CHAPTER 6 — The Man Marcus Buried Was Never His Enemy
The video continued.
Daniel Reed struggled to breathe.
Behind him, alarms echoed through the warehouse.
"I don't have much time."
"If Victor survives tonight..."
"He'll steal everything."
"The company."
"Our research."
"Our future."
Marcus stared without blinking.
His father continued.
"Lily's father never betrayed me."
"He saved my life."
"He stayed behind..."
"So I could escape."
Marcus felt tears filling his eyes.
Everything he believed...
Every memory...
Every newspaper headline...
Had been a lie.
Then another face stepped into view.
A young police detective.
Marcus immediately recognized him.
Commissioner Howard Blake.
The man who later investigated his father's death.
The detective accepted a thick envelope from Victor Lang.
Money.
A lot of money.
Victor smiled.
"By tomorrow..."
"Daniel Reed dies a hero."
"Lily's father dies the villain."
"And nobody asks another question."
The recording suddenly ended.
Silence filled the cabin.
Marcus slowly closed the laptop.
His hands were shaking.
"My father wasn't betrayed."
"He was framed."
Lily quietly nodded.
"My father died trying to expose Victor."
"But Victor buried everyone."
Before anyone could speak again...
The lights inside the cabin suddenly went out.
Complete darkness.
Outside...
Engines echoed through the forest.
Marcus carefully looked through the window.
His blood turned cold.
More than twenty black SUVs surrounded the cabin.
This time...
Victor Lang had come personally.
He stepped out of the lead vehicle wearing a long black coat.
Holding a megaphone.
His voice echoed across the frozen lake.
"Marcus..."
"You've already seen too much."
"Give me Lily."
"Give me the flash drive."
"And I'll let the little girl live."
Marcus slowly reached into the safe beside the fireplace.
Inside rested the pistol his father had left him years ago.
He loaded it.
Looked at Lily.
Then at little Sophie hiding behind the couch.
Finally he whispered—
"No more running."
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"Tonight..."
"We finish what our fathers started."
