Chapter 7 - THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE
Daniel Mercer had never been a gentle father.
Arthur remembered rules.
Silence at dinner.
Perfect grades.
Perfect manners.
Never cry.
Never complain.
Never embarrass the family.
Nolan had taken most of the punishment because Nolan fought back.
Arthur had learned to survive by becoming invisible.
Now, sitting in his kitchen while police searched his home, Arthur wondered if he had spent his entire childhood living beside a monster without ever understanding what the man really was.
Elena poured coffee.
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Arthur stared at his hands.
“My father used to tell me fear was a choice.”
Elena sat opposite him.
“Your father sounds like an idiot.”
Arthur almost laughed.
“He was a terrifying idiot.”
“Better.”
Arthur looked through the doorway toward the ruined living-room wall.
“Why did Victoria do it?”
“For money.”
“She already had money.”
“Some people don’t want money. They want control.”
Arthur looked at her.
“You sound like you’ve met people like that.”
Elena’s expression changed.
“Everybody has.”
Before Arthur could ask more, Reed entered.
“We found something.”
They followed him downstairs.
Behind a section of basement shelving, police had discovered a narrow corridor.
At the end stood an old wooden door.
Inside was an office.
Unlike the rest of the basement, it was spotless.
Leather chair.
Desk.
Bookshelves.
A safe.
On the wall hung photographs of Arthur and Nolan from childhood.
Arthur stopped.
One picture showed him at age ten.
Another at fifteen.
Another on his wedding day.
Then Leo as a baby.
Arthur whispered, “He was watching us.”
Reed opened a desk drawer.
Passports.
Three belonged to Daniel Mercer.
Each used a different name.
Different birthdays.
Same face.
Elena picked up a framed photograph from the shelf.
Victoria stood beside Daniel.
The date printed in the corner was two years before Arthur had met her.
Arthur stared at it.
“No.”
Elena handed it to him.
Victoria looked younger, but it was definitely her.
She was smiling with her arm around Daniel.
Arthur’s skin went cold.
“She knew him before she knew me.”
Reed nodded.
“We think your marriage may have been planned.”
Arthur gripped the frame until his fingers hurt.
A phone began ringing somewhere in the office.
Everyone froze.
It wasn’t Arthur’s.
Not Elena’s.
Not Reed’s.
The sound came from inside the desk.
Reed opened the bottom drawer.
A black cellphone lit up.
UNKNOWN CALLER.
Reed looked at Arthur.
“Speaker.”
Arthur answered.
“Hello?”
For a moment, only breathing.
Then a voice Arthur had not heard in nine years said:
“Hello, son.”
Arthur’s knees nearly buckled.
“Dad?”
Daniel chuckled softly.
“You always were slow to understand what was right in front of you.”
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
“Where are you?”
“You found the boy.”
“His name is Leo.”
“I know his name.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
“No, you won’t.”
“You locked my son in a room.”
“I protected an investment.”
Arthur exploded.
“He is not an investment!”
Daniel stayed calm.
“That temper. You finally found it.”
“Where is Victoria?”
“With me.”
“Nolan?”
Silence.
Arthur’s heart pounded.
“Where is Nolan?”
Daniel sighed.
“Your brother made a mistake.”
“What did you do?”
“He chose Leo over the family.”
Arthur’s voice cracked.
“What did you do to him?”
Daniel ignored the question.
Instead he said, “Ask Elena why she really came to your house.”
Arthur slowly turned toward her.
Elena stopped breathing.
Daniel laughed.
May you like
Then the line went dead.
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