The revelation led to a broader review of the department's old files.
Several other missing-person cases from the same period showed similar patterns.
Some involved people connected to the Blackwater operation.
Others appeared unrelated.
The investigators began examining whether Samuel Price had used the same network to silence witnesses.
Mason felt the scale of the old operation expanding again.
The first investigation had exposed corruption in the shipping network.
The second had exposed the financial arrangements behind the attack on his father.
Now they were uncovering a system that had used missing-person reports, private security firms, and compromised officials to keep people silent.
And at the center of it was a man whose name had barely appeared in public records.
Samuel Price.
The breakthrough came from a photograph.
A local historian had been cataloging old property records when he found an image of a man standing outside a church in a village called Ashford.
The photograph had been taken in 2008.
The man was older, but the posture and facial structure were familiar.
The historian identified him as Samuel Price based on a handwritten note attached to the back.
Mason received the photograph through the investigators.
He stared at it for a long time.
Samuel had been alive at least sixteen years after the disappearance of Anna.
The image had been taken outside Saint Andrew's Church.
The church was connected to a small charity that provided temporary accommodation for older adults.
The investigators contacted the charity.
They discovered that a man using the name Samuel Preston had lived in one of its properties between 2007 and 2011.
He had left without giving a forwarding address.
The charity's former director remembered him.
"He was very private," she said. "He donated money, but he never wanted recognition. He sometimes helped with repairs. He seemed kind."
"Did he have visitors?"
"One man. Younger. He came several times."
"Do you remember his name?"
"No."
"Did Samuel mention family?"
The director paused.
"He once said he had lost a son."
Mason felt his attention sharpen.
"Did he say the son's name?"
"Daniel."
The room went quiet.
"Did he say anything else?"
"He said the boy had been taken from him."
Mason stared at the investigator.
Taken from him.
Samuel had controlled Daniel's childhood, lied about his mother, and helped turn him into a criminal.
Yet he had described himself as the victim.
The charity director remembered another detail.
"He had a small box. He kept it in his room. He said it contained the most important thing he owned."
"Did you ever see inside?"
"No."
"Do you know what happened to it?"
"He took it when he left."
The investigators checked the charity's records.
The room had been cleared after Samuel departed.
No belongings remained.
But the charity had kept a visitor log.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Peter Vale.
Mason recognized it from the old Northbridge Freight records.
Peter Vale had been a driver.
He had later worked for Meridian Protection.
And he had been connected to the warehouse fire.
The investigators found him living in a small town near the coast.
He was seventy-four years old and had been diagnosed with a serious heart condition.
He agreed to meet.
Peter Vale arrived carrying a walking stick.
He was broad-shouldered, with a weathered face and a quiet manner. He sat across from Mason and Arthur and looked at the photograph of Samuel Price.
"I wondered when somebody would come asking about him," he said.
"How long have you known him?" Mason asked.
"Since 1985."
"Did you work for him?"
"Sometimes."
"Did you know about the attack on my father?"
Vale looked at Mason.
"Yes."
"Did you help arrange it?"
"No. I drove the men to the rail yard. I thought they were going to collect documents."
"What happened?"
"They came back with blood on their clothes."
Mason's expression hardened.
"Did you know my father had been attacked?"
"Not until afterward."
"Did you report it?"
Vale looked down.
"No."
"Why?"
"Samuel told me the police were already involved. He said everything had been handled."
"Did you believe him?"
"At the time, yes."
"Did you know about Anna?"
Vale's face changed.
"Yes."
"What happened to her?"
He took a slow breath.
"I don't know where she ended up."
"Did she die?"
"I don't know."
"Did Samuel kill her?"
Vale shook his head.
"I don't think so."
"Why?"
"Because he was looking for her."
Mason leaned forward.
"Looking for her?"
"After she disappeared from the orchard, Samuel spent years trying to find her. He believed she had taken something."
"What?"
"The ledger."
Mason's pulse quickened.
"The original ledger?"
Vale nodded.
"She had found it. She copied parts of it. Then she vanished."
"Where did she go?"
"I don't know."
"Who helped her?"
Vale hesitated.
Then he said, "Your grandfather."
Mason felt the words land heavily.
"William Cole helped Anna escape?"
"I believe so."
"Why?"
"Because he knew what Samuel would do if he found her. William had started to regret everything. He knew the network had gone too far."
"Then why did he disappear?"
Vale looked toward the window.
"Because Samuel had decided that William was no longer useful."
Mason sat very still.
"Did Samuel arrange William's death?"
Vale nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Arthur's face tightened.
"You're certain?"
"I heard them talk. Samuel told me that William had become a liability. He said the family had to be protected from him."
Mason's voice was low.
"Was my grandfather killed?"
"I don't know."
"Did you see it happen?"
"No."
"Then what do you know?"
Vale looked at him.
"I drove the car that took William away from the house."
The room fell silent.
Mason felt as though the floor had shifted beneath him.
"Where did you take him?"
"North Lake."
"To Victor Hale?"
Vale nodded.
"Victor was supposed to keep him there until Samuel decided what to do."
"Was William alive when you left?"
"Yes."
"Then what happened?"
Vale looked down at his hands.
"I don't know."
Mason stared at him.
"Did you ever go back?"
"No."
"Did you know William's grave was empty?"
Vale nodded.
"Samuel told me he had arranged a burial to make everyone believe William was dead."
"Where was the body?"
Vale swallowed.
"There wasn't one."
Mason's voice sharpened.
"Then William survived."
"I think he did."
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know."
Vale reached into his jacket and removed a folded piece of paper.
"I kept this."
Mason took it.
It was a note written in William's handwriting.
If anything happens to me, find Anna. She has the truth. The boy must not be left with Samuel.
Mason stared at the words.
"The boy?"
"Daniel."
Mason looked up.
"Did William know Daniel was being controlled?"
"Yes. He tried to get him out."
"Why didn't he succeed?"