Chapter 10 - THE CHOICE
Emily stood motionless.
Michael's voice remained calm.
"You have something that belongs to me."
Emily swallowed.
"You mean the money."
"Yes."
"You stole it."
"No."
His voice sharpened.
"Your father stole it."
"Then why do you want it?"
"Because your father died owing me."
Daniel stepped closer.
Michael laughed.
"I know you're there, Daniel."
Daniel said nothing.
"Put him on."
Emily handed him the phone.
Daniel took it.
"You have my mother."
"Had."
Daniel froze.
"What?"
"I don't have her anymore."
"Where is she?"
"Safe."
"Then why are you calling?"
"Because I want the trust."
Daniel's voice hardened.
"You won't get it."
Michael laughed.
"Then Emily dies."
Emily went still.
Daniel looked at her.
Michael continued.
"Midnight."
"Where?"
"The old Union Station platform."
"Alone?"
"Bring Emily."
The call ended.
Emily stared at Daniel.
"You're not going."
"I am."
"Then I'm coming."
"No."
"That money is in my name."
"Exactly."
Emily shook her head.
"This started because I helped your mother."
"And it ends with me protecting you."
She looked directly at him.
"That's not your decision."
Daniel stared.
Then he smiled faintly.
"You really don't know how to obey."
"Not when someone is wrong."
For the first time in days, Daniel laughed.
A genuine laugh.
Then he looked serious again.
"All right."
They prepared.
The station was nearly empty at midnight.
Emily carried the trust documents.
Daniel walked beside her.
Park's team waited nearby.
They reached the platform.
Nothing.
Then the lights went out.
Emily grabbed Daniel's hand.
A voice echoed.
"Give me the documents."
Michael stepped from the darkness.
Several men surrounded him.
Daniel moved in front of Emily.
Michael smiled.
"You always were protective."
"Where is my mother?"
"Safe."
"Prove it."
Michael held up a phone.
Live video.
Mrs. Kang sat inside a room.
Alive.
Daniel nodded.
"Let her go."
"After the transfer."
Emily stepped forward.
"I'll transfer the money."
Daniel looked at her.
"No."
Emily whispered,
"Trust me."
She opened the documents.
But instead of handing them over, she smiled.
Michael frowned.
"What?"
"You said you wanted the money."
"Yes."
"You can't have it."
His face changed.
"Why?"
"Because the trust has a condition."
Daniel stared.
Emily continued.
"It requires proof of ownership."
Michael's men looked confused.
Michael stepped closer.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the money can't be transferred until the original owner is identified."
Michael's expression changed.
Emily smiled.
"And we know who the original owner is."
Michael realized too late.
Daniel raised his phone.
"Federal agents have been listening to everything."
Lights exploded across the platform.
Agents emerged.
Michael's men dropped their weapons.
Michael ran.
Daniel chased him.
They disappeared into the tunnel.
Emily stayed with Mrs. Kang's rescue team.
Seconds later, Daniel returned.
Michael was in handcuffs.
Mrs. Kang was safe.
Emily exhaled.
The nightmare was over.
Or so she thought.
Three weeks later, the investigation revealed the full truth.
Michael had operated under multiple identities.
Thomas Carter had helped him hide stolen money.
Emily's mother had discovered the scheme.
She had spent years protecting Emily.
The trust had been created to ensure the stolen funds were eventually returned to their rightful owner.
Daniel's family.
Emily received nothing.
Instead, she returned every dollar.
But Daniel made one decision of his own.
He created a new foundation in his mother's name.
Its first project was helping elderly people who were being financially exploited.
Emily became its chief financial officer.
On the foundation's opening day, Mrs. Kang stood beside her.
"You changed everything," the old woman said.
Emily smiled.
"No."
She looked at Daniel.
"You did."
Daniel shook his head.
"You were the one who stopped."
"Stopped what?"
"That slap."
He smiled.
"If you had kept walking..."
Emily laughed.
"I almost did."
Mrs. Kang shook her head.
"People think courage is something huge."
She took Emily's hand.
"Sometimes courage is simply stopping when everyone else keeps walking."
Emily looked at the crowd gathering outside.
Then at the elderly woman beside her.
Then at Daniel.
She had entered Bellmont & Rowe as an ordinary accountant running late for work.
She had walked out carrying a broken grocery bag.
She had no idea that the woman she'd defended would become family.
No idea that the stranger in the black SUV would become the man she trusted most.
And no idea that one small act of kindness would expose one of Chicago's biggest financial conspiracies.
But there was one final surprise.
Months later, Emily received a letter.
No return address.
Inside was a photograph of her mother.
On the back were seven words.
There is still one secret she never told you.
Emily stared at the photograph.
Then she looked toward Daniel.
He noticed her expression.
"What is it?"
Emily handed him the picture.
Daniel read the message.
His face went pale.
"Where did this come from?"
"I don't know."
He turned the photograph over.
There was a second image.
A hospital room.
Emily's mother.
And a newborn baby.
Beside her stood another woman.
Mrs. Kang.
Daniel looked at Emily.
"That's impossible."
Emily's heart began pounding.
"Why?"
"Because..."
He pointed at the baby.
"That's not you."
Emily stared.
The room seemed to disappear around her.
Daniel whispered,
"Your mother had another child."
And somewhere across Chicago, an unknown phone began to ring.
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The caller ID displayed one name:
MICHAEL KANG.
