Chapter 13: The Night They Tried to Kill Me
The explosion shook the entire floor.
For one terrible second, nobody moved.
Then the fire alarm screamed again.
Smoke poured from beneath the door of my father's old office, spreading across the corridor like a black curtain.
"Everyone out!"" David shouted.
Sophie grabbed my arm.
"Marcus, don't!""
I looked toward the office.
Vanessa was inside.
I had every reason to hate her. She had humiliated me, stolen from my father's company, helped cover up his murder, and manipulated my sister.
But I wasn't going to let another person die because of what my family had become.
"David, get everyone downstairs.""
"Marcus!""
"That's an order.""
I pulled my jacket over my mouth and ran toward the office.
The door was hot.
I tried the handle.
Locked.
I stepped back and kicked it.
Nothing.
Again.
The lock gave way.
Inside, flames were climbing the curtains. A computer monitor had shattered, and papers were scattered across the floor.
Vanessa was lying beside the desk.
Her right leg was trapped beneath a fallen cabinet.
"Vanessa!""
She opened her eyes.
"Don't..."" she coughed.
I grabbed the cabinet and pulled.
It barely moved.
"Help me!""
She shook her head.
"Leave me.""
"Not happening.""
I braced my shoulder against the cabinet.
With one final effort, I managed to shift it enough for her to pull her leg free.
I lifted her arm over my shoulder.
We stumbled toward the door.
Halfway across the room, she stopped.
"My bag.""
"Forget your bag.""
"The drive!""
She pointed toward the desk.
I looked at her.
"You're unbelievable.""
But I turned back.
A small black storage device was lying beside the computer.
I grabbed it.
Then we made it into the hallway.
David appeared through the smoke.
He took Vanessa's other arm.
Together, we carried her toward the emergency stairs.
By the time we reached the ground floor, firefighters were entering the building.
Paramedics placed Vanessa on a stretcher.
She grabbed my wrist.
"Marcus.""
"What?""
Her face was covered in soot.
"You don't understand what you've just done.""
I stared at her.
"I saved your life.""
She looked at the black storage device in my hand.
"That drive isn't what you think.""
Before I could ask another question, she lost consciousness.
An hour later, we were gathered in a private room at the hospital.
Vanessa was being treated for smoke inhalation and a fractured leg.
James had been taken into custody after Richard provided the recordings to the authorities.
My mother sat beside Sophie.
Neither had spoken much since the evacuation.
David stood near the window, speaking quietly with a detective.
I placed the black storage device on the table.
"What's on this?""
Richard examined it.
"I don't know.""
"Vanessa risked her life to get it.""
He turned it over.
There was a small label.
*PROJECT ELEANOR — FINAL ARCHIVE.*
My mother stood immediately.
"Don't open it.""
I looked at her.
"Why?""
She stared at the label.
"Because it contains the truth about the night I disappeared.""
Sophie frowned.
"Mom, what are you talking about?""
My mother sat down slowly.
"I told you James tried to take you. But I didn't tell you what happened to Marcus.""
I pulled out a chair.
"Then tell us.""
She folded her hands.
"Eleven years ago, James discovered that your father had hidden evidence inside a private family trust. He wanted the documents. He believed I knew where they were.""
"What happened?""
"He came to the house while you were away. Your father confronted him. They argued.""
She stopped.
Then continued.
"James threatened to kill both children if your father didn't surrender the trust.""
Sophie looked at me.
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Both children?""
My mother nodded.
"James had arranged for someone to follow you after school. That evening, your car was forced off the road.""
A memory hit me.
Rain.
Headlights.
A horn.
Glass breaking.
I had always remembered that night as a minor accident.
My father had told me a delivery truck had lost control.
I remembered waking up in a hospital with a broken arm.
But there was something else.
A woman standing outside the room.
My mother.
I looked at her.
"You were there.""
She nodded.
"I arrived before the ambulance.""
"Why didn't I remember?""
"You had a head injury. Your father told the doctors not to discuss the details with you.""
I stood.
"You're telling me that accident wasn't an accident?""
"No.""
My mother wiped her eyes.
"James arranged it. He wanted to scare your father into surrendering the documents.""
I looked at the device.
"And Project Eleanor?""
She stared at it.
"It was the operation James created to control our family. He had been collecting personal information about us for years. Medical records, financial records, private correspondence.""
Richard finally spoke.
"That explains the blackmail files.""
I turned toward him.
"What blackmail files?""
He opened his laptop.
"The company server contains a hidden directory. I found it before the explosion.""
He connected to the hospital's secure network.
A list of folders appeared.
Marcus Carter.
Eleanor Carter.
Sophie Carter.
Richard Hale.
Vanessa Reed.
Every name had hundreds of files attached.
I opened mine.
Photographs.
School records.
Old emails.
Medical reports.
And one document titled:
*INCIDENT 17 — VEHICLE INTERCEPTION.*
The report described the attempted accident when I was seventeen.
At the bottom was an authorization signature.
James Carter.
But the next page contained something worse.
A second authorization.
Signed by Vanessa Reed.
I stared at the screen.
"She helped arrange the accident too.""
Richard nodded.
"She was already working with James.""
I closed the file.
Then I looked at my mother.
"Why did you stay away after that?""
She lowered her eyes.
"Because James made me believe he would kill you if I returned. And after your father died, I thought staying hidden was the only way to protect Sophie.""
Sophie reached for her hand.
"Mom, you should have trusted us.""
My mother began crying.
"I know.""
I looked toward the door.
A detective entered.
"Mr. Carter, we need to speak with you.""
"About what?""
He held up a tablet.
"We've recovered additional footage from the company's security server. It appears the explosion in your office wasn't an accident.""
I looked at the screen.
The footage showed a man entering my office twenty minutes before the blast.
He placed a small object beneath my desk.
Then he walked away.
I recognized him.
The same man who had been standing behind Sophie during the boardroom confrontation.
James's private security contractor.
The detective enlarged the image.
"There's another detail.""
He pointed toward the man's wrist.
A distinctive gold watch.
I had seen it before.
On Richard's wrist.
I turned slowly.
Richard was no longer beside the table.
His chair was empty.
His laptop was still open.
And his phone was lying on the floor.
I rushed to the hallway.
"Where's Richard?""
David appeared.
"He left five minutes ago.""
I looked at the detective.
"Find him.""
The detective shook his head.
"We've already issued an alert.""
My phone vibrated.
A message from Richard.
Marcus, I'm sorry. I couldn't let James take me alive.
A second message arrived.
The original recording is in the place where your father first taught you to ride a bicycle.
I stared at the screen.
Then the final message appeared.
Don't trust the man who buried your father's first secret.
I looked up.
"Who buried it?""
Nobody answered.
Then I remembered.
My father had once taken me to an old family estate outside the city.
A place we hadn't visited in twenty years.
May you like
And the person who had arranged its demolition was...
Richard Hale.
