Chapter 7 - Locker 318
I didn’t believe her.
I also couldn’t ignore her.
That was the cruelty of a good lie.
It only needed enough truth around the edges.
I drove to Union Station with Laura while Elena stayed with Rosie under private security I trusted.
Not Mercer security.
Mine.
Two former federal agents Laura knew.
I wasn’t taking chances anymore.
Locker 318 was in the old west corridor.
The brass key fit.
Inside was a black canvas bag.
Nothing else.
I pulled it out.
Laura unzipped it.
Three flash drives.
A paper ledger.
Copies of contracts.
A sealed DNA test.
My hands started shaking.
“Daniel.”
Laura held out the envelope.
The name at the top read:
LILY MERCER.
Father:
DANIEL MERCER.
Probability of paternity:
99.98%.
I sat down hard on the bench.
“No.”
Laura crouched beside me.
“Sofia had a child six years ago?”
“I never knew.”
“Could the test be fake?”
“Anything can be fake.”
But I knew Sofia’s handwriting on the envelope.
Inside was a letter.
Daniel,
I should have told you years ago.
I told myself I was protecting you.
Then I told myself I was protecting Lily.
The truth is, I was afraid.
When Lily was born, she was sick. Very sick.
My aunt Margaret offered to care for her while I recovered.
Then Margaret disappeared with her.
I spent years trying to find them.
I finally did.
The letter shook in my hand.
Sofia had found Lily seven months earlier.
She had been living under another name with Margaret in Vermont.
Sofia planned to tell me.
But before she could, Margaret contacted someone at Mercer Development.
Someone who somehow knew Sofia was investigating the missing money.
That person offered to “help.”
The letter ended with:
I think they’re using Lily to control me.
If I fail, please find her.
Please don’t hate me longer than necessary.
Sofia.
I covered my face.
Laura sat beside me.
“She was trying to fix everything.”
I looked at the flash drives.
“Let’s find out what she knew.”
We plugged the first one into Laura’s laptop.
Financial records.
The second contained security footage.
The third was password-protected.
Laura opened the footage.
A parking garage.
Sofia’s office building.
Michael appeared first.
Then Vivienne.
Then Detective Hayes.
All three stood beside a black SUV.
Timestamp:
Two days before Sofia died.
Michael handed Hayes an envelope.
Vivienne said something we couldn’t hear.
Then Hayes looked directly into the camera.
The footage ended.
Laura whispered, “There’s your conspiracy.”
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photo message.
Lily.
A little girl with dark curls and Sofia’s eyes.
Sitting in a chair.
Holding a handwritten sign.
COME HOME ALONE.
Then another message arrived.
BRING THE UNION STATION BAG.
I looked around the station.
Laura stood.
“What?”
I showed her the phone.
She went pale.
Then a man brushed past us.
He bumped my shoulder.
“Sorry.”
He kept walking.
May you like
Laura looked down.
The canvas bag was gone.
