Daniel survived.
The knife missed his heart by less than an inch.
Emily sat beside his hospital bed while surgeons worked elsewhere in the building and police guarded the corridor.
He was unconscious.
Machines breathed rhythmically around him.
Emily held his hand.
All the anger from the boardroom had disappeared.
Nine hundred thousand dollars.
Lies.
Singapore.
The lawsuit.
None of it mattered beside the possibility of losing him.
“You're still my brother,” she whispered.
She had told him that before.
Now it felt like a promise.
Michael entered.
“We found your mother.”
Emily stood.
“Where?”
“She came voluntarily.”
“With Gregory?”
“No.”
“Then where is he?”
“Gone.”
Emily left Daniel under police protection and followed Michael to a private family consultation room.
Evelyn sat inside.
She looked twenty years older.
Emily closed the door.
“Why were you with Gregory Vale?”
Evelyn did not answer.
“Daniel almost died.”
Her mother's eyes filled instantly.
“I know.”
“Did Gregory do it?”
“I don't know.”
“You were walking beside him five minutes before the attack.”
“He told me Daniel was in danger.”
“And you believed him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Gregory has been helping your father.”
Emily froze.
“My father is dead.”
Evelyn shook her head slowly.
“Not Thomas.”
Emily stared.
“What are you talking about?”
Evelyn looked toward the floor.
“Jonathan.”
Emily felt anger surge.
“Jonathan isn't my father.”
“No.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I meant your father's work.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“Mom, I cannot keep decoding every sentence you say.”
Evelyn began crying.
“I'm sorry.”
“Then tell me everything.”
For once, Evelyn did.
After Jonathan disappeared in 1992, Thomas helped create false records to protect him from Robert.
Samuel assisted secretly.
For years, the three men gathered evidence.
But Robert grew more powerful.
Witnesses vanished.
Contracts changed hands.
People were paid.
Thomas became afraid that exposing everything would put his family at risk.
So he buried it.
Samuel did not.
Neither did Jonathan.
“Where did Gregory come in?” Emily asked.
“His father worked for Robert.”
“What did he do?”
“Accounting.”
Emily understood.
“Gregory inherited evidence.”
“Yes.”
“Then why work for me?”
“To watch Blackwell.”
“He became my CFO nine years before I bought Blackwell.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Because Jonathan predicted you would eventually cross paths with Robert.”
Emily stared at her.
“So my life has been manipulated for decades.”
“No.”
“Really?”
“You chose everything you built.”
“Did I?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn stood.
“Thomas tried to keep you away from Meridian. You bought it anyway.”
“He gave me money.”
“Because once you made your decision, he refused to let you fail.”
Emily felt tears rise.
That sounded like him.
“So Gregory was protecting me?”
“At first.”
“At first?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“Money changes people.”
Emily almost laughed.
“Of course.”
“Gregory began demanding more.”
“From whom?”
“Jonathan.”
“For what?”
“Silence.”
Michael leaned forward.
“Gregory was blackmailing Jonathan?”
“Yes.”
Emily thought about the notebook.
M.H. secured.
D.C. access useful.
G.V.
Gregory was not simply an accomplice.
He was playing everyone.
“Did Gregory kill Samuel?”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“I think so.”
“Why?”
“Samuel discovered Gregory was still working with Robert.”
Michael's expression hardened.
“So Gregory was a double agent.”
“Yes.”
“Or triple,” Emily said.
Evelyn nodded.
Emily paced.
“Where was Gregory taking you today?”
“He said he had the last archive.”
“Where?”
“He wouldn't tell me.”
“Why were you in the garage?”
“He wanted my phone.”
“Why?”
“To contact Jonathan.”
Emily stopped.
“He was using you as bait.”
“Yes.”
“What happened before Daniel was attacked?”
“I saw Daniel near the elevator.”
“And?”
“I called his name.”
“Then?”
“Gregory disappeared.”
Emily stared.
“You didn't see the attacker?”
“No.”
“Then how do we know Gregory attacked him?”
“We don't.”
Michael spoke quietly.
“The security footage only shows Gregory leaving.”
Emily looked toward him.
“So someone else could've stabbed Daniel.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn suddenly whispered, “David.”
Emily shook her head.
“David is in custody.”
“Robert?”
“Also.”
“Then who?”
No one answered.
Emily returned to Daniel's room.
He awakened shortly after midnight.
His eyes opened slowly.
“Emily?”
She leaned forward.
“I'm here.”
He tried to move.
Pain stopped him.
“What happened?”
“You were attacked.”
Memory returned instantly.
His eyes widened.
“Mom.”
“She’s safe.”
“No.”
He grabbed Emily's wrist.
“Mom did it.”
Emily went still.
“What?”
“Mom stabbed me.”
The room seemed to stop.
“Daniel, you're medicated.”
“I saw her.”
Emily shook her head.
“She said Gregory disappeared.”
“She lied.”
His breathing quickened.
“She walked toward me.”
“Why would Mom stab you?”
Daniel started crying.
“Because I found out.”
“Found out what?”
He looked terrified.
“Thomas didn't help Jonathan disappear.”
Emily stared.
“What?”
“Mom did.”
“That isn't a reason.”
“Emily…”
He swallowed painfully.
“Mom wasn't protecting Jonathan from Robert.”
“Then from who?”
Daniel's next words came barely above a whisper.
“From Dad.”
Emily shook her head.
“No.”
“Thomas knew Jonathan survived.”
“Yes.”
“He spent years looking for him.”
“Because he wanted to help.”
“No.”
Daniel's eyes filled.
“Because he wanted to kill him.”
Emily stood.
“I don't believe that.”
“I didn't either.”
“What proof?”
Daniel looked toward the door.
“Samuel showed me a recording.”
“What recording?”
“Thomas talking to Robert.”
Emily's stomach turned.
“What did he say?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“He said Jonathan could never come home.”
“That doesn't prove—”
“Then Robert asked what happens if he does.”
Daniel looked at her.
“And Dad said, ‘Then I'll finish it myself.’”
Emily stopped breathing.
Outside the hospital room, a woman screamed.
Footsteps rushed down the corridor.
Michael burst through the door.
“Emily!”
“What?”
“Your mother is gone.”
Emily looked toward Daniel.
Michael continued.
“So is Jonathan.”
Daniel's monitor accelerated.
Emily stared.
“Where did they go?”
Michael held up Evelyn's discarded phone.
On the screen was a final outgoing message.
To Gregory Vale.
One sentence.
Thomas left one witness alive.
Emily's blood went cold.
Her father had been dead twelve years.
So who was the witness her mother was hunting now?
