Chapter 5
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Then Sophie started crying.
“Daddy…”
I pulled her against my chest.
“I'm here.”
Natalie wrapped her arms around both of us.
Marcus stared at the locked door.
“They're going to search the house.”
Vanessa whispered, “There's another way out.”
I looked at her.
“You know another secret passage?”
She nodded.
“Your father built it.”
“Where?”
She pointed behind the shelving unit.
I moved it aside.
A narrow opening appeared.
I stared at Vanessa.
“How many hidden rooms does this house have?”
“More than you know.”
We squeezed through.
The passage was barely wide enough for one person.
I went first.
Natalie followed with Sophie.
Marcus came behind us.
Vanessa brought up the rear.
The passage climbed gradually.
Then I heard voices above.
“They're somewhere inside!”
Another voice shouted.
“Find them!”
I moved faster.
At the end of the passage was a wooden door.
I pushed it open.
We emerged into my father's old study.
I hadn't entered that room since his funeral.
Dust covered the desk.
The curtains were closed.
Everything looked frozen in time.
Marcus walked toward the desk.
“Your father kept everything here.”
I looked at him.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was ashamed.”
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I asked, “Where's the evidence?”
Marcus opened a drawer.
Empty.
He opened another.
Nothing.
Vanessa whispered, “They took it.”
I looked at her.
“Who?”
“The men upstairs.”
Natalie suddenly walked toward the fireplace.
She ran her fingers along the mantel.
Then she stopped.
“Wait.”
She pulled a small wooden ornament away.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
My name was written across it.
OWEN.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was a letter from my father.
I read the first line.
My son,
If you're reading this, I failed to protect you.
My eyes blurred.
I kept reading.
I discovered that Marcus had been moving company money.
But I also discovered something worse.
Vanessa was helping him.
I looked up.
Vanessa was crying.
My father had known.
The letter continued.
I confronted them.
I thought I could fix the situation quietly.
I was wrong.
Then came the sentence that destroyed me.
If anything happens to me, trust Natalie.
She is the only person who knows the whole truth.
I looked at my wife.
She was crying silently.
“You knew.”
She nodded.
“Your father gave me copies.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because he begged me not to.”
I felt anger rise inside me.
“He was trying to protect me.”
“Yes.”
“He died anyway.”
Natalie looked down.
“I know.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Someone was trying to open the study door.
Marcus closed the compartment.
“We have to go.”
I folded the letter and put it in my pocket.
We moved toward the window.
“There's nowhere to go,” Vanessa said.
I opened the curtains.
Below us was the rear garden.
The police lights were flashing in the distance.
I stared.
“They're here.”
Marcus looked relieved.
Then his expression changed.
“They're not police.”
I looked again.
Several black vehicles were approaching.
No markings.
Men were getting out.
Natalie whispered, “Those are the people Marcus owes.”
Marcus nodded.
“They came for the evidence.”
I looked at the letter in my hand.
Then at Sophie.
My daughter was trembling.
I knew what I had to do.
“We're not running anymore.”
Marcus looked at me.
“What?”
I picked up my phone.
“I’m calling the police.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“They'll kill us before they get here.”
“I don't care.”
I pressed the emergency call button.
A dispatcher answered.
I spoke quickly.
“My family is trapped inside a mansion. Armed men are outside. My wife was kidnapped and held underground. We have evidence of financial crimes and a suspicious death.”
The dispatcher asked for the address.
I gave it.
Then I heard the study door splinter.
The men were coming in.
I grabbed Sophie.
Natalie grabbed my hand.
Marcus stepped forward.
Vanessa stood behind us.
For the first time, none of us were hiding.
The door burst open.
May you like
A man raised his weapon.
Then sirens screamed outside.
