Chapter 12 - The Father Who Came Back From the Dead
At 11:18 p.m., Sloane received a call from an unfamiliar number.
She answered only because the investigator beside her approved it and activated the recording system.
A man's breathing filled the line.
Then a weak voice whispered, "Sloane?"
Her heart nearly stopped.
"Dad?"
"Sweetheart."
She covered her mouth.
Eight years of grief collapsed into a single word.
"Daddy?"
"I'm sorry."
Sloane began crying.
"Where are you?"
"I don't have much time."
A rustling sound interrupted him.
Then another voice spoke.
Leon Mercer.
"Your father wants to see you, Sloane."
Her grief turned to anger.
"Let him go."
"I will. Once I have the archive."
"The authorities already have it."
"Then tell them to release the access credentials."
Sloane forced herself to breathe.
Her lawyer sat beside her, silently writing instructions.
"What guarantee do I have that you'll release him?"
Mercer laughed softly.
"You don't."
Rafe, who had been briefed through his attorney and the investigators, was listening from a separate secure location.
Every instinct screamed at him to intervene.
But Sloane was handling the call with more courage than anyone had expected.
She asked one question.
"Why did you keep my father alive?"
Mercer went silent.
Then answered.
"Because Daniel designed Harborlight's financial controls. I needed him to undo what he'd created."
"And he refused?"
"Every single day."
Sloane closed her eyes.
Her father had resisted for eight years.
Mercer continued.
"He could have gone home. He could have watched you get married. He could have met his granddaughter."
"Don't talk about my daughter."
"Then cooperate."
The call ended.
The investigators immediately began tracing the connection.
A signal appeared near a disused freight terminal in New Jersey.
Rafe received the location seconds later.
He looked at Malik.
"We're going."
Malik shook his head.
"The federal team is already moving."
Rafe grabbed his coat.
"I'm not going there to play hero."
"Then why?"
"Because if there's a chance to help without making this worse, I want to be useful."
But before he reached the elevator, Sloane called him directly.
Her voice trembled.
"Rafe?"
"I'm here."
A pause.
Then she whispered, "Please don't make me lose you while I'm trying to get my father back."
May you like
And for the first time in his life, Rafe answered with a promise he intended to keep.
"I won't. Tell me what you need."
