CHAPTER 16 The Sixth Man
CHAPTER 16
The Sixth Man
The call had ended.
Ethan stared at his phone, unable to move.
Richard's final words echoed through his mind.
"He wants the sixth name."
Claire stepped beside him.
"What did he mean?"
Ethan slowly looked up.
"I don't know."
Marcus, however, had already turned back to his laptop.
His fingers flew across the keyboard.
"No..."
He muttered.
"It can't be."
Daniel Brooks walked over.
"What is it?"
Marcus opened one of the oldest files recovered from Thomas Bennett's journal.
Most of the pages had already been examined.
But one final page had remained partially burned.
Using digital enhancement, faded handwriting slowly became visible.
At the top of the page was a title.
FOUNDING MEMBERS
Below it were six numbered lines.
The first five had names.
Arthur Callahan.
Charles Whitmore.
Thomas Bennett.
Richard Callahan.
Michael Donovan.
The sixth line...
had been deliberately blacked out.
Marcus leaned back.
"There really were six."
Claire looked at the damaged page.
"Can you recover the name?"
Marcus zoomed in repeatedly.
The ink had been chemically destroyed.
"I'll try."
After several minutes...
Only two letters became visible.
A...N...
Nothing more.
Daniel frowned.
"That's not enough."
Marcus nodded.
"No."
"But it's enough to know Thomas intentionally hid that name."
Meanwhile...
Richard's damaged sedan spun off the highway and crashed into the guardrail.
Smoke poured from the engine.
Airbags exploded.
Richard struggled to breathe.
Before he could open the door...
The three SUVs surrounded him.
Armed men stepped out.
One of them calmly opened the driver's door.
"Mr. Callahan."
Richard looked up.
"I was wondering when Charles would send you."
The man smiled politely.
"Mr. Whitmore asked us to bring you."
Richard laughed despite the blood running down his forehead.
"I don't accept invitations."
The guard sighed.
"I'm afraid this one isn't optional."
At the rehabilitation center...
Michael remained alone after Charles left.
A nurse rushed inside.
"Mr. Donovan!"
Michael looked toward her.
"You need to leave."
She looked confused.
"What?"
"They'll come back."
"For who?"
Michael slowly stood.
His legs shook from years of limited movement.
But he forced himself upright.
"For everyone connected to me."
The nurse stared in disbelief.
"You can walk?"
Michael smiled faintly.
"I've been pretending not to."
Back in Manhattan...
Claire replayed her mother's video for what felt like the hundredth time.
Something suddenly caught her attention.
"Stop."
Marcus paused the video.
Claire pointed at the background.
"Zoom in."
A blurry bookshelf came into focus.
Behind Emily...
was a framed photograph.
Marcus enlarged it.
The image slowly sharpened.
Six people stood together.
Not five.
Six.
The sixth person's face had been partially hidden by sunlight.
But one thing remained visible.
A military name tag.
Only the last three letters could be read.
...SON
Daniel immediately reacted.
"Johnson?"
Marcus shook his head.
"There are hundreds of names ending in 'son.'"
Claire kept staring.
"No."
She whispered.
"I've seen that face before."
Everyone turned toward her.
"Where?"
Claire frowned, trying to remember.
"I don't know."
"But I know him."
Across town...
Victoria entered an underground parking garage.
A black limousine waited.
She climbed inside.
Charles Whitmore was already seated.
He poured her a glass of champagne.
"To old friends."
Victoria ignored the glass.
"You failed."
Charles smiled.
"I found Michael."
"You didn't kill him."
"I don't need to."
Victoria folded her arms.
"You've become sentimental."
Charles laughed.
"No."
"I've become patient."
He looked out the tinted window.
"Richard will lead Ethan exactly where I want."
Victoria's expression changed.
"You planned the attack."
"Of course."
She studied him.
"Then you wanted Richard alive."
Charles nodded.
"He still has one thing I need."
"The ledger?"
Charles smiled.
"No."
Victoria frowned.
"What else could possibly matter after thirty years?"
Charles answered quietly.
"The original trust agreement."
Marcus looked up from another document.
"I found something."
Everyone gathered around.
"What is it?"
He projected an old legal filing onto the screen.
The document was dated thirty-two years earlier.
Its title read:
CALLAHAN FAMILY TRUST
Most of the pages had been removed.
Only the signature page remained.
There were six signatures.
Arthur.
Richard.
Thomas.
Charles.
Michael.
And one final signature.
The name had been torn away.
Only the last few letters remained.
...erson
Daniel froze.
Marcus looked at him.
"What?"
Daniel slowly whispered,
"I know that handwriting."
Everyone stared.
Daniel looked pale.
"My father used to work for military intelligence."
"So?"
"He investigated this trust."
Marcus frowned.
"Did he identify the sixth man?"
Daniel swallowed hard.
"No."
"He became the sixth man."
The room fell silent.
Claire blinked.
"What?"
Daniel slowly nodded.
"My father..."
"...was Agent William Anderson."
Marcus immediately looked back at the torn signature.
"...erson."
Everything matched.
Claire whispered,
"So your father was part of this?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"He infiltrated them."
The realization hit Ethan instantly.
"That's why his name was erased."
Daniel nodded.
"If Charles learned a federal agent had infiltrated the group..."
"...he would've hunted every member of my family."
Claire looked at Daniel.
"Is your father still alive?"
Daniel's expression darkened.
"He disappeared twenty-eight years ago."
Marcus quietly added,
"Just like Thomas."
Hours later...
Richard was brought into an abandoned aircraft hangar.
Charles waited beside an old wooden table.
The original leather-bound ledger rested on it.
Richard's eyes widened.
"You found it."
Charles smiled.
"I found a copy."
He tapped the cover.
"But not the original."
Richard laughed.
"You'll never get it."
Charles walked closer.
"I already know who has it."
Richard frowned.
"Michael?"
Charles shook his head.
"No."
He leaned toward Richard.
"Your son."
Richard's face lost all color.
"Impossible."
Charles calmly opened the ledger.
Inside, tucked between two pages...
was a recent photograph.
Ethan.
Standing alone outside Callahan Tower.
Unaware he was being watched.
Charles smiled.
"You've spent your whole life protecting him."
He looked directly into Richard's eyes.
"The funny thing is..."
"...he's been carrying what I need..."
"...without even knowing it."
Charles closed the ledger.
Then he revealed one final truth.
"The original ledger isn't a book."
Richard's breathing stopped.
Charles whispered,
"It's a key."
May you like
And Ethan has had it...
since the day he was born.
