Chapter 5 - The Man Behind Mercer
Thomas Ellis entered the mansion carrying no weapon.
Claire stared at him.
Twenty years collapsed into one impossible moment.
"You died."
Thomas looked at his daughter.
"I disappeared."
Claire slapped him.
He accepted it exactly as Daniel had.
That made her angrier.
"Is everyone in my family secretly alive?"
Despite the danger, Roman almost smiled.
Thomas didn't.
"I came because Mercer has to end tonight."
Roman stepped forward.
"You built it with my father."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because your father knew his organization was being infiltrated."
Thomas looked toward Victor.
"And we were right."
Victor remained silent.
Thomas opened a briefcase.
Inside were copies of financial records, photographs and recorded conversations.
"Victor Hale began selling information twelve years ago."
Roman looked at Matteo.
"And my brother?"
Thomas hesitated.
"Matteo discovered Victor's operation six years ago."
Roman's expression hardened.
"And joined him."
"At first."
Matteo looked ashamed.
"I owed money."
"How much?"
"Enough."
Roman stared at his brother.
Matteo continued.
"Victor helped me. Then he owned me."
"You could have come to me."
"I was afraid you'd look at me exactly the way you're looking at me now."
Roman turned away.
Claire asked Thomas, "Why did Daniel have to disappear?"
Thomas looked at his son-in-law.
"Because Daniel found proof Victor was preparing to eliminate Roman and blame Matteo."
Victor laughed.
Everyone turned.
"You make me sound ambitious."
Thomas looked at him.
"You murdered seven people."
"Prove it."
Thomas tapped the briefcase.
"I can."
Victor's smile disappeared.
Daniel finally understood.
"That's why you came."
Thomas nodded.
"Federal agents are outside the estate."
Roman stiffened.
"You brought federal agents to my house?"
"I brought witnesses."
Roman looked ready to explode.
Then Maisie entered holding Rosa's hand.
The room changed.
Roman looked at the little girl who had saved his life.
He lowered his voice.
"Fine."
Victor suddenly lunged.
He grabbed Matteo and pulled a hidden knife.
Daniel raised his gun.
"Drop it."
Victor pressed the blade against Matteo's throat.
"Move and he dies."
Roman stared at his brother.
Matteo whispered, "Don't."
Victor backed toward the terrace.
Thomas quietly pressed a button on his phone.
Sirens approached.
Victor panicked.
He shoved Matteo aside and ran.
Roman followed.
They raced across the garden.
Toward the shed.
The same place where everything had begun.
Victor reached a vehicle hidden behind the trees.
Roman tackled him.
They hit the wet ground.
Victor swung.
Roman blocked.
Daniel arrived.
"Roman!"
Victor grabbed a piece of burning timber from the remains of the shed.
He swung it.
Roman ducked.
Claire watched from a distance.
Maisie held her hand.
Victor slipped on the wet ground.
Roman pinned him.
Police and federal agents rushed through the garden.
Victor was arrested.
But before they took him away, he looked at Claire.
"Ask Thomas why he really came back."
Claire's stomach dropped.
Thomas heard him.
He looked away.
Later that night, investigators filled the mansion.
Victor's records were seized.
Matteo confessed to financial crimes and agreed to cooperate.
Aunt Elena gave testimony.
Roman sat alone in the library.
Claire found him there.
"How are you?"
"My brother betrayed me."
"He also helped them save you at the end."
Roman nodded.
"Both things can be true."
Claire understood.
She was learning that about Daniel too.
Love did not erase betrayal.
Betrayal did not always erase love.
Daniel entered.
"I need to talk to Claire."
Roman left.
Daniel sat across from her.
"I'm sorry."
"That doesn't cover two years."
"I know."
"You watched me bury an empty coffin."
"I know."
"You watched your daughter grow from a distance."
His eyes filled.
"I know."
Claire didn't forgive him.
Not yet.
But she listened.
Daniel told her everything.
After the crash, he had spent months recovering under another name.
Thomas found him.
Together they continued investigating Mercer.
Every time Daniel planned to return, another threat appeared.
Photographs of Claire.
Maisie.
Their home.
Her workplace.
He convinced himself distance kept them safe.
Claire looked at him.
"You made that choice for me."
"Yes."
"You don't ever get to do that again."
"I won't."
"Don't promise."
Daniel nodded.
"Then I'll prove it."
Claire stood.
"I need time."
"I'll give you all of it."
She left.
Thomas waited outside.
"We need to talk."
Claire kept walking.
"You've had twenty years."
"Claire."
She stopped.
"Why did Victor tell me to ask why you came back?"
Thomas looked toward the study.
"Because there is one thing I haven't told anyone."
Claire laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
Thomas handed her a key.
"Your mother left something."
Claire froze.
"My mother?"
"Before she died."
"When?"
"Twenty-one years ago."
"That's impossible. She died before you."
"I know."
Thomas pointed upstairs.
"Roman's father kept it hidden."
"Where?"
"Behind the old chapel."
The Duca mansion had a private chapel that hadn't been used in decades.
Claire took Daniel.
Roman came too.
They found a narrow room behind the altar.
The key opened a steel box.
Inside was a videotape.
A letter.
And a necklace Claire remembered her mother wearing.
Her hands trembled as she opened the letter.
Claire,
If you are reading this, Mercer failed.
She looked at Thomas.
"What does that mean?"
He didn't answer.
Roman found an old player.
They inserted the tape.
Static.
Then Claire's mother appeared on the screen.
Young.
Alive.
She looked directly into the camera.
"My name is Margaret Ellis. If my daughter ever sees this, tell her I'm sorry."
Claire covered her mouth.
Margaret continued.
"Mercer was never created to protect the Duca family."
Roman looked at Thomas.
Thomas lowered his eyes.
The video continued.
"It was created to protect Claire."
The screen flickered.
Then Margaret said the sentence that changed everything.
"Because Claire Ellis is not Thomas Ellis's biological daughter."
Claire turned slowly toward Thomas.
He couldn't look at her.
On the screen, Margaret continued:
"Her real father is..."
The video suddenly went black.
May you like
Someone had cut the mansion's power again.
And from inside the dark chapel, a man's voice whispered Claire's name...
