“I was trapped.”
He paused.
“I thought I was going to die.”
Noah looked at him.
“Were you scared?”
“Yes.”
“Very?”
“The most afraid I've ever been.”
“What did Dad do?”
“He didn't think.”
Ray smiled faintly.
“He just acted.”
Noah looked at the river.
“That sounds like Dad.”
Ray nodded.
“It does.”
They searched the area.
Nothing.
Then Noah stopped.
“Dad said there was a promise.”
Ray looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Where did you make it?”
Ray pointed toward the old bridge support.
“Right there.”
They walked over.
The concrete was covered in graffiti.
Emily noticed something carved near the bottom.
Two initials.
D.C.
R.D.
And underneath:
KEEP GOING.
Ray touched the letters.
“He did that.”
“When?”
“After the accident.”
Emily crouched.
There was something behind the concrete.
A small metal box.
Ray pulled it out.
His hands trembled.
“No.”
Emily stared.
“What?”
Ray opened the box.
Inside was a photograph.
A key.
And a folded letter.
Daniel had written:
For Ray.
If you're reading this, you finally came back.
Ray sat down.
Emily watched him read.
The letter was short.
I know you will blame yourself.
Don't.
You didn't cause this.
You tried to protect me.
You tried to protect my family.
But there is one thing I need you to understand.
The person behind the money is not Charles.
Ray stopped.
Emily stared.
“What?”
Ray continued.
Charles is only the messenger.
He works for someone else.
Someone we both know.
Someone inside the club.
Ray's face went pale.
He looked toward Emily.
Someone inside the clubhouse.
One of the eleven men.
Emily whispered,
“Who?”
Ray shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Then he noticed the second page.
His hands froze.
Daniel had written one name.
SAM.
Ray stared at it.
Emily looked confused.
“Sam?”
Ray's face hardened.
“Sam has been with me for fifteen years.”
“He's one of your closest friends.”
“Yes.”
“Then why would Daniel name him?”
Ray looked at the river.
“I don't know.”
Noah stepped closer.
“Dad said someone inside the club.”
Ray nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Could it be him?”
Ray looked at the boy.
“I hope not.”
A sound came from behind them.
Branches snapped.
Ray turned.
Nothing.
“Stay here.”
He walked into the darkness.
Emily grabbed Noah's hand.
“Ray!”
No answer.
She heard footsteps.
Then a loud crack.
Ray stumbled back into view.
A man had struck him from behind.
Emily screamed.
Ray fell to one knee.
Two men emerged from the shadows.
Noah froze.
“Run!” Ray shouted.
Emily grabbed Noah.
They ran toward the car.
One man chased them.
Ray forced himself upright.
He tackled the second man.
The fight was brutal and fast.
Emily reached the car.
She opened the door.
“Noah, get in!”
Noah climbed inside.
Emily started the engine.
The attacker reached the passenger door.
She locked it.
He struck the window.
Emily accelerated.
The car swerved.
The man fell away.
Ray was still fighting the other attacker.
Emily slammed on the brakes.
She jumped out.
“Ray!”
Ray knocked the attacker down.
The man rolled toward the river.
Ray grabbed his jacket.
“Who sent you?”
The man laughed.
“You already know.”
“Who?”
“Sam.”
Ray froze.
The attacker smiled.
Then he jumped over the railing.
Ray reached for him.
Too late.
The man disappeared into the darkness below.
Emily ran toward Ray.
“Are you okay?”
Ray nodded.
Then he looked at her.
“Sam.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“He named Sam.”
“Maybe he lied.”
“I know.”
Ray looked toward the road.
A black SUV was parked in the distance.
Its headlights were on.
Emily stared.
“Is that them?”
Ray nodded.
The SUV accelerated away.
Ray reached for his phone.
“Call the clubhouse.”
He dialed.
No answer.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Emily looked at him.
“What's happening?”
Ray's face had changed.
“We've been betrayed.”
“By Sam?”
“I don't know.”
“Then we go back.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if Sam is involved, we can't trust anyone there.”
Emily's eyes filled with fear.
“Then where do we go?”
Ray looked at Noah.
