Chapter 7 - The Midnight Exchange
The old train station had been abandoned for twelve years.
At least, that was what the city records said.
Hadley stood in the back of Leonardo's black SUV, staring through the rain-streaked window as the station appeared ahead.
Its broken clock tower rose above the empty tracks.
No trains.
No passengers.
No lights.
Just an old brick building surrounded by rusted fencing and weeds.
She held the black ledger against her chest.
Her biological father was somewhere inside.
Daniel Monroe.
Alive.
Waiting.
Or being held.
She couldn't decide which possibility frightened her more.
Across from her, Leonardo checked the magazine in a handgun before putting it away.
Hadley's eyes narrowed.
“You're coming.”
“Yes.”
“The message said I had to come alone.”
“It also said your father dies if you don't bring the ledger.”
“So?”
“So whoever wrote it already broke the rules.”
Hadley looked at him.
“You always have an answer.”
“No.”
“You always sound like you do.”
Leonardo's expression softened.
“That's because I've learned that panic gets people killed.”
Her mother sat beside Hadley.
Evelyn had barely spoken since they left the bakery.
She looked out the window.
“Don't go inside.”
Hadley turned.
“What?”
Her mother shook her head.
“Not until you know who sent the message.”
“It has my father's picture.”
“That doesn't prove he's there.”
Leonardo nodded.
“She’s right.”
Hadley looked between them.
“Then what do you suggest?”
“Wait.”
“Until when?”
“Until my people confirm the building is clear.”
“You said your people were blocked.”
“They were.”
“And now?”
Leonardo looked toward the station.
“They aren't.”
His phone vibrated.
He answered.
“Talk.”
A voice came through.
He listened.
Then his expression hardened.
“How many?”
Pause.
“Three.”
Another pause.
“Any sign of Hale?”
Leonardo looked at Hadley.
“No?”
He listened again.
“Then find out who they are.”
He ended the call.
Hadley leaned forward.
“Well?”
“They found three vehicles near the station.”
“Richard Hale?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Leonardo looked at her.
“Vescari.”
Hadley went still.
“Your family?”
“My family.”
“Why would your own people be here?”
“I didn't send them.”
Her mother whispered,
“Someone else did.”
Leonardo nodded.
“That's what worries me.”
Hadley stared at the station.
“I’m going in.”
“No.”
“My father is in there.”
“We don't know that.”
“But I know someone is holding him.”
“Hadley.”
She looked at Leonardo.
“I've spent twenty years being told lies.”
Her voice shook.
“I was told my mother was dead.”
“She wasn't.”
“I was told I was an only child.”
“You weren't.”
“I was told the man who raised me was my father.”
“He wasn't.”
She tightened her grip on the ledger.
“And now I'm being told my real father is alive.”
Leonardo said nothing.
“I need one truth.”
His eyes softened.
“I know.”
She opened the SUV door.
Leonardo caught her wrist.
“Stay beside me.”
She looked at his hand.
Then at him.
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
They stepped into the rain.
Evelyn stayed inside the SUV.
“Don't leave me,” Hadley called.
Her mother nodded.
“I won't.”
The station doors were unlocked.
Leonardo stopped outside.
Hadley whispered,
“Why would they leave it open?”
“Because they want us inside.”
He pushed the door open.
The smell of damp wood and rust filled the air.
Their footsteps echoed through the empty ticket hall.
Old benches lined the walls.
A broken departure board hung above the ticket counters.
Hadley looked up.
One destination remained visible.
DETROIT — 12:05 A.M.
She checked her phone.
11:47.
“Fourteen minutes.”
Leonardo nodded.
They moved deeper.
A hallway opened on the right.
Leonardo raised his hand.
Hadley stopped.
He listened.
Nothing.
Then a faint sound.
Metal scraping.
He moved toward it.
Hadley followed.
They entered an old waiting room.
A single chair sat in the middle.
A man's coat was draped over it.
Hadley recognized it.
She had seen it in the photograph.
“That's his.”
Leonardo touched the fabric.
“Still warm.”
Hadley's heart jumped.
“He was here.”
“Recently.”
She turned.
“Then where is he?”
Leonardo pointed toward the floor.
A trail of water.
Footprints.
Leading toward the maintenance corridor.
They followed.
The corridor was narrow.
Pipes ran along the ceiling.
At the end stood a steel door.
Hadley heard something behind it.
A cough.
Her breath caught.
“Dad?”
Silence.
She stepped closer.
“Dad?”
A voice answered.
“Hadley?”
Her knees nearly gave out.
It was him.
The man from the photograph.
Her biological father.
Leonardo grabbed her shoulder.
“Wait.”
“But that's him.”
“I know.”
He examined the door.
No lock.
No wires.
Nothing.
He opened it.
Inside was a small room.
Daniel Monroe sat tied to a metal chair.
His face was bruised.
His wrists were bound.
But he was alive.
Hadley covered her mouth.
“Dad.”
Daniel looked at her.
His eyes filled with tears.
“Hadley.”
She rushed toward him.
Leonardo stopped her halfway.
“Don't.”
Daniel looked at Leonardo.
“You still don't trust me.”
“No.”
Daniel laughed weakly.
“Good.”
Hadley stared at him.
“Who are you?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Your father.”
“I know.”
