Chapter 6: My Brother’s Betrayal
The countdown reached sixty seconds.
“Where is Daniel?”” I demanded.
Richard shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
“You came back because of him, but you don’t know where he is?””
“He stopped answering me three months ago.””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“He stopped answering because he doesn’t need you anymore.””
“Enough,” Richard snapped.
“No. They deserve the truth.””
Harris pointed at the console.
“Can anyone stop that countdown?””
Richard nodded toward Lily’s brass key.
“The master key.””
Harris retrieved it from the evidence bag.
“Where?””
Richard pointed beneath the desk.
I dropped to my knees.
A tiny keyhole was hidden under the wooden edge.
Harris inserted the key.
“Turn it clockwise,” Richard said.
The screen showed twelve seconds.
Harris turned.
Nothing happened.
“Again!””
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Elena gripped my arm.
Six.
Then Lily’s voice came through Harris’s radio from upstairs.
“Daddy?””
I stared at the speaker.
Five.
Four.
Harris twisted the key farther.
The console clicked.
The countdown froze at three seconds.
Every monitor went dark.
Then the lights came back.
Files began appearing across the screens.
Hundreds of them.
Bank records.
Photographs.
Audio recordings.
Harris stared.
“My God.””
Richard exhaled.
“That archive can destroy everyone involved.””
I looked at him.
“Including Daniel?””
He didn’t answer.
Harris opened a folder marked D.B.
Daniel Bennett.
Photographs filled the screen.
My brother meeting strangers outside hotels.
Daniel entering a private hangar.
Daniel sitting across from Vanessa in a restaurant.
I turned toward her.
“You knew him?””
Vanessa looked exhausted.
“Of course.””
“How long?””
“Before I knew you.””
Another lie.
Another piece of my life collapsing.
“You worked with my brother?””
“I worked for Richard. Daniel was part of the operation.””
Richard interrupted.
“He was supposed to help protect the family.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“Keep telling yourself that.””
Harris clicked an audio file.
Daniel’s voice filled the room.
“Once Elena is gone, Mark will sign anything I put in front of him.””
I stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
A second man answered.
“And the girl?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Lily stays untouched.””
My fists clenched.
“Keep playing it.””
Richard stood.
“Mark, don’t.””
“Play it.””
Harris did.
Daniel spoke again.
“My brother can survive losing his wife. He won’t survive losing his daughter.””
I turned away.
The room blurred.
Elena reached for me.
This time, I let her.
“I trusted him,” I whispered.
“I know.””
“He stood beside me while we searched for you.””
“I know.””
“He watched Lily cry.””
Elena squeezed my hand.
“He wanted you broken.””
“Why?””
Richard answered.
“Control.””
I faced him.
“Of what?””
“Bennett Global.””
“That company is worth billions.””
“Exactly.””
“But you said Lily owns the controlling interest.””
“She does.””
“Then Daniel can’t take control.””
Richard looked toward the ceiling.
“Not while Lily is alive.””
The words hit the room like a physical blow.
I lunged at him.
“You knew my daughter was in danger?””
Harris caught me.
“Mark!””
“You knew!””
“I came here to protect her!””
“You watched from a basement while a stranger stood behind her!””
“I am not the threat.””
“Then where is Daniel?””
Nobody answered.
My phone began ringing.
I looked at the screen.
Daniel.
Every person in the room saw the name.
“Answer it,” Harris said.
He activated a recorder.
I pressed the phone to my ear.
“Daniel.””
“Big brother.””
His voice sounded cheerful.
Too cheerful.
“Where are you?””
“Interesting question.””
“What did you do?””
He laughed.
“So Dad finally crawled out of his grave.””
Richard stepped closer.
“Daniel.””
There was a pause.
Then my brother laughed again.
“You brought the old man into this?””
“You knew he was alive.””
“I knew before you did.””
My hand tightened around the phone.
“You paid people to find Elena.””
“Careful, Mark.””
“I heard the recording.””
Silence.
Then Daniel’s tone changed.
“Where’s Lily?””
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“Stay away from my daughter.””
“I asked where she is.””
Harris motioned toward the stairs.
Two officers immediately went to check on her.
Daniel continued.
“You still don’t understand what Dad did.””
“I understand enough.””
“No. You understand the version he wants you to understand.””
Richard shook his head.
“Hang up.””
I ignored him.
“What version?””
Daniel sighed.
“Ask Dad who was actually on that plane six years ago.””
I looked at Richard.
His face went pale.
“What is he talking about?””
“Mark, end the call.””
Daniel laughed.
“There it is.””
“What?””
“The face he makes when he’s cornered.””
“Daniel, tell me.””
“Gladly.””
Richard grabbed for the phone.
Harris stopped him.
Daniel’s voice became quiet.
“The crash wasn’t staged to protect our family.””
I stared at my father.
“Then why was it staged?””
“It wasn’t.””
Richard’s face changed.
For the first time since appearing in my house, he looked genuinely frightened.
Daniel continued.
“Dad was supposed to be on that plane.””
My mouth went dry.
“But he wasn’t.””
“No.””
“Who was?””
A long pause.
Then Daniel said, “David Serrano.””
Elena stumbled backward.
“No.””
Daniel kept talking.
“Your wife’s father didn’t die when she was twelve, Mark.””
Elena shook her head.
“No. That’s impossible.””
“He survived for years. Richard kept him hidden because he needed the archive.””
She turned toward my father.
“You told me he died.””
Richard said nothing.
“YOU TOLD ME HE DIED!””
“Elena—”
“Was my father on that plane?””
Richard lowered his eyes.
That was answer enough.
Elena slapped him.
The sound echoed through the room.
“You murdered him.””
“No.””
“You put him on that plane!””
“I was supposed to be on it too!””
“Then why weren’t you?””
Richard opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Daniel spoke through the phone.
“Because someone warned him.””
Harris leaned closer.
“Who?””
Daniel laughed softly.
“That’s the part none of you have figured out.””
Suddenly, an officer’s frantic voice exploded through Harris’s radio.
“Detective!””
Harris grabbed it.
“What?””
“We have a problem upstairs.””
My heart stopped.
“Lily?””
“She’s safe.””
I exhaled.
Then the officer continued.
“But we found someone outside the rear entrance.””
“Who?””
“A man.””
Richard went rigid.
Harris looked toward the security monitors.
One camera showed officers surrounding someone near the garden.
An elderly man stood between them.
Thin.
Gray-haired.
Terrified.
Elena stepped toward the screen.
Her hand began trembling.
“No.””
I looked at her.
“Elena?””
She touched the monitor as if she could reach through it.
Tears filled her eyes.
“That’s my father.””
The phone was still against my ear.
May you like
Daniel whispered one final sentence.
“Now ask Richard whose body you buried six years ago.””
