Chapter 8: The Brother Behind the Locked Door
Jackson had heard Daniel scream only once before.
It had been during a motorcycle accident twelve years earlier, when a steel frame had crushed Daniel's leg. Even then, Daniel had cursed through the pain and demanded that someone bring him a wrench.
This scream was different.
It was the sound of a man who had been afraid for too long.
Thomas lowered his pistol slightly.
“Move away from the entrance.””
Jackson didn't move.
“Let me see him.””
“You'll see him when I decide you can.””
Ryder shifted his weight, studying the distance between Thomas and the doorway.
Marcus gave him a barely perceptible shake of the head.
Not yet.
They were outnumbered by uncertainty, and Thomas still had a weapon.
Jackson took a slow breath.
“You said you did everything to protect this family. Then let me talk to Daniel.””
Thomas's mouth tightened.
“You don't understand what Daniel has done.””
“Then explain it.””
“He stole documents from me. He exposed accounts I had spent years building. He involved people who should never have been dragged into our affairs.””
“People like Denise?””
Thomas looked away.
“People like your mother.””
Jackson felt something inside him crack.
“What did you do to her?””
“Nothing.””
“Did you threaten her?””
Thomas said nothing.
Jackson stepped closer.
“Did you make her afraid of you?””
Thomas's grip tightened around the pistol.
“You think you're the only person who ever regretted a decision?””
“No,” Jackson said.
“I think you're the only person here who keeps calling cruelty a mistake.””
For a moment, Thomas looked as though he might strike him.
Instead, he stepped aside and pointed the gun toward the doorway.
“Five minutes. You come alone.””
Ryder immediately shook his head.
“Absolutely not.””
Jackson looked at him.
“If Daniel's inside, I'm going.””
“Then I'm coming with you.””
“No. Keep your eyes on Thomas. If anything goes wrong, get help.””
Marcus moved beside Ryder.
“We'll hold the perimeter and keep the authorities informed. Nobody makes a move without a clear reason.””
Jackson handed Marcus his phone, which contained the photograph of Denise and the messages Victor had sent.
“Make sure someone has copies.””
Then he walked through the doorway.
The smell hit him first.
Dust, rust, damp concrete, and something medicinal.
A portable work light illuminated the back room. Old metal cabinets lined the walls. A mattress lay in one corner, covered with a gray blanket.
Daniel sat on a wooden chair with one wrist handcuffed to a pipe.
His face was thinner than Jackson remembered. His hair had grown long, and a scar crossed his jaw. One eye was bruised. His left hand rested awkwardly in his lap.
But he was alive.
Jackson stopped walking.
For nine years, he had imagined this moment in a thousand different ways. He had pictured himself falling to his knees, punching Daniel for staying away, embracing him, demanding answers.
Now he could barely breathe.
Daniel lifted his head.
“Hey, brother.””
Jackson laughed, and the sound came out broken.
“You son of a bitch.””
Daniel smiled weakly.
“That's a pretty cold greeting for a dead man.””
Jackson crossed the room in three strides and grabbed him by the shoulders.
Then he pulled him into an embrace so fierce that Daniel winced.
“Easy,” Daniel whispered.
“I think a few of my ribs are still deciding whether they belong to me.””
Jackson released him and stared at his face.
“Where have you been?””
“Long story.””
“You let me bury you.””
“I didn't have a choice.””
“You let me believe you were dead!””
Daniel's smile vanished.
“I know.””
Jackson stepped back.
“Do you have any idea what that did to me?””
Daniel looked down.
“Yes.””
“No, you don't. I blamed myself every day. I replayed that night until I couldn't sleep. I thought I was the reason you died.””
“You weren't.””
“You could have told me.””
“I tried.””
Jackson stopped.
Daniel lifted his cuffed wrist.
“Victor intercepted every message. He had people watching Denise, watching the club, watching your house. The first time I tried to escape, he threatened to kill your mother.””
“My mother was already dead.””
Daniel stared at him.
“What?””
Jackson's anger faltered.
“She died eleven years ago.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Oh, God.””
“You didn't know?””
“No.””
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Daniel whispered, “I'm sorry, Jackson.””
Jackson sat on the edge of the table opposite him.
“Tell me what happened that night.””
Daniel looked toward the doorway.
“Thomas arrived before you did. He said he wanted to talk about the missing money. I thought he'd finally agreed to help me expose Victor.””
