CHAPTER 7 – THE MAN WHO RETURNED FROM THE DEAD
Emily couldn't breathe.
The man standing in the rain looked older, thinner, and covered with scars.
But those eyes...
She would recognize them anywhere.
"Michael..."
Her voice cracked.
He took one slow step forward before collapsing into her arms.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
They simply cried.
The detectives rushed toward the doorway while paramedics examined Michael.
"He's severely malnourished," one medic said.
"And he has signs of years of physical abuse."
Emily looked at the scars covering his wrists.
Someone had kept him prisoner.
For six years.
Edward wrapped his son in a blanket, unable to stop shaking.
"I thought I lost you forever."
Michael smiled weakly.
"They wanted you to think that."
Detective Harris leaned closer.
"Who kept you alive?"
Michael's expression darkened.
"I was locked inside a private estate."
"They moved me every few months."
"They never used my real name."
Emily squeezed his hand.
"Why didn't they kill you?"
Michael looked at Daniel.
"Because they needed me alive."
The room fell silent.
"They forced me to sign documents..."
"Transfers."
"Fake business agreements."
"Blank contracts."
"Every refusal earned me another beating."
Richard suddenly stood up.
"That's how they stole Bennett Global."
Edward's face hardened.
"It wasn't just attempted murder."
"It was a corporate takeover."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"I told them this would happen."
Everyone turned toward him.
"What do you mean?" Detective Harris asked.
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"You still don't understand."
"I'm not the final piece."
Emily stared at him.
"Then who is?"
Daniel slowly raised his trembling finger...
Pointing toward the family portrait hanging above the fireplace.
A portrait of Emily.
Her late father.
Her mother, Victoria.
And herself as a child.
"Look behind it."
The detectives removed the heavy frame from the wall.
Hidden inside the safe behind it...
...was a black leather folder.
Richard opened it.
His hands froze.
Inside were birth certificates...
Adoption papers...
Old family photographs...
And one sealed envelope marked:
OPEN ONLY IF EMILY DISCOVERS THE TRUTH.
Emily's heart pounded as she broke the seal.
The letter contained only one sentence.
"Victoria is not your mother."
Before anyone could process the words...
A loud explosion shattered every window in the mansion.
Glass rained across the floor.
The lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then...
A laser sight appeared on Michael's chest.
May you like
Someone outside whispered through a loudspeaker—
"Finish what should have ended six years ago."
