Chapter 8 - THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHDeclan returned to the safe house in less than twenty minutes.
Clary was waiting at the door, pale and trembling.
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“You were supposed to protect him!”
“I left two guards with you.”
“One of them is unconscious in the kitchen. The other is gone!”
Declan's face hardened.
He ordered his security team to search the property and trace every vehicle that had entered the area.
Clary grabbed his jacket.
“Please find my brother.”
“I will.”
“You don't understand. He's all I have.”
Declan looked at her.
“So are you.”
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Clary went still.
He wanted to explain, but a security officer approached with a phone recovered from the driveway.
“Sir, we found this near the gate.”
A message had been sent from Tommy's number.
BRING THE PHOTOGRAPH TO THE OLD CHURCH. COME ALONE.
Declan recognized the location.
The abandoned church had once served as a meeting place for his father's organization. It had been closed after a fire destroyed part of the building.
Clary immediately shook her head.
“I'm coming with you.”
“No.”
“Declan—”
“It's a trap.”
“Then don't walk into it alone!”
He stared at her.
She was frightened, exhausted, and furious, yet she refused to stand aside while someone threatened her family.
He finally nodded.
“You stay in the car with the security team. If anything goes wrong, they take you somewhere safe.”
“Agreed.”
The church stood at the edge of a deserted neighborhood, its stained-glass windows shattered and its bell tower blackened by fire.
Declan entered through a side door.
The photograph was in his pocket.
“Tommy?”
His voice echoed through the empty building.
A figure moved behind the altar.
Arthur stepped into the light.
He looked tired, but his suit remained immaculate.
“Give me the photograph.”
“Where's Tommy?”
“Alive.”
“Prove it.”
Arthur held up a phone.
A live video showed Tommy sitting in a chair, his injured arm secured against his chest.
Clary's brother was frightened but conscious.
“Let him go.”
“Give me the photograph.”
Declan didn't move.
“Who is Elena Knox?”
Arthur's expression changed.
“You shouldn't have found that.”
“Who is she?”
Arthur looked toward the ceiling, as though searching for patience.
“Your father had an affair years before he met your mother. Elena was his daughter. He intended to acknowledge her, but Victor discovered the relationship.”
“Why was it hidden?”
“Because Victor wanted leverage. He threatened to expose the affair, destroy your father's marriage, and use the child to force a transfer of power.”
Declan's jaw tightened.
“What happened to her?”
“Your father arranged for her to be taken somewhere safe.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Liar.”
Arthur's expression hardened.
“Your father trusted me with the arrangements. I made sure she disappeared from the records.”
“You helped Victor blackmail him.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“By accepting his money?”
Arthur looked stunned.
“Your father gave me no choice.”
“There's always a choice.”
Arthur laughed bitterly.
“That's what men say when they haven't been forced to make one.”
Declan took the photograph from his pocket and held it up.
“Did you kill my father?”
Arthur's eyes filled with something resembling pain.
“No.”
“Did you know who did?”
Arthur hesitated.
Then he said, “I arrived after the shooting. Your father was already dying. Victor had fled, and I found the gun beside the body.”
“Why didn't you tell the police?”
“Because Victor had enough evidence to destroy the organization. If I exposed him, every family connected to your father would have gone to prison. You would have lost everything before you were old enough to understand it.”
“So you built an empire on a lie.”
“I built an empire to keep you alive!”
The words rang through the church.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Declan asked, “What does Victor want now?”
Arthur lowered his voice.
“The original estate documents. Your father left a sealed trust that gives Elena control of a significant portion of the legitimate Knox holdings. Victor has been searching for her for twenty years.”
“And Tommy?”
“Mercer discovered that Tommy had been approached about the archive. He used the debt to draw you into the investigation.”
Declan felt a chill.
“Why?”
Arthur's face went pale.
“Because Mercer doesn't work for Victor anymore.”
“Who does he work for?”
Arthur looked directly at him.
“You.”
Declan frowned.
“What?”
“Someone has been using your signature to authorize the collections. Your name appears on the transfers. Mercer has been building a case that you're the one who ordered the beatings.”
Before Declan could respond, the church doors slammed shut.
A voice echoed through the building.
“Thank you, Arthur. You've been very helpful.”
Victor Sloane emerged from the shadows, holding a gun.
May you like
Behind him stood Elias Mercer.
And Tommy was nowhere to be seen.
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