“But he locked you inside.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because Victor had convinced him that the documents would send him to prison. Thomas thought he could scare me into handing over the evidence.””
Jackson stared at him.
“And the fire?””
“Victor started it. Thomas locked the side entrance, but he didn't know I had another way out.””
“How did you survive?””
Daniel glanced toward the floor.
“The inspection pit. I crawled through a drainage passage that connected to the old service trench. I was badly burned, and I could barely walk. Victor's men found me before the ambulance arrived.””
Jackson's hands curled into fists.
“They told us your body had been recovered.””
“They recovered someone else's body.””
The room went silent.
Jackson felt sick.
“Whose?””
Daniel shook his head.
“I never found out. Victor arranged everything. By the time I woke up in a private clinic, the funeral had already happened.””
“Why didn't you escape?””
“I did. Twice. Both times, they brought me back. The last time, Victor threatened Emily.””
Jackson went still.
“He knew about her?””
“He knew everything. Denise had been trying to keep her away from him, but Victor found them through an old address. He used Emily as leverage to force Denise to search for the ledger.””
Jackson lowered his head.
“Why did you tell me I locked the door?””
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“Because I needed you to remember the key. Thomas used it. I saw him holding it when the smoke came through the door.””
Jackson swallowed.
“You knew I didn't do it?””
“Of course I knew.””
“Then why didn't you say that first?””
Daniel leaned forward.
“Because I needed you to stop trusting your father long enough to hear the truth.””
Jackson looked toward the entrance.
Thomas was still outside.
His father.
The man who had lied to him for most of his life.
Daniel continued.
“There's something else. Victor didn't work alone. Thomas helped him move the money, but someone else provided the medical shipments and falsified the records. Someone with access to the police investigation.””
“Harold Vance.””
Daniel nodded.
“Vance buried the evidence. He made sure the fire was ruled accidental and arranged the funeral.””
Jackson's stomach tightened.
“Is Vance still alive?””
“I don't know. Victor said he died six years ago, but I never saw proof.””
Jackson glanced at the handcuffs.
“Where's Denise?””
Daniel's expression changed.
“She escaped.””
“When?””
“About an hour ago. Thomas told her Victor was bringing me here, and she believed she could trade the ledger for my freedom.””
Jackson shook his head.
“She went to the garage.””
“She shouldn't have.””
“She thought she was saving you.””
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“She always did that.””
A crash sounded outside.
Then Ryder shouted, “Jackson! Get out here!””
Jackson rushed toward the doorway.
Thomas stood near the fence, arguing with a man in a dark suit.
Victor Sloane.
The silver eagle ring gleamed on his hand.
Victor held Denise by the arm. Her face was bruised, and her wrists were bound.
“You brought the wrong book,” Victor said to Thomas.
Thomas raised his pistol.
“I brought you the man who knows where the original records are.””
Victor smiled.
“Then why is his daughter still alive?””
Jackson felt his blood run cold.
Emily.
Victor had mentioned Emily.
Ryder stepped forward, but two men emerged from behind the warehouse and aimed their weapons at him and Marcus.
Thomas looked toward Jackson.
“Give him the ledger,” he ordered.
Jackson shook his head.
“No.””
Victor tightened his grip on Denise.
“Then perhaps we should discuss what happens to people who refuse to cooperate.””
He pulled a small photograph from his pocket.
Emily stood outside the safe house, holding Cole's hand.
The photograph had been taken minutes earlier.
Jackson's heart stopped.
Victor leaned toward him.
“Your little family is very easy to find.””
Daniel appeared in the doorway behind Jackson.
“Victor!””
Victor turned.
For the first time that evening, his expression changed.
“Daniel Carter. I wondered when you'd show your face.””
Daniel stepped into the light.
“You wanted me alive because you thought I knew where the original ledger was.””
“And you do.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No. But Emily does.””
Jackson turned sharply.
“What?””
Daniel's voice trembled.
“The second key isn't for a storage locker. It's for a safe deposit box. The original evidence is inside, and Emily has the only key.””
Victor's smile returned.
“Exactly.””
He raised his weapon toward Jackson.
“Now, if everyone would be kind enough to cooperate, we can finish what we started nine years ago.””
Then Denise suddenly drove her heel into Victor's shin and threw herself sideways.
The gunshot that followed shattered the night.
Daniel collapsed.
May you like
And Jackson heard his brother whisper one word before his body hit the concrete.
“Emily.””
