Chapter 6 - THE MAN WHO NEVER DIED Richard Hale had spent twelve years pretending to be dead.
Now he had Emily.
And Julian understood the message immediately.
This wasn't a kidnapping.
It was a negotiation.
Hale wanted something.
Julian returned to Vance Manor with Nora and Lilly.
The three of them sat around the dining table while Detective Reed spread documents across the surface.
"We need leverage," Reed said.
Julian stared at the evidence.
"What could Hale possibly want?"
Nora answered.
"The ledger."
Julian looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because your father left something inside it."
They opened the leather binding.
Nothing.
Then Nora noticed a strange indentation.
She pressed it.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a tiny black memory card.
Reed inserted it into a secure computer.
A video appeared.
Julian's father sat behind the desk.
Older.
Tired.
Terrified.
"If you're watching this, Julian, I'm probably dead."
Julian stared at the screen.
"I know what I did was unforgivable."
His father's voice trembled.
"But I was trying to stop something I helped create."
He explained that Project Eclipse had been infiltrated.
Someone had begun using the network to disappear innocent people and sell their identities.
The operation had become a global blackmail machine.
Hale was one of its architects.
Emily had discovered the truth.
Julian's father had helped her escape.
Then he had staged Emily's death.
But someone betrayed them.
Victoria.
Not because she wanted Emily dead.
Because she wanted the ledger.
The video ended with one final warning.
"Hale will come for Lilly."
Julian immediately stood.
The lights went out.
A gunshot shattered the window.
Everyone dropped.
Then came another.
And another.
Reed pulled Lilly behind the table.
Nora grabbed Julian's arm.
"He's here."
Outside, black vehicles surrounded Vance Manor.
Hale's voice boomed through a loudspeaker.
"Julian."
A pause.
"Bring me the ledger."
Julian looked at his daughter.
Then at Nora.
"No."
May you like
The loudspeaker crackled.
"Then Emily dies."
Related Stories
