Chapter 6 The Men Outside the Mansion
Chapter 6 — The Man Who Knew Daniel's Real Name
Daniel froze.
The pistol never wavered.
The man holding it was somewhere in his late fifties, tall, gray-haired, dressed in a dark tailored suit. His face was calm—far too calm for someone pointing a gun at another human being.
Olivia instinctively stepped in front of Daniel.
"No!"
The man sighed.
"Olivia... move."
She didn't.
Charlie suddenly flapped onto Daniel's shoulder and screeched so loudly that the room echoed.
The stranger glanced at the bird.
"So... he still remembers."
Daniel tightened his grip on the folder.
"Who are you?"
The man answered without hesitation.
"My name doesn't matter anymore."
"But yours does."
He looked directly into Daniel's eyes.
"Daniel Brooks never existed."
Silence.
Daniel felt the blood drain from his face.
The stranger nodded toward the folder.
"Read the first page."
Daniel slowly lowered his eyes.
The birth certificate listed another name.
**Ethan Carter.**
Date of birth...
The same.
Place of birth...
Different.
Parents...
Not Richard and Helen Brooks.
His hands began to shake.
"This is fake."
"I wish it were."
The stranger lowered the pistol slightly.
"Richard Brooks forged every legal document after adopting you."
"He was trying to save your life."
Daniel looked up.
"Save me from what?"
Before the man could answer...
Charlie suddenly shouted in Tyler's voice.
"They're coming!"
The stranger's expression changed instantly.
He turned toward one of the surveillance monitors mounted on the wall.
The screen flickered to life.
Three black SUVs had just entered the mansion's driveway.
More than a dozen armed men stepped out.
Daniel recognized one of them immediately.
The smiling man who had stood outside the house earlier.
"They found us."
Olivia whispered,
"How?"
The stranger looked at Daniel.
"They tracked your phone."
Daniel instinctively reached into his pocket.
The man shouted,
"Throw it away!"
Daniel dropped the phone onto the concrete floor.
The stranger immediately crushed it beneath his shoe.
Too late.
One of the monitors displayed thermal images moving toward the hidden basement entrance.
"They know exactly where we are."
Daniel looked around the underground office.
"There has to be another exit."
"There is."
The stranger walked quickly to the back wall.
He pressed his hand against an old electrical panel.
Nothing happened.
Again.
Still nothing.
He cursed under his breath.
"They've cut the power to the escape tunnel."
Charlie suddenly flew toward another filing cabinet.
The bird pecked frantically at its bottom drawer.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Daniel opened it.
Inside...
A ring of old brass keys.
The stranger smiled for the first time.
"Smart bird."
He grabbed one of the keys.
"It still remembers."
Heavy footsteps echoed from the staircase above.
Someone had entered the basement.
Voices.
More than one.
"Search every room!"
Daniel's heart pounded.
The stranger unlocked a narrow steel door hidden behind the filing cabinet.
Cold air rushed inside.
A secret tunnel.
Before entering, the stranger looked back at Daniel.
"You asked who I am."
Daniel nodded.
The man extended his hand.
"My name is Samuel Carter."
Daniel frowned.
The surname hit him like lightning.
"Carter..."
Samuel's eyes softened.
"I wasn't just your father's partner."
"I was..."
He hesitated only a second.
"...your uncle."
At that exact moment...
A gunshot blasted through the office door.
Splinters exploded across the room.
Someone outside shouted,
"Nobody leaves alive!"
