Chapter 6 - WHAT THEIR MOTHERS HID
The sound of the lock echoed through the archive.
Emily rushed to the door.
"Hey!"
No response.
Daniel tried the handle.
Nothing.
Park immediately called security.
No answer.
"The system has been disabled," he said.
Emily looked around.
"There has to be another exit."
"There is."
Daniel pointed toward the far wall.
A narrow emergency passage.
They reached it.
Locked.
Emily's breathing quickened.
"Are we trapped?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
He searched the shelves.
"Not yet."
Emily noticed a loose brick near the floor.
She pulled it.
A hidden panel opened.
Inside was an old key.
Daniel stared.
"My father."
They opened the passage.
It led beneath the building.
Emily followed Daniel through the narrow corridor.
Eventually they reached an underground parking area.
A vehicle waited.
Park looked shocked.
"This wasn't here earlier."
Daniel approached cautiously.
The driver's door was open.
Inside was a handbag.
Emily recognized it.
Mrs. Kang's.
She ran toward it.
Daniel grabbed her arm.
"Wait."
He inspected the vehicle.
No one inside.
The handbag was empty.
Except for a folded piece of paper.
Emily opened it.
Your mother knew the truth.
Emily looked at Daniel.
"Why would someone say that?"
"Because they want us to believe your mother was involved."
Emily shook her head.
"My mother would never hurt anyone."
"I didn't say she would."
"But you thought it."
Daniel stared at her.
"No."
"You don't trust me."
"I don't trust the people around us."
Emily stepped closer.
"Then trust me."
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Daniel finally said,
"I do."
The words surprised them both.
Park's phone rang.
He answered.
Then his face changed.
"Sir."
"What?"
"We found Richard."
"Where?"
"At the old Kang warehouse."
They rushed there.
Richard was alive.
Barely.
He had been beaten badly.
Emily knelt beside him.
"Richard."
His eyes opened.
"Emily..."
"I'm here."
He looked past her.
"Daniel."
"I'm here."
Richard struggled to breathe.
"Your mother..."
"What about her?"
"She didn't steal the money."
Daniel froze.
"I know."
"No."
Richard shook his head.
"You don't understand."
He grabbed Daniel's sleeve.
"She moved it to protect you."
Daniel's face went pale.
"Protect me from what?"
"Your father."
Silence.
Emily looked between them.
Richard continued.
"Your father wasn't the man you believed him to be."
Daniel stepped back.
"My father died five years ago."
"Exactly."
Richard coughed.
"He knew someone was planning to take over the company."
"Who?"
Richard closed his eyes.
"Your uncle."
Daniel's face hardened.
"My uncle died ten years ago."
Richard whispered,
"That's what everyone was told."
Emily felt the room spin.
Richard continued.
"He changed his identity."
Daniel stared.
"Who?"
Richard looked at Emily.
Then whispered a name.
"Victor Shaw."
Emily remembered the photograph.
The dead security chief.
The man who was supposedly alive.
The man who had been watching Mrs. Kang.
Daniel's expression turned cold.
"Where is my mother?"
Richard shook his head.
"With him."
Emily's heart stopped.
"Is she alive?"
Richard looked at her.
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"Because..."
His eyes closed.
"...he needs her to open the last account."
Daniel clenched his fists.
"What account?"
Richard looked at him.
"The one your father hid."
"Where?"
Richard smiled weakly.
"Your mother knows."
Then he lost consciousness.
Sirens sounded outside.
Park looked toward the entrance.
"Police."
Daniel looked at Emily.
"We have to go."
"Why?"
"Because someone called them."
"So?"
Daniel's expression was grim.
"We didn't."
Emily looked toward the warehouse doors.
Then she understood.
Someone had just arranged for the police to arrive.
And if they were caught beside an injured man, with half the company secrets scattered around them, they would look guilty.
Daniel grabbed her hand.
"Run."
They disappeared through the back exit seconds before police entered the warehouse.
But Emily had one question burning in her mind.
May you like
Who had called the police?
And why did that person want Daniel Kang arrested?
