Chapter 10 - The Witness
Daniel Harper was found in the basement.
Alive.
Barely.
His wrists had been tied.
A cloth had been pressed over his mouth.
Police arrived minutes before he stopped breathing.
At the hospital, Daniel asked for me.
Laura allowed me into his room under guard.
He looked nothing like the man I remembered.
His hair was white.
His face was thin.
Fear had carved deep lines around his eyes.
“Your father tried to protect you,” he whispered.
“From what?”
“From the Carters.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew you and Jason had met.”
I frowned.
“I met Jason years after my father died.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“No.”
“You met him as a child.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Your families attended the same company events.”
“I don’t remember.”
“You were seven.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Daniel’s hand trembled.
“Jason’s grandfather knew your father had copied the pension records.”
“He threatened him.”
“Your father refused to stay silent.”
“So they killed him?”
“I cannot prove who ordered it.”
“But the brakes on his car were cut.”
My chest tightened.
“You knew?”
“I inspected the records.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
“Margaret found out.”
The room went still.
“She threatened my wife.”
“My children.”
“She had photographs.”
“Schedules.”
“Addresses.”
The same method.
The same control.
“So you disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“And left my father’s death buried.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“I was a coward.”
I looked away.
“What did Jason find?”
“A letter.”
“From my father?”
“Yes.”
“To whom?”
“To you.”
I stared at him.
“What did it say?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Your father believed the stolen pension money was later used to build the Carter family fortune.”
“That isn’t why Jason tried to kill me.”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because you inherited something.”
“I inherited almost nothing.”
“You inherited your father’s legal claim.”
Laura stepped closer.
“What claim?”
Daniel looked at her.
“If the fraud were proven, Emily could challenge the sale of Carter Medical Holdings.”
“How much was the sale worth?” I asked.
“Nearly two hundred million dollars.”
The number hung in the air.
Jason had not only wanted my insurance money.
He wanted to prevent me from discovering a claim that could destroy his family.
“Did Margaret know my father left evidence?”
“She suspected it.”
“Did Jason?”
“He found the letter in your attic.”
“Where is the letter?”
Daniel looked frightened again.
“Jason has it.”
The door opened.
Marcus entered with urgent news.
Margaret had requested a lawyer.
She refused to reveal Jason’s location.
But police recovered her phone.
It contained one recent outgoing message.
Sent after the cemetery chase began.
The message read:
She knows about Harper.
The reply came from an unknown number.
Then finish it yourself.
Laura looked at me.
“We traced the phone.”
“Where is he?”
“The signal came from inside the city.”
“How close?”
She hesitated.
“Less than one mile from this hospital.”
May you like
A nurse screamed in the hallway.
Then the fire alarm began to ring.
