Hale called for an ambulance while keeping his weapon trained toward the water. The boat disappeared behind the bend before he could reach the shoreline. Daniel watched helplessly, every instinct telling him to chase it.
“We can't let him get away,” Daniel said.
Hale shook his head.
“Victor is alive. That's the priority.”
Daniel looked toward the injured man.
Claire was kneeling beside her brother, pressing both hands against the wound.
“Stay with me,” she whispered.
Victor opened his eyes.
“Claire.”
“I'm here.”
“Your father…”
“I know.”
“No.”
Victor struggled to breathe.
“You don't know.”
Claire leaned closer.
“What?”
“He didn't work alone.”
Daniel crouched beside them.
“Who was with him?”
Victor looked at Daniel.
“Someone you trust.”
Then his eyes closed.
The ambulance siren sounded in the distance.
Daniel stood.
He looked at Claire.
She understood the question.
“I don't know who he means.”
“You recognized the boat.”
Claire nodded.
“I recognized the jacket.”
“Miller?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
She hesitated.
“Daniel's old business partner.”
Daniel frowned.
“Sam?”
Claire nodded.
Sam Porter had been part of the marina business for almost fifteen years before leaving after an argument with Daniel over the property sale. He had always been friendly with the family. He had attended birthdays, helped Evan with his first boat, and spent countless summer evenings on their deck.
Daniel felt sick.
“Sam wouldn't do this.”
Claire looked at him.
“You said you wanted the truth.”
“I do.”
“Then stop deciding who is innocent before we know.”
The ambulance arrived.
Paramedics rushed to Victor.
Hale gave them the information they needed.
Then he turned to Daniel.
“We need to move.”
“Where?”
“Back to the marina.”
“Why?”
“Because if Miller and whoever else is involved know Victor survived, they'll go after the evidence.”
Daniel looked at the memory card.
Evan held it tightly.
“The card isn't the only evidence,” Evan said.
Daniel looked at him.
“What else?”
“The original files.”
“Where?”
Evan pointed toward the road.
“In the marina office.”
Hale nodded.
“Then that's where we're going.”
They returned to the house briefly to collect equipment.
Claire changed her clothes.
Daniel watched her silently.
She finally said, “You can ask.”
“Ask what?”
“Anything.”
He looked at her.
“Why did you stay with me?”
She looked confused.
“What?”
“If you knew my family was involved in this, why didn't you leave?”
Claire's eyes filled.
“Because none of this changed who you were.”
Daniel looked away.
She continued.
“I was afraid you would think I married you because of the property.”
“I never thought that.”
“You might now.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“I should have trusted you.”
“Yes.”
“I know.”
Daniel nodded.
It was not forgiveness.
Not yet.
But it was the first honest thing between them in hours.
At the marina, the parking lot was empty.
Too empty.
Hale parked behind the office.
The front door was unlocked.
Daniel entered first.
The familiar smell of fuel, rope, and old wood filled the room.
Everything looked untouched.
Then Evan pointed toward the desk.
“The computer.”
The monitor was on.
A file transfer was running.
Someone was copying the accounts.
Hale unplugged the network cable.
The transfer stopped.
Daniel checked the drawer.
The original documents were gone.
“Someone beat us here.”
Claire looked around.
“No.”
“What?”
“The office isn't empty.”
Daniel heard it too.
A faint sound from the storage room.
Footsteps.
Hale motioned for everyone to stay back.
He opened the door.
Nobody was inside.
But a rear window stood open.
On the floor beneath it was a torn piece of fabric.
Blue.
With a silver stripe.
Daniel picked it up.
“Sam.”
Hale looked at him.
“Don't assume.”
Daniel nodded.
Then Evan shouted.
“Dad!”
They turned.
Evan had found a hidden compartment beneath the desk.
Inside was a metal box.
Daniel opened it.
There were old photographs.
Contracts.
Bank records.
And one handwritten ledger.
Claire picked up the ledger.
Her face changed.
“What?”
She pointed to a name.
Daniel leaned over.
Sam Porter.
Next to the name were payment amounts.
Large amounts.
Repeated over several years.
Daniel felt betrayed in a way he could barely articulate.
“He was taking money from us.”
Hale looked through the ledger.
“Not just recently.”
Daniel sat down.
“Then Victor was right.”
Claire looked at the old photographs.
One showed Sam standing beside Daniel's father.
Another showed Victor's father.
And a third showed a younger Claire.
She touched the photograph.
“I remember this day.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Where was it?”
“The old development office.”
She turned the photograph over.
There was a date.
Twenty-four years earlier.
And a handwritten note:
FINAL AGREEMENT — MERCER PROPERTY.
Daniel stared.
“That was before we were married.”
Claire nodded.
“My father was alive then.”
“And Sam was already involved.”
“Yes.”
Evan pointed to another document.
“This is the real reason.”
Daniel took it.
It was a land agreement.
The Mercers had refused to sell.
But the agreement contained a clause.
If the property was ever transferred under fraudulent circumstances, the development company could claim damages.
Daniel understood.
“They weren't trying to buy the marina.”
“They were trying to force a fraudulent transfer,” Claire said.
“And use the penalty clause to take everything.”
Hale nodded.
“That explains the forged signatures.”
A sound came from outside.
An engine.
They moved to the window.
Sam's truck was parked across the road.
Sam stepped out.
He raised both hands.
“Daniel!”
Hale drew his weapon.
“Don't move.”
Sam froze.
“I didn't hurt anyone.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Then explain the money.”
Sam looked toward the office.
“You found the ledger.”
“Yes.”
Sam closed his eyes.
“I knew this day would come.”
Hale ordered him inside.
Sam entered slowly.
Daniel remained standing.
“You've been stealing from me for years.”
Sam shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what are those payments?”
“Protection.”
“From whom?”
Sam looked at Claire.
“Your father.”
Claire stepped back.
Sam continued.
“He controlled the development group.”
Daniel stared.
“My father was dead.”
“Officially.”
Sam's voice cracked.
“He disappeared because the authorities were closing in.”
“Why did you work for him?”
“I was twenty-five.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“I was afraid.”
Sam looked toward Evan.
“Then when I tried to leave, they threatened your family.”
Daniel felt the room grow colder.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because every time I tried, someone got hurt.”
“Victor?”
Sam nodded.
“Miller's wife?”
Sam hesitated.
“She found the records.”
“And?”
“She was taken.”
Claire's face went pale.
“Where is she?”
Sam looked toward the lake.
“Alive.”
Everyone froze.
“Where?”
“On the old island.”
Hale's radio crackled.
The dispatcher reported that Victor had survived surgery.
Then another message came through.
A witness had seen Miller's boat heading toward the island.
Hale looked at Daniel.
“We're going.”
Sam stepped forward.
“I know the route.”
Hale stared at him.
“You're coming with us.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
She nodded.
Evan started forward.
“No,” Daniel said.
Evan stopped.
“You stay here with the officers.”
“But—”
“No.”
For the first time, Evan didn't argue.
Daniel walked toward the door.
Behind him, Claire picked up the old photograph.
She stared at her younger self.
Then she whispered something Daniel barely heard.
“My father knew about me.”
Daniel turned.
“What?”
Claire looked at him.
“He knew I would marry you.”
Her hands shook.
“And the marriage wasn't an accident.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART8: At the Island, the Final Records Revealed Who Had Manipulated Their Family, and Daniel Had to Choose What Truth Would Cost Them
Claire Came Home Carrying Grocery Bags, but Daniel Was Already Calling the Police About Something He Could Not Explain
Part 7 of 16
