Chapter 10 - THE FATHER WHO HID IN PLAIN SIGHT
Samuel Graves had been advising me for five years.
He'd reviewed contracts.
Managed legal disputes.
Negotiated acquisitions.
And sat beside me during some of the most important decisions of my life.
He wore expensive glasses.
Kept his beard neatly trimmed.
And spoke with a carefully controlled voice.
I had never imagined he was my father.
Because my father had been heavyset.
Clean-shaven.
And wore his silver hair slicked backward.
Samuel was lean.
Bearded.
And carried himself differently.
But now that Michael had told me, I saw the similarities.
The way he held a pen.
The habit of tapping his thumb against the table.
The cold silence before he made a difficult decision.
I felt sick.
"How?"
Michael looked toward the frozen lake.
"He underwent facial surgery after faking his death."
I stared.
"And nobody recognized him?"
"Only a handful of people knew."
"Marcus?"
Michael nodded.
"Eventually."
I closed my eyes.
Another betrayal.
Another secret.
Another man who'd stood beside me while I mourned someone who wasn't dead.
"Why come back?" I asked.
Michael's face hardened.
"Control."
I looked up.
"What?"
"Dad couldn't surrender the organization. Even after faking his death, he wanted to influence every decision you made."
I thought of Samuel's advice.
The companies he'd encouraged me to buy.
The contracts he'd insisted I sign.
The business partners he'd introduced.
My stomach twisted.
"He was using me."
Michael nodded.
"Yes."
I sat on the porch steps.
For the first time in years, I felt completely powerless.
Then Michael sat beside me.
"Daniel, there's something else."
I looked toward him.
"What?"
"Dad didn't just hide the financial crimes."
My heart tightened.
"He ordered Victor to eliminate Elena."
I went cold.
"What?"
"She discovered the accounts before I did. He believed she had copies of the records."
I stared.
"Then why is she alive?"
Michael looked down.
"Because Rafael refused."
I thought of the old man sitting beside the heater.
His trembling hands.
His damaged leg.
The way Elena gave him her food.
"Rafael saved her?"
Michael nodded.
"And Sofia."
I closed my eyes.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Why Rafael lived with them.
Why Elena cared for him.
Why she'd rather go hungry than let him suffer.
The old man hadn't simply been someone she was helping.
He'd saved her life.
And she was returning the kindness.
I looked toward Michael.
"Why didn't you come home?"
His expression crumpled.
"Because Dad made me believe you'd help him."
The words struck harder than anything else.
My own brother had been afraid of me.
I stared at the frozen lake.
For years, I'd believed fear was respect.
Now I understood it had cost me my family.
Then my phone rang.
Rebecca answered first.
Her expression changed.
"Daniel, you need to hear this."
She handed me the phone.
An investigator's voice spoke.
"Mr. Carter, your legal adviser Samuel Graves left his office about an hour ago."
I stood.
"Where did he go?"
"We're trying to locate him."
My stomach tightened.
Then the investigator continued.
"His secretary found a note."
"What note?"
May you like
The answer made my blood run cold.
Tell Daniel that if he wants his family alive, he knows what he has to do.
