Chapter 10 - The Man Who Should Be Dead
The doors of the van unlocked.
Nobody moved.
Walter looked at Claire’s phone.
“Don’t answer anything.”
Claire almost laughed.
“You’re still giving orders?”
Walter stopped.
The words landed harder than she intended.
Evelyn opened the side door.
The road was empty.
Warehouses stood on both sides.
Most looked abandoned.
Ryan stepped out.
Walter grabbed his arm.
“Stay inside.”
Ryan looked at him.
“If there’s even a chance you’re my father, you should probably get used to me ignoring you.”
Walter let go.
Despite the situation, Claire heard Marcus’s laugh in her imagination.
They walked toward the nearest warehouse.
One door stood open.
Inside, fluorescent lights illuminated a long empty floor.
A man waited at the far end.
Claire knew him immediately.
Not because she remembered his face.
Because she had spent her childhood studying one photograph her mother kept beside the bed.
“Dad?”
The man stepped forward.
He was in his late fifties.
His hair was mostly gray.
A scar crossed his left eyebrow.
But the eyes were the same.
Michael Bennett.
Claire’s father.
The man who had supposedly died fifteen years ago.
Walter moved in front of her.
“Michael.”
Michael smiled sadly.
“Hello, Dad.”
Claire looked at Walter.
“Dad?”
Walter closed his eyes.
Another secret.
Michael was Walter’s son.
Claire had known that.
But hearing the word after everything else made it sound like an accusation.
Walter approached.
“You should be dead.”
“So should several people in this story.”
Evelyn raised her phone.
“No signal.”
Michael nodded.
“That’s intentional.”
Claire stepped around Walter.
“You’ve been alive?”
“Yes.”
“For fifteen years?”
“Yes.”
She slapped him.
The sound echoed through the warehouse.
Nobody moved.
Michael touched his cheek.
“That was fair.”
Claire’s eyes filled.
“You don’t get to decide what’s fair.”
“No.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I did.”
“You let Mom raise me alone.”
Michael’s face changed.
“No.”
“What does that mean?”
“Your mother knew.”
Claire stared.
“She knew I was alive.”
Walter looked shocked.
“You’re lying.”
Michael looked at his father.
“Laura helped me disappear.”
Claire backed away.
“No.”
Michael stepped toward her.
“She did it to keep you alive.”
“Stop saying people lied to protect me.”
Michael froze.
Claire’s voice cracked.
“Every terrible secret in this family comes with the same excuse.”
He lowered his head.
“You’re right.”
Claire had expected resistance.
His agreement hurt more.
Michael pointed toward a table.
“Everything is there.”
Files covered it.
Photographs.
Financial records.
Audio tapes.
Claire saw a photograph of Michael with Daniel Cross.
Another with Marcus.
Another with Thomas.
Then one with Evelyn.
Claire turned.
Evelyn’s face became pale.
“You knew him.”
Walter looked at her.
“Evelyn?”
Evelyn said nothing.
Michael answered.
“She helped me stay hidden.”
Walter stared.
“For how long?”
“Eleven years.”
Walter looked betrayed.
Evelyn finally spoke.
“You ordered me to protect the family.”
“I meant Claire.”
“I did protect Claire.”
“By lying to me?”
“Yes.”
Walter laughed bitterly.
Claire almost felt sympathy.
Now he knew how it felt.
Michael approached the table.
“Project Harbor began when Walter discovered someone had infiltrated regional contracting systems.”
Claire asked, “Who?”
“Daniel Cross.”
Ryan stepped forward.
“Is he my father?”
Michael studied him.
“No.”
Ryan exhaled.
“Do you know who is?”
Michael looked toward Walter.
“Probably.”
Walter stared.
“Michael.”
Michael opened a file.
“Katherine’s DNA kit.”
Claire remembered the sealed kit from Box 22B.
Michael pointed at it.
“Compare Ryan’s DNA to Walter.”
Walter’s jaw tightened.
“You already know the answer.”
“I know what Katherine believed.”
Ryan looked exhausted.
“Can somebody just test it?”
Evelyn took the kit.
“I can arrange it.”
Michael shook his head.
“Not through any local facility.”
“Why?”
“Because the network still exists.”
Claire looked around.
“Who runs it now?”
Michael’s expression hardened.
“That’s why I brought you here.”
He opened another folder.
Inside was a recent photograph.
Claire recognized the man.
Marcus Vale.
County Executive.
Family friend.
Her mother’s ally.
Walter stared.
“No.”
Michael nodded.
“Marcus took control after Daniel disappeared.”
Claire felt sick.
“Marcus has been helping us.”
“He’s been steering you.”
Ryan cursed quietly.
Michael continued.
“He gave you information that was true enough to build trust.”
Walter shook his head.
“Marcus lost his brother.”
“Yes.”
“Because of Daniel.”
“No.”
Michael looked at him.
“Because of Marcus.”
Silence.
Claire thought about every conversation.
Marcus always knew slightly more.
Marcus always arrived at the right time.
Marcus had delivered the photograph.
Marcus had introduced the idea that Daniel was alive.
Claire whispered, “The man we saw outside Katherine’s house.”
Michael nodded.
“Not Daniel.”
“Who?”
“An actor Marcus has used before.”
Ryan stared.
“This is insane.”
Michael looked at him.
“No.”
“It’s organized.”
That was worse.
Claire pulled out the envelope from Box 22B.
Michael saw it.
“You kept it.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“What’s inside?”
“Laura’s final insurance policy.”
Claire opened it.
Inside was a single page.
A list of dates.
Next to each date was a large payment.
The last payment was scheduled for tomorrow.
Twenty-five million dollars.
Recipient initials: M.V.
Claire looked up.
“He’s still being paid.”
Michael nodded.
“Tomorrow’s transfer is the trap.”
Walter understood.
“You set this up.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To force Marcus into the open.”
Claire stared at her father.
“And you needed me to activate the box.”
“Yes.”
Anger returned.
“So you used me too.”
Michael looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“Apparently that’s the family tradition.”
Then her phone rang.
Marcus Vale.
Everyone stared at the screen.
Michael whispered, “Answer.”
Claire did.
Marcus sounded breathless.
“Claire, get away from Walter.”
She looked directly at Michael.
“Why?”
“Because Michael Bennett is alive.”
Claire said nothing.
Marcus continued.
“And if he found you first, you are in serious danger.”
Claire looked around the warehouse.
May you like
Then Marcus said the one thing Michael clearly had not expected.
“Your father is the person who ordered Laura killed.”
