Chapter 16 - THE BETRAYAL AT THE GARDEN GATE
Daniel sprang up, driven by pure adrenaline. He lunged into the hallway, pulled down the folding attic stairs with a deafening crash, and scrambled up into the darkness.
"Maya?!"
In the dim, dusty light filtering through the attic vent, he saw them.
Maya was crouched behind a stack of insulation, her body shielding Noah completely. In her right hand, she gripped Daniel’s heavy framing hammer, her knuckles white, her teeth bared like a cornered wolf. Noah was tucked beneath her chest, his hands clamped tightly over his ears, trembling silently.
"Daniel!" Maya sobbed, lowering the hammer as she recognized him. "Oh God, Daniel!"
Daniel dropped the crowbar and fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around both of them, pulling them violently into his chest. Noah buried his face into Daniel’s neck, his tiny body shaking with silent sobs.
"Daddy... the bad lady was singing," Noah whispered into Daniel’s ear. "She was singing in the walls."
"It's okay, buddy. I've got you. I've got you both," Daniel breathed, kissing the boy’s hair, tears finally spilling down his cheeks. He looked at Maya. "What happened?"
"I was packing the diaper bag in the kitchen," Maya whispered, her voice ragged with shock. "I saw a woman walking through the garden toward the back patio. She was wearing a trench coat, sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed black hat. It was Claire, Daniel. I know her walk. I grabbed Noah, ran up here, and pulled the ladder up just as I heard the back door open."
"The back door was deadbolted," Daniel said, his eyes widening. "I locked it from the inside."
Maya looked at him, her eyes wide with horrific realization. "Daniel... whoever unlocked that door had a physical key. Who has keys to this house besides us?"
The reality crashed down on Daniel like a collapsing building.
There were only three keys in existence. Daniel had one. Maya had the second.
And the third emergency spare had been given to Marcus—Daniel’s business partner, best man, and the man who had set up the hidden camera at the country club wedding.
Marcus.
The man who had stood beside Daniel at the altar. The man who had managed the video feeds. The man who had conveniently disappeared from the quiet garden wedding yesterday afternoon, claiming he had an urgent commercial client meeting in the city.
Daniel pulled out his phone with a shaking hand and dialed Marcus.
It rang twice. Then Marcus picked up, the background noise filled with the unmistakable low drone of a private jet engine.
"Marcus," Daniel said, his voice deadly, dangerously calm. "Where are you?"
A long, agonizing pause stretched over the line. When Marcus finally spoke, his voice was thick with guilt, hollowed out by cowardice.
"I’m sorry, Danny," Marcus whispered. "You don't understand the kind of money Julian Vance controls. He found out about my tax debts. He bought up my company notes from the bank. If I didn't give Claire the key and the security override codes, he was going to send me to federal prison for fifteen years."
"You sold my son," Daniel said, every word dripping with lethal venom. "You sold a four-year-old boy to a monster."
"They don't want to hurt him, Danny!" Marcus pleaded, his voice breaking. "Vance just wants the master drives! Claire wants the narrative scrubbed! If you give them the drive, they’ll give Noah the antidote!"
Daniel’s blood ran cold. "Antidote? What did she give him, Marcus?!"
"Thallium sulfate," Marcus sobbed. "In the vitamins she gave him last week before the wedding collapsed. A micro-dose. It’s slow-acting, Danny. Vance has the Prussian blue antidote in his penthouse in the city. If Noah doesn't receive the intravenous treatment within twelve hours, his kidneys will shut down. Danny, please... don't fight them. Just give Vance the video!"
Daniel terminated the call. He didn't scream. He didn't curse.
He looked down at his four-year-old son, who was looking up at him with enormous, trusting brown eyes.
"Dad?" Noah asked softly. "Are we going on an adventure?"
May you like
Daniel cupped Noah’s cheek, his heart hardening into diamond. "Yeah, buddy. We’re going on an adventure. And when we’re done, nobody is ever going to scare us again."
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