Chapter 8
Daniel stood so quickly that his chair fell.
“My sister did not take that money.”
The detective turned the screen toward him.
“The account is in Claire’s name.”
“It could be another forgery.”
Rachel examined the transaction.
“This account was opened yesterday using Claire’s identification.”
Daniel called his sister.
No answer.
Then Claire sent him a message.
COME TO THE OLD CARTER FACTORY. ALONE.
Daniel showed the detective.
“It’s Marcus.”
The old factory had closed ten years earlier.
It stood beside abandoned railroad tracks on the edge of town.
Police surrounded the area while Daniel approached the main entrance.
He wore a concealed microphone.
Inside, machinery sat beneath layers of dust.
Claire was tied to a chair in the center of the factory floor.
Marcus stood behind her.
His face was bruised from the lake house.
“You survived,” Daniel said.
“Disappointed?”
“Let her go.”
Marcus lifted a remote control.
Red lights blinked on several boxes around the building.
“You people love fire,” Daniel said.
“It destroys evidence.”
“It didn’t destroy Sofia’s.”
Marcus’s confidence flickered.
“You found her video.”
“We found everything.”
“Not everything.”
He pointed toward an office above the factory floor.
A computer screen showed the stolen money divided among dozens of accounts.
“The transfer completes in twenty minutes. After that, your money is gone.”
Daniel glanced at Claire.
She shook her head slightly.
A strip of broken metal was hidden in her hand.
She was cutting through the rope.
Marcus noticed Daniel looking.
He pulled Claire’s hair back.
“She spent years blaming you for your father’s will. It was easy to make your family hate each other.”
“What did you do?”
“I sent her messages from your email. Vanessa told you lies about Claire. Every argument pushed you further apart.”
Claire’s eyes filled with tears.
“I should have come to you.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“I should have believed you.”
Marcus aimed a gun at him.
“That reunion is touching.”
“Why did you kill Sofia?”
“She believed truth mattered more than survival.”
“You caused her crash.”
“I didn’t touch her car. Vanessa did.”
Daniel’s microphone transmitted every word to the police.
Marcus continued.
“Vanessa was always better at the personal work. She made people trust her. I handled the business.”
“You mean she handled the risk.”
Marcus frowned.
Daniel saw the opening.
“She entered their homes. She faced the victims. You hid in a clinic and took the money.”
“Be quiet.”
“You abandoned her at the lake house.”
“I said be quiet!”
Marcus raised the gun.
Claire cut through the rope and slammed her chair backward.
It struck his knees.
The gun fired into the air.
Daniel rushed him.
They crashed onto the concrete.
Marcus punched Daniel twice.
Daniel grabbed his wrist.
Claire kicked the gun away.
Police stormed through the doors.
Marcus reached for the remote.
Elena appeared on the upper walkway.
“Looking for this?”
She held the control.
Daniel stared at her.
She was supposed to remain outside with the detective.
Elena pointed toward the office.
“There was another entrance. The police needed someone to stop the transfer.”
Marcus shoved Daniel away and ran up the stairs toward her.
Elena entered the office and locked the door.
Marcus struck the glass.
“Open it!”
She sat at the computer.
The transfer timer showed forty seconds.
Rachel guided her through an earpiece.
“Disconnect the external drive.”
Elena pulled the drive free.
The timer stopped at twelve seconds.
Marcus broke the glass and reached through.
Elena backed away.
Before he could unlock the door, Daniel tackled him from behind.
They fell against the railing.
The metal bent.
Marcus slipped over the edge.
Daniel caught his wrist.
For one second, Marcus hung above the factory floor.
“Help me!” he screamed.
Daniel strained to hold him.
“You tried to kill my family.”
Marcus’s fingers began to slip.
Still, Daniel pulled upward.
Officers grabbed Marcus and dragged him over the railing.
They handcuffed him.
Elena stepped out of the office.
“The money is frozen.”
Claire hugged Daniel.
For the first time in two years, they stood together without anger between them.
Then Marcus began laughing.
“You think this is finished?”
Daniel looked at him.
May you like
Marcus smiled.
“Vanessa escaped from the hospital an hour ago.”
