Chapter 9: The Recording Daniel Left Behind
Nobody spoke.
I held the tiny piece of paper in my trembling fingers.
Damien stared at it as if the words had been carved into his chest.
"Elena," he said quietly.
"You knew about this?""
My mother shook her head.
"No. I never knew Daniel had hidden anything inside Shadow's collar.""
I looked at Damien.
"What does it mean?""
He didn't answer.
I stepped toward him.
"Damien.""
His eyes finally met mine.
"Daniel was investigating Vincent's operations. He believed someone close to me was helping him.""
"Who?""
Damien looked at the floor.
"Me.""
My stomach tightened.
"What?""
"Six years ago, I gave Vincent information about Daniel's location.""
My mother covered her mouth.
"Why?""
Damien's voice cracked.
"I thought I was preventing a bigger attack. Vincent told me Daniel was planning to kill Elena and take the children. He showed me documents.
Messages. Photographs.""
"You believed him?""
"I was twenty-nine. I thought I could control the situation.""
My mother slapped him.
The sound echoed through the church.
"You gave him my husband!""
Damien didn't defend himself.
"I know.""
"Daniel trusted you!""
"I know.""
"Do you have any idea what you took from us?""
Damien lowered his head.
"Every single day.""
I felt something break inside me.
The man who had saved me from Corbin, who had protected Shadow, who had fallen to his knees when the dog ate for the first time in six years...
He had betrayed my father.
And perhaps he had helped destroy my family.
I backed away.
"Don't come near me.""
Damien nodded.
He didn't move.
My mother took my hand.
"Come with me, sweetheart.""
We walked toward the entrance.
Shadow followed, staying close to my leg.
Outside, security guards had secured the street.
A black SUV waited at the curb.
My mother climbed inside.
I remained beside the open door.
Damien stood several feet away.
"There's something else," he said.
I turned.
"What now?""
He looked toward Shadow.
"Daniel left that collar with him because he knew Shadow would protect the evidence. The dog wasn't simply grieving Elena. He was waiting for someone who could recognize the necklace.""
I frowned.
"Why?""
"Because the necklace contains the other half of the key.""
I touched the pendant.
Damien continued.
"Daniel split the evidence between two places. The flash drive your mother found contains the financial records. The necklace contains the encryption key.""
I looked at my pendant.
"How do you know?""
"Because I helped Daniel create the system.""
My mother stared at him.
"You knew about the key?""
"Not where he hid it.""
I opened the pendant.
The tiny photograph of my mother was still inside.
I ran my finger along the silver edge.
There was a small indentation.
I pressed it.
A thin metal compartment opened.
Inside was a microchip.
I stared at it.
"All this time...""
My mother took my hand.
"Your father wanted you to have it when you were old enough.""
I looked at Damien.
"Then why did you never tell me?""
"Because I thought the evidence had been destroyed.""
A phone rang.
Damien answered.
His expression changed almost immediately.
"What?""
He listened.
Then looked at me.
"Where?""
A pause.
"Don't let anyone touch it.""
He ended the call.
"What happened?"" I asked.
"Vincent's study has been searched.""
"By whom?""
"The police.""
"Didn't they find him?""
Damien's face darkened.
"There's a problem.""
He showed me a photograph.
A body lay on the floor of Vincent's study.
It was Vincent.
But the medical examiner had identified a second detail.
The body had been dead for at least forty-eight hours.
I stared at the photograph.
"That means...""
"Someone killed him before the bank.""
My mother slowly sat down inside the SUV.
"Then who did we see at the bank?""
Damien looked at me.
"Someone pretending to be Vincent.""
My blood turned cold.
I remembered the gold ring.
The silver hair.
The familiar voice.
The man who had called himself my grandfather.
"Who was he?""
Damien zoomed in on the photograph.
A small detail was visible on the dead man's hand.
His ring.
But it was on the wrong finger.
My mother leaned forward.
"That's not Vincent.""
I looked at her.
"How can you tell?""
"Vincent had a scar across his left thumb. He lost it in a hunting accident years ago.""
The man in the photograph had no scar.
Damien called his security chief.
"Get me the original security footage from the penthouse. Every camera. Every entrance.""
A few minutes later, his phone lit up.
He opened the video.
The footage showed the man who had entered the penthouse and introduced himself as Vincent.
Then it showed him walking toward the living room.
But just before reaching the doorway, he stopped.
He looked directly into the camera.
And smiled.
My mother began shaking.
"I know that face.""
Damien froze.
"Who?""
She pointed at the screen.
"That's Daniel's brother.""
I stared at her.
"Daniel had a brother?""
She nodded.
"His name was Marcus Mercer. He disappeared before you were born.""
Damien slowly replayed the footage.
The man removed his gold ring.
Then he spoke directly to the camera.
The audio was faint, but the words were unmistakable.
"Tell the children their father is coming home.""
I felt Shadow press against my leg.
My mother began crying.
And then my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
*Briar, your mother has told you enough lies. If you want to know who really killed Daniel, come to the old Ashworth estate tonight. Bring the necklace. Come alone.*
A second message arrived.
It contained a photograph.
A little boy standing beside a black Cane Corso puppy.
The boy had my eyes.
May you like
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten sentence:
*ASK YOUR MOTHER WHY SHE ONLY BROUGHT ONE BABY HOME.*