The boy was holding something.
A small black key.
Ray stared.
“Where did you get that?”
Noah opened his hand.
“It was inside Dad's box.”
Ray took it.
There was a number engraved on it.
Ray's eyes widened.
“That's not the storage unit key.”
Emily frowned.
“What is it?”
Ray turned it over.
On the back was a tiny engraving.
B-17.
He looked toward the bridge.
Then at the photograph.
“Daniel hid another location.”
“Where?”
Ray remembered something.
The repair shop.
The property Daniel and he had planned to buy had seventeen storage bays.
Bay seventeen.
The black metal case.
Ray looked at Emily.
“I know where the evidence is.”
They returned to the cars.
But before they could leave, Noah spoke.
“Mom.”
She turned.
“What?”
Noah was staring at the bridge.
“Someone's there.”
Ray looked.
A figure stood beneath the bridge.
A man.
He was wearing a black jacket.
He slowly raised one hand.
Then removed his helmet.
Ray froze.
Marcus.
Alive.
Again.
But this time Marcus wasn't alone.
A second person stood behind him.
A woman.
Emily stared.
She recognized her immediately.
Her sister-in-law.
Charles's wife.
Emily's face went pale.
“Why is she here?”
Marcus shouted across the distance.
“Don't go to Bay Seventeen!”
Ray's expression changed.
“Why?”
Marcus shouted again.
“Because it's a trap!”
A gunshot cracked through the night.
Marcus dropped.
The woman screamed.
Ray grabbed Emily and Noah.
“Get down!”
Another shot struck the concrete.
They ran.
Emily pulled Noah toward the car.
Ray looked back.
Marcus was lying motionless beneath the bridge.
The woman had disappeared.
Ray wanted to go after them.
But another shot hit the ground beside his boot.
He stopped.
The shooter was somewhere in the darkness.
They drove.
No one spoke for several minutes.
Finally Noah whispered,
“Is Marcus dead?”
Ray looked at him through the mirror.
“I don't know.”
“Dad trusted him.”
“Yes.”
“Then we have to help him.”
Ray's hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“We will.”
Emily looked at him.
“But first we need to understand something.”
“What?”
“If Bay Seventeen is a trap…”
Ray nodded.
“Then someone knew we'd find the key.”
Emily looked down at the photograph.
“Which means someone is always one step ahead.”
Ray glanced at the rearview mirror.
A black SUV was following them.
The same one.
Ray accelerated.
The SUV followed.
Noah noticed it too.
“Mom?”
“I see it.”
Ray took a sharp turn.
The SUV followed.
Another turn.
Still following.
Ray finally drove toward an old industrial road.
He knew a shortcut.
The road narrowed.
Then the SUV disappeared.
Ray slowed.
Silence.
Emily exhaled.
“Did we lose them?”
Ray looked behind.
“Yes.”
But he didn't sound convinced.
They continued toward an abandoned farmhouse that belonged to one of Ray's old friends.
For the first time that night, they were somewhere hidden.
Ray turned off the lights.
Everyone stepped out.
Noah looked exhausted.
Emily hugged him.
Ray walked toward the barn.
Then stopped.
A small envelope had been nailed to the wooden door.
His name was written on it.
RAY.
He opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
Sam.
Standing beside Charles Carter.
Both men were smiling.
On the back was a message.
YOU TRUSTED THE WRONG BROTHER.
Ray stared at it.
Emily walked closer.
“Charles?”
Ray shook his head.
“No.”
He turned the photograph over.
There was another name.
Daniel's handwriting.
ELIAS.
Emily frowned.
“Who is Elias?”
Ray looked toward the darkness.
“I don't know.”
A voice came from behind them.
“I do.”
They turned.
Marcus stood in the doorway.
Blood ran down the side of his face.
But he was alive.
He looked directly at Ray.
“Elias is the man who ordered Daniel's death.”
Ray's face hardened.
“Who is he?”
Marcus took a slow breath.
“He's the man who owns Crown Meridian.”
Emily stepped forward.
“And why does he want Noah?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Because Noah has something his father stole.”
Noah's eyes widened.
“What did Dad steal?”