Chapter 5 - Someone Was Already Inside
"Emily!"
The line remained connected.
I heard her breathing.
Then a crash.
"Daniel?"
"Get to the door!"
"I can't see."
Marcus was already calling hotel security.
Richard stood frozen beside the monitor.
The camera feed showed only darkness.
Then night vision activated.
Green-gray shapes appeared.
Emily moved toward the entrance.
A figure shifted behind the curtains.
My blood turned cold.
"Behind you!"
Emily spun.
The figure stepped forward.
Officer Bennett burst through the door at that exact moment.
The screen shook.
A struggle.
Then the camera went dead.
For twenty-three seconds, nobody in the basement spoke.
Then my phone rang.
Officer Bennett.
"Mr. Mercer, your wife is safe."
I grabbed the table.
"Who was inside?"
"Nobody."
"What?"
"We cleared the room."
"I saw someone."
"We found an open adjoining door."
The neighboring suite had been empty.
The intruder had escaped through it.
Emily came on the phone.
"I'm okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"I saw—"
"I know."
"I'm coming."
We left Richard under police supervision.
At the hotel, Emily sat in the lobby surrounded by officers.
I hugged her carefully.
For the first time since returning home, she broke.
Not dramatically.
She simply leaned into me and whispered:
"I don't want to be brave anymore."
"You don't have to be."
I took her to another hotel under a different name.
This time, two officers remained outside.
Marcus joined us after midnight.
"The hidden camera was professionally installed."
"How long had it been there?"
"Unknown."
"Was it meant for us?"
"Possibly."
"Who booked the room?"
"I did."
"Through what?"
"My corporate account."
Marcus looked at me.
"Who has access?"
"My assistant."
"Name?"
"Claire Donovan."
Claire had worked for me six years.
She managed my travel, calendar, invoices, and reservations.
She had booked my Denver trip.
She had also known when I changed my flight.
My stomach tightened.
"No."
Marcus said nothing.
"Claire wouldn't—"
"Everyone says that about someone they trust."
The words echoed my father's tape.
Someone Daniel trusts.
"Bring her in."
"We already contacted her."
"And?"
"Her apartment is empty."
"What do you mean empty?"
"Furniture gone."
"When?"
"Neighbor says yesterday."
I sat down.
Emily looked at me.
"Daniel."
Claire had texted me the morning I flew home.
SAFE FLIGHT. CALL IF YOU NEED ANYTHING.
Had she known?
Marcus continued.
"We pulled her employment background. Claire Donovan isn't her original name."
I looked up.
"What?"
"She changed it fourteen years ago."
"From what?"
"Claire Cole."
My mind jumped to the bracelet.
Rachel Marie Cole.
"Related?"
"We're checking."
At 1:13 a.m., Marcus got the answer.
Claire Cole Donovan was Rachel Monroe's daughter.
I stared at him.
"Rachel had a daughter?"
"She was seventeen when Rachel disappeared."
"Why did Claire work for me?"
"That's what we need to find out."
Emily whispered, "Maybe she was trying to get close to the family."
"For six years?"
"Maybe."
My phone rang.
Claire.
Marcus held out his hand.
"Speaker."
I answered.
"Claire."
"Daniel."
She sounded calm.
"Where are you?"
"Safe."
"You knew about my father."
"Yes."
"You knew about Rachel."
"She's my mother."
"Is she alive?"
Long pause.
"Yes."
Emily covered her mouth.
"Where?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why did you disappear?"
"Because Richard knows who I am."
"Did you put a camera in Emily's room?"
"No."
"Did you send the messages?"
"Some."
"Which ones?"
"The photograph of your father. Cabin 17."
"Why anonymous?"
"Because I didn't know whether you were like Margaret."
I looked toward Emily.
"My mother locked my pregnant wife in a shed."
"I know."
"How?"
"Because I was watching the property."
My anger rose.
"You watched Emily trapped for three days?"
"No."
Claire's voice changed.
"I didn't know Margaret locked her inside."
"Then what were you watching?"
"Your mother."
"Why?"
"Because she met Richard three times while you were away."
Marcus leaned toward the phone.
"This is Detective Hale. Claire, we need you to come in."
"No."
"Someone entered Emily's hotel room."
"Then you have less time than I thought."
"Time for what?"
"Richard is moving everything."
"What everything?"
"The money. The records. The people who can identify him."
I looked at Marcus.
"Richard said my mother was involved."
"Margaret helped him."
"So Richard was behind it?"
"Not exactly."
"What does that mean?"
Claire exhaled.
"My grandfather was."
"Who?"
"Thomas Cole."
Rachel's ex-husband.
"Your grandfather?"
"He built the network. Richard took it over."
"Where does my mother fit?"
"Margaret helped hide transactions through Mercer Development. Your father discovered it."
"And Rachel?"
"My mother helped him."
"Then why did she disappear?"
"Because your father staged her disappearance."
The room went silent.
"What?"
"He saved her."
My knees weakened.
"Why didn't he save himself?"
Claire didn't answer immediately.
"Because someone betrayed him."
"Who?"
"Your mother."
Emily squeezed my hand.
Claire continued.
"Margaret told Richard where your father was meeting Rachel."
"Cabin 17?"
"No."
"Where?"
"The place where your father actually died."
I stood.
"He died in a car accident."
"No, Daniel."
I could hear Claire crying now.
"His car went off the road because he was already unconscious."
Marcus leaned forward.
"What are you alleging?"
"Richard drugged him."
My breath stopped.
"Proof?"
"My mother has it."
"Then bring her to police."
"She won't trust police."
"Why?"
"Because one officer helped Richard eleven years ago."
Marcus's expression hardened.
"Name him."
"I don't know."
"Claire."
"I don't know!"
Silence.
Then she whispered:
"But I know how to identify him."
"How?"
"There was a photograph taken the night your father died."
"Where?"
"Your mother's shed."
I almost laughed from disbelief.
"We searched it."
"No."
Claire's voice became urgent.
"You searched the trunk."
"So?"
"The shed has a false floor."
I stared at Marcus.
"What is underneath?"
"A lockbox."
"And the photograph?"
"Inside."
Marcus was already standing.
Claire added:
"There's something else."
"What?"
"A recording your mother made."
"Of what?"
"The conversation she had with Richard after your father died."
I looked at Emily.
"Why would she record herself?"
"Insurance."
"Against Richard?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't she expose him?"
Claire's answer came quietly.
"Because Richard had insurance against her too."
The call ended.
Marcus immediately ordered officers back to our property.
I wanted to go.
He refused.
"This could be a trap."
"My entire life could be under that floor."
"Which is exactly why trained officers go first."
At 3:42 a.m., Officer Cole called Marcus from the shed.
They had found the false floor.
They had found the lockbox.
And they had opened it.
Marcus put the call on speaker.
"What do you have?"
Officer Cole answered.
"Documents. Photographs. One microcassette."
"Anything identifying suspects?"
Pause.
"Yes."
"Who?"
Another pause.
Then Officer Cole said:
"Detective... there's a picture of Richard Calloway standing beside Daniel's father's car."
My pulse hammered.
"Who else is in it?"
Officer Cole went silent.
"Ryan?"
Static.
Then his voice returned.
"There's another man."
"Identify him."
The line crackled.
"I know him."
"Who?"
May you like
Officer Cole whispered:
"My father."