“No.”
He swallowed.
“You don't know anything.”
Leonardo cut the ropes.
Daniel stood unsteadily.
Hadley moved toward him.
He stopped.
Neither touched the other.
Twenty-six years of absence stood between them.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I thought you were dead.”
Hadley frowned.
“What?”
Daniel looked at Leonardo.
“Your mother told me you died.”
Hadley stared.
“She thought I died?”
Daniel nodded.
“When?”
“The night she disappeared.”
“But I didn't.”
“I know that now.”
He looked at Leonardo.
“You kept her alive.”
Leonardo didn't answer.
Hadley turned toward him.
“You knew my father?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“We worked together.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“That isn't what you should tell her.”
Leonardo looked at him.
“Not here.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“They're already here.”
Hadley froze.
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
“Hale.”
Leonardo shook his head.
“No Hale vehicles.”
“Vehicles don't matter.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“His people are already inside.”
A distant door slammed.
Leonardo immediately drew his weapon.
“Stay behind me.”
Hadley and Daniel moved together.
For the first time, Hadley stood beside the man who was biologically her father.
He looked at her.
“You have your mother's eyes.”
Hadley swallowed.
“I don't know what to say.”
“You don't have to say anything.”
Another sound echoed.
Footsteps.
Multiple.
Leonardo looked toward the corridor.
“Three.”
Daniel whispered,
“No.”
“What?”
“Five.”
Leonardo's eyes narrowed.
“You hear them?”
Daniel nodded.
“I know how they move.”
The lights flickered.
Hadley gripped the ledger.
Daniel noticed it.
“You brought it.”
“Yes.”
“Where did you get it?”
“The bakery.”
His expression changed.
“Then they know.”
“Who?”
“Everyone.”
Leonardo looked at the ledger.
“There's something you haven't told me.”
Daniel stared at him.
“You wouldn't believe me.”
“Try.”
Daniel looked at Hadley.
Then said,
“The ledger isn't the evidence.”
Hadley frowned.
“What?”
“The ledger is a map.”
“To what?”
Daniel's eyes moved toward the floor.
“To the people Hale owns.”
Leonardo's expression hardened.
“Then why does he want it?”
“Because the final page contains the name of the person who controls him.”
Hadley felt cold.
“Who?”
Daniel hesitated.
Leonardo stepped closer.
“Who?”
Daniel whispered,
“Your grandfather.”
Hadley stared.
“My grandfather died twenty years ago.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Your grandfather isn't dead.”
Her heart pounded.
“Which one?”
Daniel looked at her.
“The man your mother married.”
Hadley couldn't breathe.
“My grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“But I never knew him.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
“Why?”
“Because he was the first person to build the network Hale inherited.”
Leonardo's face changed.
“Vescari knows about this?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Only one Vescari knew.”
Leonardo went still.
“Who?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Your father.”
Silence.
Then a gunshot exploded somewhere upstairs.
Hadley screamed.
Leonardo pulled her down.
Another shot.
Then another.
The hallway filled with shouting.
Leonardo pushed Daniel toward the door.
“Move.”
They ran.
Hadley held the ledger against her chest.
They reached the waiting room.
The lights went out.
Complete darkness.
Someone shouted from the corridor.
“Vescari!”
Leonardo froze.
The voice laughed.
“It's been a long time.”
Hadley heard Leonardo breathe in sharply.
She had never heard fear in his voice before.
Then he whispered,
“That's impossible.”
“Who is it?”
He didn't answer.
The voice came again.
“Come out, Leonardo.”
Hadley gripped his sleeve.
“Who?”
He looked at her.
His face had gone pale.
“Matteo.”
Daniel whispered,
“No.”
Leonardo's eyes stayed fixed on the darkness.
“Matteo Vescari.”
Hadley frowned.
“Who is he?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Leonardo's older brother.”
Hadley stared.
“Older brother?”
Leonardo's jaw tightened.
“He died fifteen years ago.”
A slow clap echoed through the hallway.
Once.
Twice.
Then a man's voice said,
“I was supposed to.”
The emergency lights suddenly came on.
At the far end of the corridor stood a tall man in a black coat.
His face was scarred along one cheek.
His eyes were fixed on Leonardo.
He smiled.
Then he looked at Hadley.
And his smile disappeared.
“Little bird.”
Hadley froze.
Leonardo stepped in front of her.
“Don't call her that.”
The man laughed softly.
“You still protect her.”
Then he lifted one hand.
Two men appeared behind him.
One carried a gun.
The other carried a small silver box.
Matteo pointed toward Hadley.
“Give me the ledger.”
Leonardo didn't move.
Matteo smiled.
“Or I'll show her what her mother did to her sister.”
Hadley's blood went cold.
“My sister?”
Matteo nodded.
“She isn't dead.”
Daniel suddenly stepped forward.
“Don't listen to him.”
Matteo looked at Daniel.
“Hello, brother.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
Hadley turned toward him.
Brother?
Matteo smiled.
“That's right, Hadley.”
He lifted the silver box.
“Your real father isn't Daniel Monroe.”
He opened the box.
Inside was an old photograph.
A photograph of two newborn babies.
Matteo held it up.
“One of them was you.”
May you like
He looked directly at Hadley.
“And the other one is standing much closer to you than you think...”
