CHAPTER 5 – THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN DEAD FOR SIX YEARS
The entire mansion fell silent.
No one moved.
No one even breathed.
The elderly man slowly walked toward Emily, never taking his eyes off the little boy sleeping peacefully upstairs.
"My name is Edward Bennett," he said softly.
Emily recognized the name immediately.
Edward Bennett.
One of the wealthiest investors in the country...
And the founder of Bennett Global Holdings.
"What are you doing here?" Emily asked.
Edward reached into his coat and carefully removed an old photograph.
It showed a young man standing beside Emily years before she had ever met Daniel.
Emily's hands began to shake.
"No..."
The young man in the picture was Michael.
Her college sweetheart.
The man she had believed died in a terrible boating accident six years ago.
Tears filled her eyes.
"I buried him..."
Edward lowered his head.
"No."
"You buried an empty coffin."
Daniel suddenly shouted,
"He's lying!"
Edward ignored him.
"My son disappeared after uncovering a financial fraud involving several powerful businessmen."
"He was declared dead before anyone ever found a body."
Emily felt the room spinning.
She remembered the closed funeral.
The sealed coffin.
The rushed burial.
Everything had happened so fast that she never questioned it.
Richard stepped forward and handed another folder to the detectives.
"We reopened Michael's case last month."
Inside were classified investigation files.
Bank transfers.
Bribed officials.
False death certificates.
And one familiar signature.
Daniel Carter.
The detectives stared at Daniel in disbelief.
"You helped fake Michael's death?"
Daniel's lips trembled.
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this..."
Edward's voice became ice cold.
"My son wasn't your victim."
"He was your obstacle."
Emily looked at Daniel with horror.
"You destroyed my life before we ever met."
Daniel closed his eyes.
He knew there was no escape anymore.
Then...
The mansion's television suddenly switched on by itself.
Everyone turned.
A grainy surveillance video began to play.
The timestamp read:
Six Years Ago.
A man appeared on the screen...
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Barely able to stand.
He looked directly into the camera.
Emily dropped to her knees.
"Michael..."
Then the man spoke four words that froze every soul in the room.
"If you're watching this..."
"...I'm still alive."
The screen went black.
May you like
And somewhere, hundreds of miles away...
A phone began to ring.
