Chapter 2 - THE NAME FROM THE PAST
Elena read the three words five times.
Ask about Marcus.
She knew only one Marcus.
Marcus Vale.
Her father’s former business partner.
And the man who had attended Thomas Mercer’s memorial service twenty-four years earlier.
Elena sat in the back of the Navigator while Manhattan slid past the windows.
“David.”
“Yes?”
“Change of plans.”
“Where to?”
“Office.”
Her assistant, Rachel Kim, was waiting when Elena stepped onto the forty-seventh floor of Mercer Global.
“You canceled dinner with the Harrington group.”
“Reschedule it.”
“They flew from London.”
“They’ll survive.”
Rachel studied her.
She had worked for Elena for nine years.
She knew when not to ask questions.
Elena entered her private office.
“Rachel.”
“Yes?”
“Find everything you can on Marcus Vale.”
Rachel paused.
“The Vale Industries Marcus Vale?”
“Yes.”
“He’s on your foundation board.”
“I’m aware.”
“He’s also coming to the charity dinner Thursday.”
Elena turned.
“Even better.”
Rachel nodded.
“How far back?”
“Thirty years.”
“That could take time.”
“You have two hours.”
Rachel almost smiled.
“Of course I do.”
After she left, Elena locked the door.
Then she unfolded Thomas’s note.
There was more writing inside.
A Queens address.
And beneath it:
Locker 214.
Code: Elena’s birthday.
Two hours later, Elena stood inside an old storage facility in Queens.
Locker 214 opened with a metallic click.
Inside sat one cardboard box.
Nothing else.
Elena carried it to the floor.
The first thing inside was a photograph.
Her father.
Much younger.
Standing beside Marcus Vale.
Behind them was a company sign.
MERCER & VALE DEVELOPMENT.
Elena frowned.
She had never heard of it.
Underneath the photograph were contracts.
Bank statements.
Property deeds.
And a newspaper clipping.
LOCAL DEVELOPER THOMAS MERCER DISAPPEARS AMID FRAUD INVESTIGATION.
Elena’s hands went cold.
Fraud?
Her father had never been charged with fraud.
At least that was what she believed.
She kept digging.
Then she found an envelope with her name on it.
The handwriting was Thomas’s.
She opened it.
Inside was a single handwritten page.
Elena,
If you’re reading this, I failed to keep the past away from you.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Marcus didn’t save you after I disappeared.
He was the reason I disappeared.
Elena stopped.
The storage facility suddenly felt too quiet.
She continued reading.
Twenty-five years ago, Marcus and I discovered that several properties our company was purchasing were being used to hide money belonging to people far more dangerous than either of us understood.
I wanted out.
Marcus didn’t.
When I threatened to expose everything, he gave me a choice.
Disappear, or lose you.
Elena’s vision blurred.
She kept reading.
I chose to disappear.
I thought it would protect you.
At the bottom was one final sentence.
But Marcus has been closer to you than you realize.
Elena slowly lowered the letter.
Her phone rang.
Rachel.
“Elena.”
“What did you find?”
There was silence.
Then Rachel said something Elena wasn’t prepared for.
“Marcus Vale owns eleven percent of Mercer Global.”
Elena stood.
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s hidden through shell companies.”
“How long?”
May you like
Rachel hesitated.
“Since the year you founded it.”
