They drove before sunrise.
Thomas rode in the front passenger seat.
Daniel drove.
Arthur sat behind him with Evelyn.
Marcus followed in a separate vehicle.
The destination was a town Daniel knew only from old family stories.
Bellweather.
It had once been a manufacturing town surrounded by farms and railway tracks. Most of the factories had closed decades earlier.
Thomas gave directions without using a map.
“Turn left after the bridge.”
Daniel obeyed.
“Continue two miles.”
They passed abandoned warehouses.
Then a church.
Then a row of houses with boarded windows.
Thomas pointed toward a narrow road.
“Stop there.”
Daniel pulled over.
An old farmhouse stood behind a collapsed fence.
“This is it.”
Daniel stared.
“My father lived here?”
“For eleven days.”
“Why?”
“Because he was hiding.”
Thomas climbed out.
Arthur followed.
Evelyn remained in the car.
Daniel noticed.
“You're not coming?”
She shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You knew this place existed.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because every time I remembered it, I remembered what I had to do.”
“What did you do?”
She looked at him.
“I left your father here.”
Daniel waited.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
The answer struck him harder than expected.
“You left him alive.”
“Yes.”
“And then told everyone he was dead.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because someone was watching the house.”
Daniel looked toward the farmhouse.
“Who?”
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
“I never found out.”
Thomas called from the porch.
“Daniel.”
He walked toward them.
The front door was locked.
Thomas removed a key from his pocket.
Daniel stared.
“You had the key all these years?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you come back?”
“Because I was waiting for the right person.”
Daniel looked at Arthur.
Arthur's expression was unreadable.
Thomas unlocked the door.
Inside, dust covered everything.
A broken table stood near the fireplace.
A rusted kettle sat on the stove.
Daniel walked through the rooms.
His father had been here.
The thought felt unreal.
Thomas stopped beside a wall.
“There.”
A small square of wallpaper had been cut away.
Behind it was a cavity.
Inside were three envelopes.
Daniel took them.
The first was addressed to Arthur.
The second to Evelyn.
The third simply said:
For my son, if he survives.
Daniel's hands shook.
He opened the third.
Michael's handwriting filled the page.
Daniel,
You will probably never know me.
If you are reading this, it means the people who feared me failed to erase everything.
Your mother did not abandon me because she stopped loving me.
She left because I asked her to.
I discovered that Samuel was not acting alone.
There is someone inside our family who has been feeding him information.
Someone Arthur trusts.
Someone I trusted.
Daniel stopped reading.
Thomas watched him.
“Continue.”
The letter went on.
I don't know the person's name yet.
But I know the sign they use.
A silver star.
Daniel looked up.
Clara's necklace.
Thomas nodded.
“It wasn't Clara.”
Daniel's eyes widened.
“The symbol belonged to a group.”
“What group?”
“Men who moved money between companies using false identities.”
Arthur entered the room.
“They called themselves the Star Circle.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You knew?”
“I knew the name.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought the organization was gone.”
Thomas shook his head.
“It changed names.”
Daniel read further.
Michael had written that he planned to meet someone at the old railway station.
A person who claimed to have evidence against Samuel.
The meeting time was 8:43 p.m.
The same time shown in the photograph.
Daniel looked at Thomas.
“You were there.”
Thomas nodded.
“I saw Michael arrive.”
“What happened?”
“He met a man.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“The man wore a coat and a hat. I couldn't see his face.”
“What happened next?”
Thomas looked toward Arthur.
“Arthur arrived.”
Daniel turned.
His grandfather lowered his head.
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
Arthur answered quietly.
“I begged Michael to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew the person he was meeting.”
“Who?”
Arthur didn't answer.
Thomas did.
“Samuel.”
Daniel felt the room grow colder.
“But Michael was meeting someone from the Star Circle.”
Thomas nodded.
“Samuel was one of them.”
Daniel looked at Arthur.
“Then why did you say Samuel wasn't acting alone?”
“Because he wasn't.”
Arthur walked toward the fireplace.
“I was.”
Daniel stared.
“You?”
“I helped move the money.”
Evelyn entered the room.
“Arthur.”
He turned.
“It’s time.”
Daniel looked between them.
“What does that mean?”
Arthur's voice was tired.
“It means your father was right to distrust me.”
Daniel's anger surged.
“You let me believe my father abandoned us.”
“I did.”
“You let me believe he died.”
“Yes.”
“You protected the person who destroyed him.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“By lying?”
“Yes.”
“By hiding my inheritance?”
“Yes.”
“By letting me grow up believing my family didn't want me?”
Arthur looked at him.
“I believed a lie was safer than the truth.”
Daniel's voice softened.
“And was it?”
Arthur shook his head.
“No.”
Thomas suddenly looked toward the window.
“Someone's coming.”
Everyone froze.
A vehicle appeared on the road.
Then another.
Marcus entered from the back door.
“We need to leave.”
Daniel looked outside.
Three black vehicles were approaching.
“Who are they?”
Marcus answered.
“People looking for the ledger.”
Thomas grabbed the envelopes.
“Take the letter.”
Daniel put it inside his coat.
Arthur remained still.
“Granddad.”
Arthur looked at him.
“You're coming.”
Arthur shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because they came for me.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“They came for the ledger.”
“No.”
Arthur pointed toward Daniel.
“They came for the heir.”
The vehicles stopped.
Doors opened.
Men stepped out.
Marcus locked the back door.
Thomas moved toward the cellar.
“There is a tunnel.”
Daniel stared.
“A tunnel?”
“Old railway maintenance tunnel.”
Arthur remained upstairs.
Daniel grabbed his arm.
“You're not staying.”
Arthur looked at him.
“For thirty-eight years, I ran from this.”
He touched Daniel's shoulder.
“You shouldn't have to.”
A gunshot cracked outside.
The window shattered.
Evelyn screamed.
Everyone dropped.
Another shot struck the wall.
Marcus shouted, “Down!”
Daniel pulled Arthur toward the cellar.
They descended into darkness.
The tunnel smelled of wet earth and rust.
Thomas led them forward.
Behind them came footsteps.
“They're inside,” Marcus said.
Daniel looked at the letter in his hand.
One line remained unread.
He unfolded it while running.
Michael had written:
The person who betrayed me will not be the one who kills me.
Daniel stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Thomas grabbed him.
“Keep moving.”
But Daniel couldn't.
He read the next sentence.
The person who kills me will believe they are saving you.
Daniel looked back.
Arthur was behind him.
So was Evelyn.
So was Marcus.
Three people who had lied to him.
Three people who could have had a reason.
Then Daniel noticed something on Arthur's wrist.
A small crescent-shaped scar.
The same scar from the photograph.
Arthur saw him looking.
His face changed.
Daniel whispered:
“Granddad?”
Arthur said nothing.
Then the tunnel lights went out.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: In the Darkness, Daniel Finally Saw the Mark He Had Missed for Years, and the Person Beside Him Became Impossible to Trust
The Letter Arrived Before Dawn, and What It Demanded Would Split the Family Before Breakfast
Part 7 of 20
