Chapter 8 - Evan’s MotherDaniel grabbed Keller by the jacket.
“Say that again.”
Marcus moved closer.
“Daniel.”
Keller didn’t resist.
“Michael killed Sarah Mercer.”
Daniel’s fingers tightened.
“David’s wife?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
“The year Evan was born.”
Keller nodded.
Daniel shoved him against the wall.
“Why?”
“She was working for Northstar.”
Daniel stopped.
Keller continued.
“After David’s conviction, Sarah wanted revenge.”
“Against Michael.”
“Against everyone.”
“She joined the people who framed her husband?”
“She didn’t know they framed him.”
Daniel released Keller slightly.
“She believed David was guilty?”
“For a while.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Nothing in this makes sense until you understand how Northstar operated.”
Keller breathed heavily.
“They didn’t just fabricate evidence.”
“They controlled what people believed.”
Daniel stepped back.
Keller continued.
“Sarah was told Michael had uncovered David’s crime.”
“So she blamed Michael.”
“Yes.”
“She joined Northstar.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“She discovered David had been innocent.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“And Michael had framed him.”
“Partly.”
“What did she do?”
“She threatened to expose everything.”
Marcus asked, “And Michael killed her?”
Keller’s silence answered.
Daniel felt sick.
“What happened?”
“I wasn’t there.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Michael confessed.”
Daniel stared.
“When?”
“Nine years ago.”
“Before he disappeared.”
Keller nodded.
“He said it was an accident.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Everybody says that.”
“They were fighting over a gun.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“Where was Evan?”
“Newborn.”
Daniel looked toward the stairs.
Michael had spent eight years raising the child of a woman whose death he caused.
Not redemption.
A life sentence.
Marcus asked, “Was David Evan’s father?”
Keller shook his head.
“Sarah never told anyone.”
Daniel remembered the hospital wristband.
Maybe the answers were there.
“What hospital was Evan born in?”
“St. Matthew’s.”
Daniel looked at the wristband.
That made sense.
But why had Michael preserved it?
Why tie the key to it?
“Was Michael at the hospital?”
“I don’t know.”
Daniel’s mind kept moving.
If Michael wasn’t Evan’s biological father…
And David might not be…
Then the wristband could hold something else.
A birth record.
A mother’s name.
A second identity.
Daniel’s phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Ryan.
“Officer Reed.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“Where’s Michael?”
“Close enough to hear you.”
A sound.
Then Michael’s voice.
“Danny?”
Daniel shut his eyes.
Nine years.
One word.
That was all it took.
“Michael.”
“Don’t come.”
Ryan laughed in the background.
Daniel’s voice hardened.
“Put Ryan back on.”
“He’s right here.”
Ryan returned.
“You want your brother alive?”
“Yes.”
“Bring Evan.”
Daniel froze.
“No.”
“He belongs with his family.”
“You kidnapped him.”
“I recovered him.”
Daniel’s anger rose.
“You beat him.”
Silence.
Then Ryan said, “I didn’t.”
Daniel stopped.
“Evan said you did.”
“He said I hit him?”
Daniel thought.
Evan had told the doctor Ryan caused the bruises.
But children under trauma sometimes simplified complex events.
Ryan continued.
“The swollen cheek happened when he jumped from the van.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“And the bruises?”
“Michael’s safe house.”
“What does that mean?”
“Ask your brother.”
Daniel felt cold.
Ryan continued.
“Michael locked Evan inside a hidden room for three days when I first found them.”
Daniel stared at Keller.
Keller looked surprised.
Ryan said, “Your brother is not the man that kid thinks he is.”
“Neither are you.”
“No.”
Ryan’s voice softened.
“But I never lied about being dangerous.”
Daniel glanced at Marcus.
He was tracing the call.
“Where do you want the exchange?”
“You already know.”
“Millbrook.”
Ryan paused.
“Come alone.”
“No.”
“Then Michael dies.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“And Evan?”
“Bring him.”
“Never.”
Ryan sighed.
“Then I’ll tell him what Michael did to his mother myself.”
The line went dead.
Marcus looked at his phone.
“Trace failed.”
Daniel turned to Keller.
“You knew about a hidden room?”
“No.”
Daniel pointed toward the door.
“Then you’re coming.”
Keller shook his head.
Marcus cuffed him.
“That wasn’t a request.”
As they walked upstairs, Daniel’s phone rang again.
This time Lisa.
He answered.
“Daniel?”
Her voice was shaking.
“What happened?”
“Evan’s gone.”
Daniel stopped.
“What?”
“The CPS worker is unconscious.”
His blood turned cold.
“Who took him?”
Lisa hesitated.
Then said:
“Evan left a note.”
Daniel’s hand tightened around the phone.
“What does it say?”
Lisa read it.
May you like
DON’T FOLLOW ME.
I KNOW WHERE MY DAD IS.
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