Chapter 5: The Thing Beneath the Floor
Daniel didn't speak for several seconds.
He could hear the refrigerator humming, Lily's uneven breathing, and the distant sound of a lawn mower somewhere beyond the backyard fence.
Then he released his daughter's hand and turned toward Michael.
“Tell me where it is.””
Michael glanced at Vanessa.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly.
Daniel caught the movement.
“Don't look at her. Look at me.””
Michael swallowed.
“Under the loose floorboard beside the pantry.””
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
“You cannot be serious.””
Daniel stared at her.
“Why are you afraid of a floorboard?””
“I'm not afraid. I'm telling you this man is trying to destroy our marriage because he knows he can't explain his own behavior.””
Michael's voice hardened.
“You've had three years to get rid of it.””
Vanessa slapped him.
The sound cracked through the kitchen.
Lily screamed.
Daniel caught Vanessa's wrist before she could strike again.
“Have you lost your mind?””
She pulled free, breathing hard.
“He's manipulating you!””
Michael touched his cheek. He didn't look angry. He looked disappointed, as if the slap had confirmed something he'd hoped wasn't true.
“That's exactly what happened last time,” he said.
Daniel turned toward him.
“Last time?””
Michael looked at Vanessa.
“The night I came here three years ago. She told me you already knew about the accounts. She said you'd chosen to believe her, and if I tried to contact you again, I'd be putting Lily at risk.””
Daniel stared at his wife.
“Did you say that?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to keep him away from us.””
“That's not an answer.””
“He was frightening me, Daniel! He kept showing up and talking about documents, money, people watching him. I didn't know what was real.””
Michael nodded slowly.
“That's the part she always leaves out.””
He turned toward Daniel.
“I came here because I found a transaction bearing your signature. It transferred a substantial amount of money from an account connected to your business. You hadn't authorized it. I knew because I'd helped you set up the account years earlier.””
Daniel's stomach tightened.
He remembered the account. It had been created to manage an investment he'd inherited from their father, money he intended to use for Lily's education.
“Was any money actually taken?””
“Yes,” Michael replied.
“But that wasn't the worst part. Someone had created documents suggesting you approved the transfer.””
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“He never showed me any proof.””
“I tried,” Michael said.
“You told me to leave.””
“Because I didn't believe you!””
“And then you called someone.””
Vanessa's face drained of color.
Daniel slowly turned toward her.
“Who did you call?””
She shook her head.
“I don't remember.””
“You don't remember who you called the night my brother disappeared?””
“I was upset!””
Michael moved toward the pantry.
“Enough talking.””
Daniel followed him.
The pantry door opened with a soft squeak. Shelves held cereal boxes, canned vegetables, pasta, and a large bag of rice. Michael knelt beside the wooden trim at the base of the wall and ran his fingers along the floor.
“Here.””
He pressed a narrow board near the corner.
It shifted.
Daniel crouched beside him and helped lift it. Beneath the board lay a shallow cavity between the floor joists. Inside sat a small plastic-wrapped bundle, dusty but intact.
Daniel carefully removed it.
Vanessa backed away.
“Daniel, please. Don't do this.””
He looked at her.
“You've said that every time I've gotten close to an answer.””
He unwrapped the bundle.
Inside was a small flash drive, a folded bank statement, and a photograph.
Daniel picked up the photograph first.
It showed Michael standing outside a brick building beside a man Daniel didn't recognize. The image was slightly blurred, as if taken from a distance. On the back, someone had written a date: three days before Michael disappeared.
Daniel examined the man's face.
“Who is this?””
Michael leaned closer.
“I never learned his name. He was the one who followed me.””
Daniel turned over the bank statement.
The transaction date matched the week of Michael's disappearance. The amount was larger than he'd expected, and the authorization carried a signature resembling his own.
At the bottom of the page was an account access record.
Vanessa Carter.
Daniel looked up.
“Why does your name appear here?””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Your name is on the document.””
“I said I don't know!””
Michael spoke from behind him.
“She had access because she was listed as an authorized contact.””
Daniel's eyes widened.
“You told me you never had access to that account.””
Vanessa's mouth trembled.
“I didn't make the transfer.””
“Then why did you lie?””
“I was afraid you'd misunderstand!””
Daniel held up the bank statement.
“What am I supposed to understand?””
She reached for him, but he stepped back.
“Please,” she whispered.
“We've been married for eleven years. You're going to throw everything away because your brother shows up with some old papers?””
Daniel looked down at the photograph again.
“I'm not throwing anything away. I'm asking questions.””
Michael pointed toward the flash drive.
“The documents are on there. Account records, emails, copies of the original authorization. Everything I could save before I had to leave.””
“Why didn't you send them to me?””
“Because every attempt to contact you was intercepted.””
Daniel stared at him.
“By whom?””
Michael rubbed his eyes.
“I don't know. I only know that someone always seemed to know what I was going to do before I did it.””
Vanessa suddenly lunged toward the flash drive.
Daniel pulled it away.
She stumbled against the pantry shelf, sending a can of tomatoes rolling across the floor.
“Give it to me!”” she shouted.
Daniel stared at her.
The desperation in her voice was unlike anything he'd heard from her before.
“Why?””
“Because you don't understand what you're holding!””
Michael stepped between them.
“Then explain it.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“You don't know what will happen if you open those files.””
Daniel felt the room grow unbearably still.
He slipped the flash drive into his pocket.
“I'm going to find out.””
Vanessa looked at him with something that resembled grief.
Then her expression hardened.
“You think Michael came back to save you,” she whispered.
“But you have no idea what he did to survive.””
Michael's face went pale.
Daniel turned toward his brother.
“What is she talking about?””
Michael stared at the floor.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked up.
“I made a deal with the person who wanted me gone.””
Daniel's heart hammered.
“What kind of deal?””
Michael's voice broke.
“I promised I'd never tell you who was really behind the transfer.””
Daniel stepped backward.
“And now?””
May you like
Michael looked directly at Vanessa.
“Now I think the person who paid me to disappear is still living in this house.””
