Chapter 14: The Witness Who Disappeared
I drove to the old garage with Daniel beside me.
Two police vehicles were parked outside.
Thomas's truck sat near the entrance, its driver's door open and its headlights still on.
A uniformed officer approached.
"Mr. Carter?""
"Where is Thomas?""
"We haven't located him yet.""
I looked inside the truck.
His jacket was on the passenger seat.
A coffee cup lay overturned on the floor.
On the dashboard was a photograph of my father.
Someone had torn it in half.
Daniel spoke quietly.
"Has the scene been secured?""
"Yes. We're treating it as a possible abduction.""
I walked toward the garage.
The door was open.
Inside, the workbench had been overturned. Tools were scattered across the concrete.
The old photograph of my father and Richard was gone.
So was the black notebook.
"They took the evidence," I said.
The officer nodded.
"We've collected what remains. We're checking nearby cameras.""
I looked at the floor.
Near the back wall, something caught my eye.
A small metal object.
I picked it up before the officer could stop me.
"Don't touch anything else," he warned.
I opened my hand.
It was a key.
A small brass key with the number 17 engraved on it.
Daniel examined it without taking it.
"Could be a storage key.""
Thomas had once told me my father kept certain records outside the house.
I looked at Daniel.
"We need to find out what 17 opens.""
The officer took the key for evidence.
"We'll have it checked.""
I turned toward the garage entrance.
A black SUV was parked across the road.
Its engine started.
I saw the driver's face for only a second.
Richard Blackwood.
He looked directly at me.
Then he drove away.
I started running.
"Marcus!"" Daniel shouted.
But I was already outside.
The SUV turned at the corner and disappeared.
I stood in the road, breathing hard.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Where is Thomas?""
Richard's voice came through.
"You're becoming predictable.""
"Where is he?""
"I haven't seen Thomas in years.""
"I saw you outside the garage.""
"Then you saw a man who has every right to visit a property he once financed.""
"Did you take him?""
Richard sighed.
"Your father had a habit of surrounding himself with disloyal people. Thomas was one of them.""
I gripped the phone.
"If you hurt him—"
"Listen carefully, Marcus. You're making a mistake by trusting everyone who tells you your father was innocent.""
"Was he?""
Richard paused.
"Your father wasn't the man you remember.""
"At least he was my father.""
Richard's voice hardened.
"That is precisely the problem.""
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
Daniel walked over.
"We need to let the police handle this.""
I nodded, though every part of me wanted to chase Richard.
By evening, the police had found no sign of Thomas.
The officers were reviewing nearby surveillance footage, but the garage sat in an industrial area with limited cameras.
Daniel took me to the hospital to see my mother.
Evelyn was waiting in a consultation room.
The specialist had reviewed her imaging and recommended further testing before deciding on treatment.
She looked frightened.
I took her hand.
"Whatever happens, we're doing this properly now.""
She nodded.
"I should have told you everything.""
I sat beside her.
"You should have.""
Her eyes filled.
"But I was scared you'd hate me.""
I shook my head.
"I could never hate you for being afraid. But I need you to tell me the truth from now on.""
She nodded.
Then she reached into her handbag.
"I found something.""
She handed me a folded sheet of paper.
It was a letter from my father, dated three days before his death.
I unfolded it.
Evelyn,
If anything happens to me, do not let Richard near Marcus. I have discovered that the original trust records have been altered. The money was never borrowed from Richard. It was moved from the company account without authorization, and he is trying to make it look like a loan.
I also discovered that the medical records have been changed. Whitmore says the dosage was correct, but the prescription copies don't match.
I have made arrangements with Thomas. He knows where the original records are.
There is one more thing I need you to understand. Richard does not want Marcus because he loves him. He wants him because Marcus is the only person who can legally expose what happened.
I looked up.
"Why didn't you show me this?""
My mother wiped her eyes.
"I found it after your father died. Richard came to the house and told me that if I gave it to the police, you would be dragged into a legal battle. He said he would make sure you lost everything.""
I folded the letter.
"Mom, he was already trying to take everything.""
"I know that now.""
Daniel took the letter and examined the date.
"This may be crucial. We need to preserve the original.""
My phone rang.
It was Sophie.
"Daniel, you need to come back to the office.""
"What happened?""
"Someone delivered a package.""
"From whom?""
"No return address. But it has Marcus's name on it.""
Daniel looked at me.
"We're coming.""
At his office, Sophie placed a sealed envelope on the table.
Inside was a small memory card and a handwritten note.
Thomas is alive. The recording is on this card. Do not trust the doctor.
I stared at the note.
"Who delivered it?""
"A courier. He said it was left at reception.""
Daniel examined the memory card.
"We'll have it copied and authenticated.""
We waited while the evidence specialist made a forensic image.
The file contained a video.
Thomas appeared on screen.
His face was bruised.
He was sitting in a dimly lit room, his hands tied behind a chair.
"Marcus," he said, looking directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this, I couldn't get the evidence to you myself.""
I leaned closer.
Thomas continued.
"Your father knew Richard was changing the medication. But he also knew someone inside the hospital was helping him.""
He paused.
"That person wasn't Dr. Whitmore.""
I felt my heart pound.
Thomas looked toward someone outside the frame.
Then he continued.
"It was the man who signed the death certificate.""
Daniel sat forward.
"Who?""
Thomas whispered a name.
"Dr. Peter Lang.""
I recognized it.
The physician who had certified my father's death.
Thomas continued.
"Richard paid him to make the records look like an accidental overdose. But there's something else. Your father had already made a recording of the final meeting with Richard.""
He leaned closer.
"That recording proves Richard didn't just plan to take the money. He planned to take you.""
The video suddenly shook.
A door opened.
A man's voice shouted.
"Turn that off!""
Thomas looked terrified.
Then the screen went black.
I stared at the empty screen.
Daniel immediately contacted the police.
Within minutes, investigators were on their way.
But I couldn't stop thinking about the last sentence.
He planned to take you.
Not the money.
Not the house.
Me.
Daniel opened the trust deed again.
He studied the guardian clause.
Then he turned to me.
"Marcus, I think we finally understand why Richard has spent so many years trying to establish a legal claim over you.""
I looked at him.
"Because he's my biological father?""
"Partly. But look at the original deed.""
He pointed to a section we'd overlooked.
The trust had been established using assets from two separate sources.
One was my father's business.
The other was a protected account created before I was born.
Daniel read the beneficiary clause aloud.
"The second account is payable only to the biological child of the original contributor, provided that the child is legally recognized as the beneficiary.""
I stared at him.
"Who was the original contributor?""
Daniel turned the page.
The name was handwritten.
*Richard Blackwood.*
I felt the room go silent.
Daniel looked at me.
"Your father didn't hide your inheritance from Richard.""
He paused.
"He protected Richard's money for you.""
And suddenly, the entire story made a terrifying kind of sense.
May you like
Richard hadn't spent thirty-five years trying to become my father.
He'd spent thirty-five years trying to get back the fortune he had once placed in my name.
