delivered it had already disappeared.
Inside the envelope was a single flash drive.
No note.
No name.
Only one sentence typed on a white label.
WATCH BEFORE THEY FIND YOU.
Daniel immediately connected the drive to his laptop.
A video appeared.
Security footage.
Timestamped seven weeks earlier.
Boston General Hospital.
Outside Richard Whitmore's room.
Daniel leaned closer.
The recording showed his father speaking with someone.
Not a doctor.
Not a lawyer.
A man Daniel had never seen before.
The stranger handed Richard a thick folder.
Minutes later...
Vanessa appeared in the hallway.
She wasn't supposed to be there.
She looked both directions.
Then quietly slipped inside Richard's room after the stranger left.
She stayed less than two minutes.
When she walked back out...
The folder was gone.
Daniel replayed the clip.
Again.
And again.
His stomach tightened.
Whatever had been inside that folder...
Vanessa had taken it.
Before he could think further, another notification appeared on his computer.
An incoming email.
No sender.
No subject.
Only one attachment.
A photograph.
Daniel opened it.
The picture had clearly been taken only minutes earlier.
It showed his apartment building.
Then another photo.
His balcony.
Another.
His living room window.
The final image made his blood run cold.
It was a close-up picture...
Of him.
Standing exactly where he was now.
Beneath the photo were eight chilling words.
"You're already too late. Check the news."
Daniel grabbed the television remote with shaking hands.
Every major news channel showed the same breaking headline.
RICHARD WHITMORE—MISSING FROM REHABILITATION CENTER.
The reporter spoke urgently.
"Authorities confirmed that seventy-four-year-old businessman Richard Whitmore disappeared sometime early this morning. Family members claim they have no knowledge of his whereabouts..."
Daniel's heart pounded.
No.
His father hadn't disappeared.
Someone had taken him.
And judging from that anonymous message...
Whoever kidnapped Richard...
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Already knew Daniel was coming after them.
— END OF PART 2 —
