They brought Evan inside before asking anything else. Hale ordered everyone else away from the house, and the crowd slowly dispersed beneath the watchful eyes of patrol officers. The lake returned to its usual rhythm, though nothing about the afternoon felt ordinary anymore. Evan sat at the kitchen table with a towel around his shoulders. Claire knelt beside him and examined the cut near his eyebrow. Daniel stood opposite them, unable to stop staring at his son.
“Tell me what happened,” he said.
Evan looked at Hale first.
“Can I talk to my dad alone?”
Hale considered it.
“I'll stay nearby.”
Evan nodded.
Daniel sat beside him.
“You scared us.”
“I know.”
“You could have been killed.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me why you went.”
Evan looked down at his hands.
“Because I found the person taking the money.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Who?”
“Mr. Miller.”
Daniel blinked.
“Miller?”
“The marina owner next door.”
Claire frowned.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“He wasn't taking money from us directly,” Evan said. “He was moving it through fake rental accounts.”
Daniel stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw the spreadsheet.”
“Where?”
“In Dad's office.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“My office?”
Evan nodded.
“I went in there three weeks ago.”
Claire looked at Daniel.
“You didn't tell me that.”
“I didn't know.”
Evan continued.
“There were rental numbers that didn't match the receipts. At first I thought Dad made a mistake.”
Daniel swallowed.
“I don't make mistakes like that.”
“I know.”
Evan's eyes moved toward the window.
“So I checked.”
“What did you find?”
“Twenty-three fake reservations.”
Daniel sat back.
“Twenty-three?”
“Different names. Same phone number.”
Hale entered the kitchen.
“Keep going.”
Evan looked at him.
“I found the number.”
“Whose?”
“Victor's.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Hale asked, “Your uncle?”
“Yes.”
“That's why you thought he was alive.”
Evan nodded.
“I called him.”
Daniel's voice sharpened.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I wanted answers.”
“And he answered?”
“No.”
Evan hesitated.
“Someone else did.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel watched his son's face.
“You're hiding something.”
Evan looked at him.
“The person said they knew where I lived.”
The kitchen became silent.
“They told me to stop looking.”
Claire reached for his hand.
“And you didn't.”
“No.”
Daniel almost smiled despite himself.
“You're stubborn.”
“I learned from you.”
It was the first moment of warmth in the room.
Then Evan's expression changed.
“They told me Mom was involved.”
Claire stiffened.
“I wasn't.”
“I know.”
Daniel looked at him.
“How?”
“Because I saw the messages.”
“What messages?”
“The ones Mom got.”
Claire slowly pulled out her phone.
Then she stopped.
“I don't have it.”
Hale looked at her.
“You said you lost it.”
“I thought I did.”
Evan shook his head.
“Someone took it.”
“When?”
“At the grocery store.”
Claire stared at him.
“You were there?”
“No. I followed you.”
Daniel stood.
“You followed your mother?”
“I was trying to protect her.”
“From whom?”
Evan's eyes filled with fear.
“From the man in the red shirt.”
Daniel looked through the window.
A man in a red polo stood near the roadside.
He had been watching the house.
Daniel recognized him.
Miller.
Hale noticed him at the same moment.
The officer stepped outside.
The man immediately turned away.
“Sir!”
Miller kept walking.
Hale followed.
Daniel moved toward the window.
Claire grabbed his sleeve.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“Why?”
“Because Evan isn't finished.”
Evan nodded.
“There was another boat.”
Daniel turned.
“What other boat?”
“The one that followed me.”
“When?”
“After I took ours.”
Daniel stared.
“You took our boat?”
“I thought I was meeting Victor.”
“You knew the boat was being watched?”
“I didn't know at first.”
Evan's breathing quickened.
“I went to the old dock because Victor told me to.”
“Through a message?”
“Yes.”
“From Mom's phone?”
“Yes.”
Claire whispered, “But I never sent it.”
“I know.”
Evan continued.
“When I got there, nobody was waiting.”
“What happened?”
“I heard an engine.”
He looked toward the lake.
“A black fishing boat came around the corner.”
Daniel waited.
“It stopped near me.”
“Who was driving?”
“I couldn't see.”
“Then what?”
“They shouted my name.”
Claire's face tightened.
“What did they say?”
“They said, ‘Your father knows.’”
Daniel felt cold.
“Knows what?”
Evan looked directly at him.
“That the money was never stolen.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Evan reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small memory card.
“I found this in the office computer.”
Hale returned to the kitchen.
Miller was gone.
“Where did he go?” Daniel asked.
“He left before we could stop him.”
Daniel looked at the memory card.
“What is on it?”
“Everything.”
Claire stared at the tiny piece of plastic.
“Everything about what?”
Evan swallowed.
“The real accounts.”
Daniel took the card.
His fingers trembled.
“Why didn't you give this to the police?”
“Because I didn't know who to trust.”
Hale nodded slowly.
“That was probably wise.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Are you saying someone in the department is involved?”
“I’m saying we don't know yet.”
The officer glanced toward the window.
The crowd had nearly disappeared.
Only the lake remained visible.
Bright.
Peaceful.
Deceptive.
Then Daniel noticed something on the road.
The police SUV's rear tire had gone flat.
Hale walked outside.
A minute later he returned with a strange expression.
“There’s a problem.”
“What?”
“Someone cut the tire.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
Evan stood.
“That's what happened at the old dock.”
“What?”
“The boat rope was cut.”
Hale nodded.
“And there’s something else.”
He placed a clear evidence bag on the table.
Inside was Claire's phone.
Daniel stared.
“Where did you find it?”
“Under the driver's seat of my patrol car.”
Claire's face went white.
Hale carefully turned the phone over.
There was a new message on the screen.
Everyone watched as it appeared.
YOU FOUND THE CARD.
Daniel looked at Evan.
Evan looked at Claire.
Claire looked at Hale.
A second message arrived.
NOW BRING IT TO THE OLD QUARRY.
Hale's jaw tightened.
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Evan looked at him.
“Dad—”
“No. We aren't walking into their trap.”
Hale nodded.
“I agree.”
Then the phone rang.
Nobody moved.
The screen displayed one word.
DAD.
Daniel stared at it.
His own number.
His phone was still in his pocket.
The call continued.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then Hale whispered, “Answer it.”
Daniel slowly reached for the phone.
He pressed accept.
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then a man's voice came through.
Calm.
Close.
Almost familiar.
“Daniel, you finally understand.”
Daniel's blood ran cold.
“Who is this?”
The voice laughed softly.
“You've been looking in the wrong place.”
Daniel looked toward the lake.
The voice continued.
“The person you think betrayed you is the person who has been keeping you alive.”
The call ended.
Nobody spoke.
Claire slowly sat down.
Evan whispered, “Dad…”
Daniel stared at the dark phone screen.
For the first time since the boat disappeared, he understood the most frightening part.
The stranger knew exactly where they were.
And someone inside their family had known the truth all along.
Click Here to continue read next: PART5: The Voice on Daniel’s Phone Sent Them Toward the Quarry, While Claire Finally Revealed Why She Had Been Hiding Victor’s Last Warning
Claire Came Home Carrying Grocery Bags, but Daniel Was Already Calling the Police About Something He Could Not Explain
Part 4 of 16
