PART 10
I stared at the photograph until my hands went numb.
The man lying unconscious on the hospital bed was Michael Reed.
The father I had spent my entire life believing was dead.
The father I had only just discovered was alive.
And now someone was telling me he had only one hour left.
“Daniel,” I whispered.
He looked at the screen.
His face drained of color.
“That's him.”
I immediately called the number.
No answer.
I called again.
Nothing.
Then a message appeared.
“If you want him to survive, come alone.”
My heart pounded.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“I have to go.”
“You don't know who sent that.”
“I know who they're holding.”
“Emily, this is exactly what they want.”
I shook my head.
“My whole life, everyone has decided what I'm allowed to know. My parents. My grandmother. Now some stranger.”
I wiped my tears.
“I'm done being afraid.”
Margaret stepped forward.
“Then don't go alone.”
I looked at her.
She held up the memory card from Michael's necklace.
“We now have evidence. If someone is threatening you, we can use it.”
“But what if they hurt him?”
She had no answer.
Neither did I.
So I made a decision.
We would go.
But we would not go blindly.
* * *
The location arrived twenty minutes later.
An abandoned warehouse near the Miami docks.
Daniel drove.
I sat beside him.
Margaret followed in another car with two police officers.
Rain began falling heavily.
The warehouse appeared completely deserted.
No lights.
No cars.
No people.
Daniel parked several hundred feet away.
“Stay here,” he said.
I shook my head.
“I'm coming.”
“Emily—”
“He's my father.”
Daniel looked at me.
Then he nodded.
We walked toward the building.
The side door was open.
Inside, the air smelled like oil and rust.
“Hello?” I shouted.
My voice echoed.
Then a light turned on.
A man stepped out from the darkness.
I recognized him immediately.
Richard Cole.
My father's lawyer.
The man who had spent years protecting my parents.
The man who had helped hide Daniel.
He smiled.
“You shouldn't have come.”
I stared at him.
“Where is Michael?”
“Alive.”
“Take me to him.”
Richard shook his head.
“You still don't understand what you're dealing with.”
“You've been lying to my family for decades.”
“No.”
He looked at Daniel.
“I've been cleaning up their lies.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You helped them take me.”
Richard's expression changed.
“I was following orders.”
“Whose?”
He didn't answer.
I knew.
“Eleanor?”
Richard shook his head.
“Not Eleanor.”
My stomach tightened.
“Then who?”
Richard looked at me.
“Your grandmother.”
The words hit me like a punch.
“My grandmother is dead.”
“Yes.”
He smiled sadly.
“But before she died, she gave me instructions.”
I stared at him.
“What instructions?”
“To protect the family.”
“By destroying my life?”
“By keeping you alive.”
I shook my head.
“Don't you dare.”
Richard sighed.
“You think your parents were the villains because they threw you out.”
“They were.”
“They were terrible parents,” he admitted.
“But they weren't the people who started this.”
He pulled a file from his coat.
“Your grandmother did.”
I stared at the folder.
“What is inside?”
“Proof.”
“Of what?”
He opened it.
Inside were photographs of Michael.
Documents.
Bank transfers.
Medical records.
And one document that made my blood freeze.
A death certificate.
Michael Reed.
But the date was different from the one my parents had shown me.
“This isn't his original death certificate,” I whispered.
“No.”
Richard looked at me.
“Because Michael was officially declared dead twice.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means someone created a second identity for him.”
I looked at Richard.
“Why?”
“To hide him from the people who were trying to kill him.”
“Who?”
Richard stared at me.
“Your grandmother.”
* * *
A sound came from behind us.
Metal scraping against concrete.
We turned.
Two men appeared.
One was holding a gun.
Daniel immediately stepped in front of me.
“Don't move.”
The armed man laughed.
“Too late.”
Richard looked furious.
“You weren't supposed to come.”
The man ignored him.
“Where's the girl?”
I stepped forward.
“I'm here.”
The man pointed toward a dark corridor.
“Walk.”
Daniel grabbed my hand.
“No.”
The gun lifted.
“Now.”
I started walking.
Every step felt like it might be my last.
We reached a locked room.
The door opened.
And there he was.
Michael.
Lying unconscious on a hospital bed.
An IV was connected to his arm.
Machines monitored his heartbeat.
I covered my mouth.
“Dad…”
I ran toward him.
His eyes remained closed.
I touched his hand.
It was warm.
Alive.
“Please,” I whispered.
“Please wake up.”
Then his fingers moved.
I froze.
His eyes slowly opened.
He looked at me.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
Then his lips moved.
“Emily…”
I began crying.
“I'm here.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I knew…”
He struggled to breathe.
“I knew you'd find me.”
Daniel stood beside me.
“Dad?”
Michael turned his head.
He stared at Daniel.
His face collapsed with emotion.
“My
