Chapter 10 - THE MAN WHO SAVED US
The door slammed open.
A figure rushed into the room.
For one terrifying second, I thought Leonard had entered.
Then I recognized him.
Michael.
He grabbed the door and shoved it closed.
"Get down!"
Another shot struck the wall.
My mother screamed.
"Michael?"
He looked at me.
"Move!"
I couldn't believe it.
"You escaped?"
"No."
He pulled out a key.
"Someone let me out."
Rachel stared at him.
"Who?"
Michael shook his head.
"No time."
Another shot.
He pushed a heavy dresser against the door.
Then he looked at Vanessa.
"You."
She stepped forward.
"What?"
"You need to leave."
"Why?"
"Because Leonard knows you're the one who has the second half."
She froze.
"What second half?"
Michael looked at me.
"Your father split the ledger."
I stared.
"Between you."
He pointed at Vanessa.
"She has the first half."
Then at me.
"You have the second."
I shook my head.
"I don't have anything."
Michael stepped closer.
"Yes, you do."
"What?"
"The memory."
I frowned.
"What memory?"
He whispered:
"Your father's last birthday."
I remembered.
I had been nineteen.
My father had taken me into his office.
He gave me a music box.
I still had it.
He told me:
"Keep this safe."
I had never understood why.
Michael looked at me.
"That's where the ledger is."
I felt dizzy.
"The music box?"
He nodded.
"Your father didn't hide the ledger in the box."
"Then where?"
"Inside the mechanism."
We escaped through the basement.
Police arrived seconds later.
But Leonard was gone.
So was the gunman.
The next morning, we brought the music box to an expert.
He opened the base.
Inside was a microfilm cartridge.
Rachel stared at it.
"This is old."
"Can it be read?"
"Yes."
We scanned it.
The screen filled with documents.
Names.
Properties.
Payments.
Bribes.
Threats.
Murder.
Then I saw my father's name.
Beside it was a final entry.
Daniel Bennett — eliminated after refusing cooperation.
My mother covered her mouth.
I couldn't breathe.
My father hadn't died in an accident.
He had been murdered.
And the person who ordered it was named.
Leonard Coleman.
Rachel immediately secured the file.
"This changes everything."
I stared at the screen.
"No."
I whispered.
"This ends everything."
But then another file opened automatically.
It contained one final message from my father.
Penelope, if Leonard has found you, there is one person you cannot trust.
The screen flickered.
Then the name appeared.
Donna Bennett.
My mother.
I turned slowly.
She was crying.
"Mom?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Why is your name here?"
"I don't know."
"Then explain it."
"I can't."
My heart shattered.
For the first time since the nightmare began, I wondered whether the person who had protected me my entire life had also been hiding something dangerous.
And then my mother said the words that changed everything.
"Because your father didn't die trying to protect you."
May you like
She looked at Vanessa.
"He died because of what I did."
