Chapter 7 - THE RETURN OF THE DEAD MAN
For six years, Marcus Reed had carried the weight of Daniel Cross’s death.
He remembered the phone call.
The police report.
The empty funeral.
The questions nobody could answer.
Daniel had been the only person Marcus trusted without hesitation.
They had worked together.
They had fought together.
They had uncovered things together that powerful people wanted buried.
Then one night, Daniel disappeared.
A burned vehicle was found near a remote highway.
The investigators claimed there was no doubt.
Daniel Cross was dead.
Marcus never believed it.
But he never had proof.
Until tonight.
Until Easter night.
Inside the Beaumont estate.
With Daniel’s face appearing on a security screen.
Alive.
Marcus stared at the blank monitor.
Nobody spoke.
The guests looked terrified.
Preston looked furious.
Vivienne looked calculating.
Sheriff Pike looked like a man who had just realized his entire world was collapsing.
Then the security panel made another sound.
INCOMING CONNECTION.
Everyone turned.
The screen flickered.
Daniel appeared again.
This time, he was not in the dark room.
He was standing somewhere unfamiliar.
An old warehouse.
His face was thinner.
Older.
But unmistakably him.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Daniel.”
Daniel looked directly at him.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Six years of anger.
Six years of pain.
Six years of questions.
All standing between them.
Then Daniel finally spoke.
“I knew you would come.”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“You let me bury you.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“I had to.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
“You wanted me to believe you were dead.”
Daniel looked at him.
“I wanted you alive.”
The answer stunned everyone.
Marcus’s expression changed.
“Explain.”
Daniel looked around.
“I discovered what the Beaumont family was doing.”
Preston immediately shouted.
“Don’t listen to him.”
Daniel ignored him.
“They were moving money through fake charities.”
“They were buying influence.”
“They were controlling people who were supposed to protect others.”
Sheriff Pike stepped forward.
“This is a lie.”
Daniel looked at him through the screen.
“Raymond.”
The sheriff froze.
“You know exactly what happened.”
The room went silent.
Because Daniel had used his first name.
Like they knew each other.
Like they had history.
Marcus looked at Pike.
“You worked with him.”
Pike didn’t answer.
That silence was confirmation.
Claire stepped closer to her father.
“Dad.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Stay behind me.”
Daniel continued.
“Claire found the records because she found the one thing they never expected.”
“What?”
Daniel looked at Claire.
“Proof.”
Claire’s breathing became heavier.
“What proof?”
Daniel paused.
“The Beaumont Foundation was never created to help people.”
A long silence.
“It was created to hide crimes.”
The guests began whispering.
Some looked at Preston.
Others looked at Vivienne.
The perfect Beaumont image was breaking apart.
Preston suddenly moved toward the security panel.
Marcus noticed.
“Don’t.”
Preston stopped.
Marcus’s voice became cold.
“Every movement you make is being recorded.”
Preston smiled.
“You think cameras scare me?”
Marcus looked at him.
“No.”
“I think evidence does.”
Daniel looked serious.
“Marcus.”
“Yes?”
“Listen carefully.”
The entire room waited.
“There is someone else involved.”
Marcus frowned.
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the camera.
Then he said:
“Someone inside the Beaumont family.”
Everyone turned.
Vivienne’s expression changed.
Only for a second.
But Marcus saw it.
Daniel continued.
“The person who ordered my disappearance was not Preston.”
A pause.
“Not Pike.”
The screen became distorted.
Then Daniel spoke his final words.
“Marcus…”
“Look at Vivienne.”
The connection ended.
The room exploded into silence.
Every person looked at the woman in white.
And for the first time in decades…
May you like
Vivienne Beaumont looked powerless.
---
