Chapter 16 - NATHAN MERCER
Samuel held the photograph with both hands.
"My brother was alive three months before your crash."
Marcus stared at the man who was now confirmed to be his biological uncle.
"No. My father."
Samuel nodded slowly.
"Nathan."
Vincent checked the date.
"It means Nathan survived long after Lake Briar supposedly closed."
Dominic looked at Marcus.
"You said Nathan was dead."
"I believed he was."
A call came from federal investigators.
They had found a hidden storage unit rented under one of Nathan Mercer's aliases.
Inside were medical files, forged IDs, and flight-maintenance records.
One folder carried Dominic's name.
Another carried Ellie's.
Clare's face changed.
"Why my daughter?"
The file contained only photographs.
Ellie at a park.
Ellie outside preschool.
Ellie beside Clare.
Dates going back two years.
Marcus stood.
"He was watching them."
Samuel turned sick.
A note had been clipped to the last photo.
CHILD NOT INVOLVED. DO NOT USE.
Dominic read it aloud.
Clare looked at Marcus.
"That sounds like somebody protecting her."
"Or choosing when she becomes useful," Dominic said.
A second note sat beneath it.
A meeting address.
Lake Briar ruins.
Tonight.
Marcus looked at Dominic.
"Trap."
"Yes."
"You going?"
"Yes."
Clare stepped forward.
"So am I."
Dominic started to object.
She cut him off.
"My husband died because everyone decided I should know less. That ends now."
Dominic nodded.
At the burned remains of Lake Briar, they found one light burning in the old basement.
A man sat behind a metal table.
Older.
Thin.
Same eyes as Samuel.
Marcus stopped breathing.
May you like
Nathan Mercer looked at him.
"My son."
