By the time Daniel and Clara returned to the house, the sky was turning gray.
Marcus's car stood abandoned near the driveway.
The front door was open.
Daniel entered first.
“Mom?”
No answer.
Arthur's workshop was empty.
The kitchen looked untouched except for one overturned chair.
Clara picked up a broken cup.
“This happened recently.”
Daniel heard movement upstairs.
He ran.
Evelyn stood inside his grandfather's bedroom with a small wooden box in her hands.
Arthur sat on the edge of the bed.
Marcus was beside the window.
Thomas followed Daniel into the room.
Evelyn looked at them.
“I knew you would come here.”
Daniel stopped.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Marcus answered.
“They came back.”
“Who?”
“The men from the station.”
Daniel looked at Arthur.
“Where?”
“They left.”
“Why?”
Arthur looked at the box.
“Because they wanted this.”
Daniel stared.
“What is it?”
Evelyn held it against her chest.
“The reason I lied about your birthday.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Open it.”
She didn't move.
“Mom.”
“I've been carrying this since you were born.”
“Then open it.”
Her hands shook as she lifted the lid.
Inside were three objects.
A hospital bracelet.
A small photograph.
And a folded sheet of paper.
Daniel picked up the bracelet first.
The date was July 3, 1991.
His name was written incorrectly.
D. Vale.
He looked at the photograph.
It showed Evelyn holding him in a hospital bed.
Beside her stood Diana.
And behind them stood Michael.
Alive.
Daniel's breath caught.
His father was smiling.
Not a posed smile.
A tired one.
A real one.
Daniel turned the photograph over.
Michael had written:
Tomorrow, I become a ghost.
Daniel looked at his mother.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn sat down.
“Your father knew Samuel would come.”
“Did he leave willingly?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“Again.”
She looked at him.
“I know.”
Daniel unfolded the paper.
It was a statement signed by Michael.
I, Michael Vale, voluntarily surrender all public claims to the Vale estate and agree to disappear until Daniel reaches thirty-five, provided the trust remains protected.
Daniel read the next line.
No person shall disclose my location to Daniel before that date.
His hands trembled.
“Thirty-five.”
Arthur nodded.
“That was the condition.”
“Why thirty-five?”
“Because by then the trust would be legally yours.”
Daniel looked at the ledger.
“And if I found it early?”
“You became vulnerable.”
Clara interrupted.
“Not just vulnerable.”
Everyone looked at her.
“Controllable.”
Daniel frowned.
“Explain.”
“The Star Circle believed the trust could be transferred if you were declared mentally incapable.”
Daniel stared.
“So they wanted me?”
“Yes.”
“Not the money?”
“The person who controlled you would control the money.”
Marcus looked down.
“I helped them once.”
Daniel turned.
“You tried to have me declared incapable?”
“No.”
Marcus looked at Arthur.
“I stopped them.”
Daniel was silent.
Arthur spoke.
“Marcus was the person protecting you.”
Daniel looked at his uncle.
“All these years?”
Marcus nodded.
“Your mother couldn't watch you every hour. Arthur couldn't either.”
“Then who paid you?”
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
“Arthur.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“So the caller was right.”
“What caller?”
“The man who said someone had been paid to protect me since birth.”
Marcus stiffened.
“I was paid.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Arthur told me never to.”
Daniel looked at Arthur.
“Did everyone have orders?”
Arthur didn't answer.
Clara moved toward the window.
“Someone is coming.”
A vehicle entered the driveway.
Evelyn stood.
“That isn't ours.”
A black sedan stopped.
One man stepped out.
Then another.
Daniel looked at the wooden box.
“What do they want?”
Arthur answered.
“The photograph.”
Daniel held it tighter.
“Why?”
“Because Michael's hand is visible.”
Daniel looked.
His father was wearing a ring.
A black stone.
Daniel had seen that ring before.
In a photograph of Thomas.
He looked at Thomas.
“You knew my father.”
Thomas nodded.
“You wore the same ring.”
Thomas removed a ring from his finger.
Black stone.
Daniel felt sick.
“You're family.”
“No.”
“You're part of the Star Circle.”
Thomas looked at Arthur.
“I was.”
Arthur said nothing.
Thomas continued.
“I joined because I believed I could control them from inside.”
“Did you?”
“For a while.”
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
“Why was Michael wearing your ring?”
Thomas stared at it.
“Because I gave it to him.”
“Why?”
“To prove he was under my protection.”
Daniel looked at the men outside.
“Then why are they here?”
Thomas's expression hardened.
“Because they know I failed.”
The front door slammed downstairs.
Everyone froze.
Marcus reached for a heavy flashlight.
Arthur stood.
“Take Daniel through the back.”
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“No more running.”
He walked downstairs.
Two men stood in the foyer.
One was holding a photograph.
The other carried no weapon that Daniel could see.
The older man smiled.
“You look like your father.”
Daniel stared.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Victor Hale.”
Clara stepped onto the stairs.
Victor looked at her.
“Clara.”
“You're late.”
Victor smiled.
“You always were impatient.”
Daniel looked between them.
“You know each other.”
Victor nodded.
“We all know each other.”
“Where is my father?”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“Alive.”
“Where?”
“Closer than you think.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
“The photograph.”
“No.”
Victor looked at the wooden box.
“Then the trust document.”
“I don't have it.”
Victor smiled again.
“You do.”
Daniel frowned.
“You've been carrying it since birth.”
The room fell silent.
Evelyn's face changed.
Arthur whispered, “No.”
Victor looked at Daniel.
“Your mother never opened the back of the photograph.”
Daniel turned it over.
There was nothing.
He examined the edges.
Then he noticed a slight thickness beneath the paper.
He carefully peeled back the backing.
A transparent strip was hidden inside.
A line of numbers appeared.
Not an account number.
Coordinates.
Clara stepped closer.
“That isn't a location.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What is it?”
“A date and time.”
He entered the numbers into his phone.
A location appeared.
An old medical clinic.
Daniel looked at Arthur.
“You knew.”
Arthur shook his head.
“No.”
Thomas whispered, “I know that place.”
“Where?”
Thomas's face went pale.
“It was where Diana worked.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“No.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“Mom?”
She opened her eyes.
“Your father was there.”
“Now?”
“I don't know.”
Victor smiled.
“He was.”
Daniel stared at him.
“How do you know?”
Victor stepped backward.
“Because I put him there.”
Marcus moved forward.
Victor raised a hand.
“Don't.”
Then he looked directly at Daniel.
“You have one hour.”
“For what?”
“To bring me the ledger.”
“And if I don't?”
Victor glanced toward Evelyn.
“Then someone else pays for your family's mistakes.”
He walked out.
The sedan disappeared down the road.
Daniel turned to his mother.
“Who's going to pay?”
Evelyn looked at the empty doorway.
Then she whispered:
“Me.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: The Abandoned Clinic Contained a Room Nobody Mentioned, and Inside It Daniel Found Proof His Father Had Been Waiting for Him
The Letter Arrived Before Dawn, and What It Demanded Would Split the Family Before Breakfast
Part 10 of 20
