Chapter 13: The Man in the Dark
The lights died so suddenly that for one second nobody moved.
Then Sarah screamed.
A chair scraped across the floor.
Glass shattered somewhere near the kitchen.
“James!”” Michael shouted.
I already had my phone out.
Its flashlight cut through the darkness.
Daniel was no longer standing beside the table.
“Daniel?””
No answer.
I swung the light toward the front door.
Open.
He was gone.
My pulse exploded.
“Michael, check the breaker.””
“No.””
Michael grabbed my arm.
“Ryan told you to get out. We get out.””
For once, I agreed.
“Sarah.””
My flashlight found her near the stairs.
She was clutching the railing.
“Where’s the document box?””
Her expression changed.
“What?””
“The black box.””
“I don’t know.””
It had been on the dining table.
Now it wasn’t.
Neither was Daniel’s briefcase.
I called 911.
Then I looked at Sarah.
“Outside. Now.””
We moved toward the front door.
That was when I heard it.
A metallic click upstairs.
My office door.
Someone was still inside.
Michael heard it too.
“James, don’t.””
I stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
“Whoever cut the power didn’t leave.””
Sarah suddenly grabbed my sleeve.
“There’s another way into your office.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
Her voice shook.
“From the attic.””
“How do you know that?””
She looked ashamed.
“Lucas showed me.””
Of course he had.
Another secret.
Another hidden door in my own house.
“Outside,” I said.
“Both of you.””
This time Sarah didn’t argue.
We reached the porch as sirens sounded somewhere in the distance.
Then headlights swept across the yard.
A truck jumped the curb and stopped crookedly beside the lawn mower.
Ryan stumbled out.
Blood ran from a cut above his eyebrow.
“Ryan!””
He nearly fell.
Michael caught him.
“What happened?””
Ryan looked past us toward the dark house.
“He took my phone.””
“Who?””
Ryan breathed hard.
“Daniel.””
Sarah covered her mouth.
I stared at Ryan.
“You said someone has been controlling everyone.””
Ryan nodded.
“Daniel has.””
Michael shook his head.
“That doesn’t make sense. Daniel’s father was involved before him.””
“That’s what Daniel wanted you to believe.””
Ryan wiped blood from his face.
“I found the original company records.””
“Where?””
“County archives. Your father filed sealed copies through another attorney.””
He looked at me.
“Daniel changed the story.””
My stomach tightened.
“What story?””
“His father wasn’t your father’s partner.””
Ryan paused.
“He was the company accountant.””
Michael went still.
“No.””
Ryan nodded.
“He was caught stealing.””
Everything shifted.
The threats.
The missing money.
My mother’s letters.
The inheritance.
Daniel had taken pieces of the truth and rearranged them until we couldn’t tell who was guilty.
“Why?”” I asked.
“Because if Daniel could prove his father had an ownership interest, he could challenge the company transfer.””
Michael whispered, “He wanted the shares.””
Ryan shook his head.
“Not just the shares.””
He looked at the house.
“He wanted the evidence destroyed.””
A crash came from upstairs.
I turned.
The office window opened.
A shadow appeared.
Daniel.
He was holding the black document box.
“Daniel!”” I shouted.
He looked down.
Then disappeared back inside.
Police vehicles turned onto our street.
Daniel had nowhere to go.
At least, that was what I thought.
Ryan grabbed my arm.
“There’s something else.””
“What?””
“Lucas.””
My stomach tightened.
“What about him?””
“Daniel has been paying someone to impersonate him.””
Sarah stared at Ryan.
“What are you talking about?””
“The man you met wasn’t Lucas.””
Sarah’s face went blank.
“But he knew things.””
“Because Daniel gave him those things.””
I looked at the birth certificate.
“Does Lucas exist?””
“Yes.””
“Where is he?””
Ryan’s eyes met mine.
“He’s been trying to contact you for years.””
I almost laughed from the sheer insanity of it.
“I never received anything.””
“Because Daniel controlled correspondence connected to your father’s estate.””
Michael slowly sat on the porch step.
“He intercepted it.””
Ryan nodded.
“He intercepted everything.””
Police officers rushed toward us.
I explained that someone was inside.
Two officers entered while another kept us back.
Minutes felt like hours.
Then one officer appeared at the door.
“Mr. Miller?””
“Yes?””
“The upstairs office is empty.””
My stomach dropped.
“That’s impossible.””
“We found an open attic access panel.””
Sarah looked at me.
The hidden passage.
The officer continued.
“There’s something else you need to see.””
We followed him only as far as the hallway.
My office had been destroyed.
Drawers ripped open.
Documents scattered everywhere.
The hidden compartment was empty.
But on my desk sat one photograph.
An old photograph of my father standing beside two young boys.
Michael.
And me.
Except someone had written a message across my face in black ink.
*HE CHOSE THE WRONG SON.*
Ryan stared at it.
Then his phone—returned by one of the officers after being found upstairs—buzzed.
He opened the message.
His face drained.
“What?””
He handed me the screen.
A live photograph showed a man sitting inside a car.
Hands tied.
Blood on his shirt.
May you like
Underneath were six words:
*Want the truth? Come meet Lucas.*
