Chapter 5 - The Price of a Child
Emily stopped thinking like a therapist.
She became a mother.
“We’re going.”
Torres blocked the door.
“No.”
“That’s my son.”
“And walking into a kidnapping without a plan gets him killed.”
Daniel held the brass key.
Marcus believed it mattered.
That gave them leverage.
The actual evidence was already secured.
Daniel sent one message.
WHERE?
The response arrived.
The abandoned Kang electronics plant.
Daniel knew it well.
His father had built his first circuit boards there.
Torres organized a tactical response.
Daniel insisted on going.
“You can barely stand,” Emily said.
“I don’t need to stand.”
“You could die.”
“So could Noah.”
Emily looked at him.
Daniel had known her son for less than two weeks while conscious.
Yet there was no hesitation in his face.
They drove south.
Inside the old factory, Marcus waited.
Noah sat tied to a chair.
Lauren stood nearby.
She was crying.
Daniel entered in his wheelchair.
Emily remained with police outside.
Marcus smiled.
“Look at you.”
“Let him go.”
“The key.”
Daniel held it up.
Marcus approached.
“You ruined everything by waking up.”
“You should have checked hospitals.”
“I did.”
Daniel frowned.
Marcus smiled wider.
That was the first true shock.
“What?”
“I found you on Day Four.”
Daniel’s blood turned cold.
Marcus had known.
All along.
“I paid someone to keep your identity buried.”
Daniel thought of eighty-nine empty days.
Lauren whispered, “Marcus, stop.”
He ignored her.
Daniel held out the key.
“Noah first.”
Marcus untied the boy.
Noah ran toward Daniel.
Then Marcus grabbed him again.
“Not so fast.”
Daniel’s voice hardened.
“You don’t need him.”
“I need insurance.”
“You already lost.”
Marcus laughed.
“No. You still think this is about money.”
He leaned close.
“It’s about your father.”
Police moved outside.
Marcus heard something.
He dragged Noah toward a side exit.
Lauren suddenly stepped in front of him.
“No.”
Marcus shoved her.
Daniel launched himself from the wheelchair.
His legs failed instantly.
But his shoulder struck Marcus.
Noah broke free.
Police stormed the building.
Marcus ran.
Torres chased him through the loading bay.
Emily rushed inside and grabbed Noah.
Daniel lay on the concrete.
Noah pulled away from his mother long enough to crawl beside him.
“You stood.”
“I fell.”
“You still stood first.”
Daniel laughed painfully.
Outside, a gunshot cracked.
Everyone froze.
Torres returned minutes later.
Alone.
“Marcus escaped.”
Lauren had been arrested as an accomplice.
But before officers took her away, she asked to speak with Daniel.
“There’s something Marcus never told you.”
Daniel waited.
“He didn’t cause David Miller’s accident.”
Emily looked up.
“Who did?”
Lauren stared at her.
“I don’t know.”
“But Marcus does.”
Daniel felt the story shifting again.
Lauren continued.
“Marcus was terrified of one person.”
“Who?”
She swallowed.
“Someone inside Kang Meridian.”
Daniel frowned.
“Marcus runs Kang Meridian.”
Lauren shook her head.
“No. He only thought he did.”
Torres’s phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
Everyone watched her.
Torres slowly lowered the phone.
“The evidence vault was breached ten minutes ago.”
Daniel stared.
“The drives?”
“Gone.”
“Who had access?”
Torres looked toward Emily.
“One of our investigators.”
“Name?”
Before Torres could answer, the factory lights died.
A phone vibrated on Daniel’s wheelchair.
Unknown sender.
One sentence appeared.
MARCUS WAS NEVER YOUR REAL ENEMY.
May you like
Then another message began loading.
It contained a name.
