Rowan lowered the phone.
Mara stared at him.
“You betrayed my father.”
“Yes.”
The word landed without defense.
Daniel turned away.
Eli remained still.
Mara felt anger rise, but beneath it was something colder.
“Why?”
Rowan sat down.
“Because Keller had people everywhere.”
“That doesn't answer me.”
“No.”
He rubbed his face.
“Your father found the property records. He thought exposing them would save people.”
“And?”
“He was right about the corruption. Wrong about the cost.”
Mara folded her arms.
“What cost?”
“Your family.”
Rowan looked at Daniel.
“Keller threatened both of you.”
Daniel said nothing.
“He told me if I helped your father disappear, you would survive.”
Mara's voice sharpened.
“So Dad staged his death.”
“Yes.”
“And you helped him.”
“Yes.”
“Then how did Keller know?”
Rowan hesitated.
“Someone told him.”
“Who?”
Rowan looked at Eli.
Mara's heart dropped.
Eli shook his head.
“Don't.”
Rowan said, “Eli.”
Mara turned toward him.
“You betrayed my father too?”
Eli stepped back.
“No.”
“Then why is Rowan looking at you?”
“Because I was the person your father asked to keep the evidence moving.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“I didn't tell Keller.”
Rowan interrupted.
“You met Keller.”
“Once.”
“And you gave him the location.”
“Because he had Mara.”
Mara froze.
“What?”
Eli looked at her.
“Years ago.”
“You knew he had me?”
“No. I knew he had someone watching you.”
Daniel suddenly stood.
“You knew?”
Eli turned.
“I was trying to protect you.”
Daniel shoved him.
Eli stumbled.
“You almost got us killed.”
“I know.”
“You brought Keller to the house.”
“I didn't.”
“You knew he was coming.”
“I knew someone was coming.”
Daniel moved toward him again.
Mara stepped between them.
“Stop.”
Daniel stared at her.
“He lied to us.”
“So did everyone.”
The room fell silent.
Mara looked at the computer.
The video file remained open.
She remembered her father's words.
The person who helped him is someone you already trust.
She looked at Rowan.
Then Eli.
Then Daniel.
Her brother was the only person who had not been named.
A thought struck her.
“Daniel.”
He looked at her.
“Why did Dad tell me to find you?”
Daniel's face changed.
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“No.”
“You came to the garage after receiving the same messages.”
“Yes.”
“You knew the hidden passage.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the cemetery.”
“Yes.”
“You knew where the terminal was.”
Daniel said nothing.
Mara's voice became quiet.
“How much did Dad tell you?”
Daniel looked down.
“Everything.”
She stepped back.
“What?”
“I found his second recording six months ago.”
Eli closed his eyes.
Rowan looked stunned.
Daniel continued.
“He was alive when I found it.”
Mara's breathing stopped.
“Where?”
“I never saw him.”
“Then how?”
“He left messages.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because he told me not to.”
“Why?”
“Because he said someone close to you was listening.”
Mara stared at him.
Daniel reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small cassette.
“This is the last one.”
“Play it.”
Daniel hesitated.
Then inserted it into the old recorder.
Static filled the garage.
Their father's voice followed.
“Daniel, if you're hearing this, the house is no longer safe.”
Mara closed her eyes.
“I need you to understand something. Keller is not hunting the ledger. He is hunting the witness.”
The recording paused.
Then their father continued.
“Harlan knows where I am.”
Daniel looked at Mara.
The voice continued.
“If Keller captures him, he will find me.”
Mara whispered, “Where are you?”
The recording answered as though her father had heard her.
“I will be at the place where your mother used to take you when storms frightened you.”
Mara remembered.
The old lakeside cabin.
She had not been there since childhood.
Daniel stood.
“We have to go.”
Rowan shook his head.
“No.”
Mara turned.
“Why?”
“Because that's exactly where Keller expects us to go.”
Eli looked toward the door.
“Then we don't go there.”
Mara stared at the map on the wall.
Another memory surfaced.
Her mother had not always taken them to the cabin.
Sometimes she had taken them to the boathouse.
A smaller structure across the lake.
Hidden behind reeds.
Mara pointed.
“The boathouse.”
Daniel looked at her.
“That could be it.”
They left before sunrise.
The lake was covered in fog.
The boathouse appeared only when they were close.
Its door stood open.
Mara stepped inside.
Someone was sitting in the corner.
An old man.
Thin.
Gray-haired.
Harlan.
Daniel stopped.
“You're alive.”
Harlan smiled faintly.
“Barely.”
Mara approached.
“Where is my father?”
Harlan looked at her.
“Closer than you think.”
Before anyone could respond, the lights went out.
A gunshot cracked across the lake.
Harlan fell.
Mara screamed.
Daniel grabbed her.
Eli pulled them behind the wall.
Rowan returned fire.
“Get down!”
Another shot struck the wooden door.
Harlan was still moving.
Mara crawled toward him.
“Where is he?”
Harlan's hand closed around hers.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
Harlan coughed.
“He's been watching.”
“Where?”
Harlan looked toward the window.
“Across the lake.”
Mara turned.
A boat moved through the fog.
Someone stood inside.
Not Keller.
A familiar figure.
Their father.
Daniel stared.
“No.”
Mara could barely breathe.
The man on the boat raised one hand.
Then the boat disappeared into the fog.
Harlan whispered the final words.
“He never died.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART8: When Mara Finally Met the Father She Had Buried Years Ago, the Truth About the Fire Forced Her to Choose What Her Family Would Become
By the Time Mara Reached the Porch, the Fire Had Already Taken the One Thing Her Brother Was Trying to Protect
Part 7 of 16
