Chapter 12 - JONATHAN REED
Jonathan Reed had been declared dead twenty years earlier.
At least, that's what the records said.
Michael spent the entire night investigating.
Every database.
Every financial record.
Every old newspaper.
Nothing.
Then an encrypted message appeared on his computer.
One sentence:
“You are looking in the wrong place.”
Michael stared at it.
A second message appeared.
“Look where your father hid the truth.”
Then an address.
Hartman Mining's first mine.
Closed for thirty years.
Michael drove there with Emily.
They entered the old mine before sunrise.
Inside, the walls were covered with dust.
Michael noticed an old metal door.
He opened it.
Behind it was a room.
Files.
Hundreds of them.
His father's secret records.
And Jonathan Reed.
Alive.
Sitting at a desk.
Michael raised his weapon.
Jonathan smiled.
“Put it down.”
“You've been following my family.”
“Yes.”
“You threatened my children.”
“No.”
“Then why were you in my daughter's room?”
“To warn her.”
Michael didn't lower the weapon.
“Explain.”
Jonathan sighed.
“Your father wasn't the villain.”
Michael frowned.
“My father stole millions.”
“He did.”
“He had children kidnapped.”
“He did.”
“Then what wasn't he guilty of?”
Jonathan looked at him.
“Murder.”
Michael froze.
“Your father didn't kill Emily.”
“I know.”
“He didn't order the accident.”
“I know.”
“Then who did?”
Jonathan's expression became grim.
“Daniel.”
Michael clenched his fist.
“Daniel admitted it?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know?”
Jonathan opened a file.
Inside were photographs from the night of the accident.
A black sedan.
Daniel standing beside it.
Emily's car.
A second vehicle.
Jonathan pointed.
“Daniel wasn't alone.”
Michael stared.
“Who was driving?”
Jonathan looked at him.
“Victoria.”
Michael's jaw dropped.
“They worked together.”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“Because they believed your children would inherit everything.”
Michael looked at the photographs.
“Then why protect Lily?”
Jonathan sighed.
“Because Lily wasn't the only child they wanted.”
Michael's expression changed.
“The baby.”
Jonathan nodded.
“They've been searching for him since the night he was born.”
“Why?”
Jonathan hesitated.
“Because the boy carries something they desperately need.”
“What?”
Jonathan handed Michael an old medical record.
At the bottom was a genetic report.
Michael read it.
Then his face went pale.
The boy had inherited a rare genetic marker.
A marker connected to the Hartman family trust.
Michael frowned.
“That doesn't make sense.”
Jonathan smiled sadly.
“Your father designed the trust using genetic verification.”
Michael stared.
“The company can only pass to a direct biological descendant.”
“Yes.”
“That's why they wanted the children.”
“Yes.”
Michael looked toward the tunnel.
“So this was never about revenge.”
“No.”
“It was about money.”
Jonathan nodded.
“Money and power.”
Michael lowered his weapon.
“Why help me?”
Jonathan looked away.
“Because I loved your father.”
Michael was silent.
Jonathan continued.
“And because I promised him I'd protect his grandchildren.”
Michael's eyes filled.
“My father knew?”
“Yes.”
“About Lily?”
“Yes.”
“And the boy?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he tell me?”
Jonathan's answer was quiet.
“Because he knew someone was watching you.”
Michael looked at Emily.
She was crying.
Then Jonathan handed him one final document.
It was dated the day Michael's father died.
Michael read it.
The final line said:
“If my son ever discovers the truth, tell him this: The person he trusts most is the person who betrayed him.”
Michael looked at Emily.
Then Eleanor.
May you like
Then Jonathan.
He realized he had no idea who he could trust anymore.
