Chapter 2 - The Daughter Nobody Knew Existed
Paige Bennett stared at the message on Leo Mercer’s phone.
SHE KNOWS THE TRUTH.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The rain tapped against the massive office windows.
The city continued below them.
But inside Arthur Gallagher’s office, everything had stopped.
Because there was one name attached to that message.
A name Arthur had buried five years ago.
Patrick Doyle.
Arthur looked at Leo.
"Find out who sent it."
Leo immediately nodded.
"I already started."
"No."
Arthur's voice became colder.
"Find out who knew enough to send it."
Leo understood the difference.
Anyone could threaten Arthur Gallagher.
Very few people knew how to hurt him.
Paige stood quietly near the desk.
She noticed something nobody else did.
Arthur was not angry.
Not really.
He was afraid.
Only for a second.
But she saw it.
And that scared her more than his anger ever could.
Arthur Gallagher was a man who could stare down armed enemies without blinking.
But hearing Patrick Doyle's name had changed him.
"Who is Patrick Doyle?" Paige asked.
Leo looked at her immediately.
The room became silent again.
Arthur's eyes moved toward her.
Most people would have apologized after asking such a question.
Paige did not.
Arthur slowly walked toward the desk.
"You don't need to know."
Paige looked at him.
"That's usually what people say right before something becomes my problem."
Leo almost reacted.
Nobody spoke to Arthur that way.
But Arthur only watched her.
There was something frustrating about Paige.
She was not reckless.
She was not trying to challenge him.
She simply refused to pretend.
Finally, Arthur looked away.
"Patrick Doyle was someone I trusted."
Paige waited.
Arthur continued.
"That was his mistake."
The answer was short.
Too short.
Paige knew immediately there was more.
But before she could ask, Leo's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
"What?"
A pause.
"You're sure?"
Arthur noticed.
"What happened?"
Leo covered the phone.
"The security team found something in your car."
Arthur's face hardened.
"What?"
"They found a device hidden underneath the driver's seat."
Arthur grabbed his jacket.
"Show me."
Leo followed.
Paige stayed behind.
At least she intended to.
Until Arthur stopped.
He looked back at her.
"You're coming."
Paige blinked.
"Me?"
"You are my assistant."
"That doesn't usually include crime scene investigations."
Arthur stared at her.
"Today it does."
She should have refused.
A normal person would have.
But Paige had never been very good at pretending problems disappeared when she looked away.
So she followed him.
The private parking garage beneath Gallagher Freight & Harbor was usually empty.
Today, it was surrounded by security.
The black luxury vehicle sat beneath bright lights.
Two men stood beside it.
Arthur approached.
Nobody spoke.
The security chief opened the driver's door.
"We found it here."
He pointed beneath the seat.
A small black device had been removed and placed inside a clear evidence bag.
Arthur looked at it.
"Tracker."
Leo nodded.
"And something else."
The security chief handed Arthur another bag.
Inside was a small metal object.
A cufflink.
Arthur froze.
Paige noticed.
It was not fear this time.
It was recognition.
The cufflink was old.
Silver.
Simple.
With a small engraving.
Arthur reached for it.
Then stopped.
His hand hovered above the bag.
Nobody touched him.
Nobody moved.
Finally, he picked it up.
The engraving was clear.
A single letter.
P.
Patrick.
Paige watched Arthur's expression change.
For the first time since she met him, he looked like a man remembering something painful.
Not a businessman.
Not a crime boss.
Just a man.
"What does this mean?" Leo asked.
Arthur closed his fist.
"It means someone wants me to remember."
Paige looked at the cufflink.
"Or someone wants you to believe they want you to remember."
Arthur turned toward her.
The comment surprised him.
"What did you say?"
She shrugged.
"Someone planted a tracker and left a personal object connected to your past."
She looked at the cufflink.
"They wanted an emotional reaction."
Leo looked at Arthur.
"She's right."
Arthur did not answer.
Because he knew.
That was exactly what bothered him.
Someone was not trying to kill him.
Not yet.
Someone was trying to make him look backward.
And Arthur Gallagher had spent five years making sure he never looked back.
Back inside the office, Arthur placed the cufflink on his desk.
Paige noticed something strange.
He did not put it away.
He kept looking at it.
"You knew Patrick had a daughter?"
Arthur remained silent.
Paige waited.
Finally, he answered.
"No."
"You're sure?"
Arthur looked at her.
"I knew everything about Patrick."
The way he said it sounded like a warning.
Paige looked at the cufflink.
"Apparently not."
That sentence hit harder than she expected.
Arthur looked away.
Five years earlier.
Patrick had died believing he had betrayed Arthur.
But Arthur never understood why.
The night of the attack, Patrick had been different.
Afraid.
Regretful.
Almost like he wanted Arthur to know something.
But before he could explain...
He was gone.
Arthur had spent years believing Patrick chose betrayal.
Now someone was telling him there was a daughter.
A daughter he never knew existed.
A daughter who somehow knew the truth.
"What if she found you?" Paige asked.
Arthur looked at her.
"Who?"
"Patrick's daughter."
The silence answered before he did.
Arthur had considered it.
That was obvious.
"Then she knows something she shouldn't."
Paige studied him.
"And what if she knows something you don't?"
Arthur's expression darkened.
Nobody liked questioning his version of the past.
But Paige was not questioning him.
She was questioning the hole in the story.
And Arthur hated holes.
Especially ones connected to Patrick.
Later that evening, Paige returned to her apartment.
She expected to feel relieved.
Instead, she felt unsettled.
Her life had always been simple.
Work.
Bills.
Her mother's care.
Repeat.
Arthur Gallagher was supposed to be just a difficult employer.
A dangerous one.
But still just an employer.
Now she was standing in the middle of a mystery involving a dead man, a hidden daughter, and a secret Arthur clearly did not want to discuss.
Her phone buzzed.
She looked down.
Unknown number.
A message.
Her first instinct was to ignore it.
Then she saw the name attached.
Margaret Bennett Care Center.
Her heart stopped.
She answered immediately.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other side sounded nervous.
"Ms. Bennett?"
"Yes."
"This is Sandra from your mother's facility."
Paige sat down.
"What happened?"
There was a pause.
"Your mother asked for you."
Paige relaxed slightly.
"Is she okay?"
Another pause.
"She said something strange."
Paige tightened her grip on the phone.
"What did she say?"
The woman hesitated.
"She said..."
A long silence.
Then:
"Don't let Arthur Gallagher find the girl."
Paige stopped breathing.
"What girl?"
But the call had already ended.
The next morning, Paige arrived at work earlier than usual.
She had barely entered the executive floor when she noticed something was wrong.
Arthur's office door was open.
That never happened.
Not without him.
She stepped closer.
Inside, papers were scattered across his desk.
The cufflink was gone.
The tracker evidence was gone.
And sitting in the middle of the desk was a photograph.
Paige picked it up.
A young woman.
Dark hair.
Standing beside Patrick Doyle.
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten message.
Five words.
SHE WAS NEVER YOUR ENEMY.
Paige slowly turned around.
Because behind her, Arthur's voice whispered:
"Where did you get that photo?"
She looked at him.
He was standing in the doorway.
And he was not looking at the picture.
He was looking at her.
Then Arthur noticed the handwriting on the back.
His face changed.
Because he recognized the handwriting.
It belonged to Patrick Doyle.
May you like
And Patrick had written one more sentence beneath the message...
"Arthur, if you're reading this, my daughter is already inside your company."
