Chapter 8 - My Father’s Final Game
Police moved David before sunrise.
Dad already knew.
That was what frightened Ramirez most.
“He either has access to someone’s location information,” she said, “or he’s following us closer than we realize.”
Mom looked at me.
“Could it be your phone?”
They checked it.
Nothing obvious.
Jordan’s phone.
Nothing.
David’s.
Nothing.
Then Aunt Rebecca asked, “What about the car?”
Our old sedan was searched.
They found a tracker behind the rear bumper.
Dad had probably attached it months earlier.
Ramirez removed it carefully.
David stared at the small black device.
“Leave it.”
Ramirez looked at him.
“What?”
“Let Thomas think it’s still moving.”
A plan formed.
They placed the tracker on an unmarked vehicle.
The vehicle drove toward another county.
Meanwhile, Mom, Rebecca, David, Jordan, and I were moved again.
This time to a secured interview facility connected to the county courthouse.
Dad texted me around noon.
Running again?
I showed Ramirez.
She nodded.
“Don’t answer yet.”
Ten minutes later:
Your mother will run forever if you let her.
Then:
I can end this.
I typed under Ramirez’s direction.
How?
Dad replied:
Bring me David’s evidence.
“What evidence?” I asked.
David’s face tightened.
“There is one thing Thomas still wants.”
He reached into his coat.
A key.
Small.
Brass.
“Safe-deposit box?”
He nodded.
“What’s inside?”
“Original financial ledgers Aaron gave me.”
Ramirez looked furious.
“You said everything was turned over.”
“Copies were.”
“David.”
“I know.”
Mom stood.
“Again?”
David winced.
“Yes.”
“You kept something secret again?”
“I was afraid evidence would disappear like the dental records.”
Ramirez held out her hand.
“Key.”
David gave it to her immediately.
“No argument?”
“I’m learning.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
By afternoon, police had retrieved the box.
Inside were ledgers, photographs, and a small digital recorder.
Aaron’s recorder.
David pressed play.
A man’s frightened voice filled the room.
“If anyone hears this, Thomas Reed knows I found the Mercer identity.”
My heart stopped.
Aaron continued.
“He wants to stage his death. He said the insurance money is only part of it. He plans to disappear, move assets overseas, then come back after Elaine is blamed for fraud.”
Mom covered her mouth.
The recording continued.
“He needs a body.”
Silence.
Then Aaron’s voice became quieter.
“He asked me whether anyone would miss me.”
Rebecca started crying.
The recorder clicked.
Then another voice appeared.
Dad.
Clear.
Cold.
“You should have minded your own business, Aaron.”
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Ramirez exhaled slowly.
“That’s enough for warrants.”
“Enough for murder?” I asked.
“Enough to build a much stronger case.”
Dad texted again.
TIME’S UP.
Ramirez typed through my phone.
I have the evidence.
Where?
A location arrived.
Our old house.
Mom went pale.
“No.”
Ramirez studied it.
“He wants familiar ground.”
David shook his head.
“He wants control.”
I looked at the screen.
“Then let him think he has it.”
Mom stared at me.
“No.”
“I’m not going inside alone.”
“No.”
“Mom—”
“I already lost you once when I pushed you out that door.”
“You didn’t lose me.”
“I saw your face.”
Her voice cracked.
“I will never do that again.”
I touched her hand.
“Then don’t push me away.”
Ramirez interrupted.
“We can use the location without using Marcus.”
Dad knew my movements.
My voice.
My habits.
But he didn’t know something else.
I finally knew who he was.
That changed everything.
At dusk, police surrounded our neighborhood quietly.
No flashing lights.
No uniforms visible.
I wore a small microphone.
Mom hated it.
David hated it.
I hated it.
But I entered our house.
Alone.
At least it looked that way.
The front door was unlocked.
“Dad?”
Nothing.
The living room looked exactly as I had left it.
Bat on the floor.
Backpack missing.
One lamp glowing.
Then Dad stepped out of the hallway.
He smiled.
“My boy.”
Every childhood instinct told me to run toward him.
That was the hardest part.
Not the fear.
The love.
Some part of me still remembered the father who carried me when I broke my ankle.
The father who built a treehouse.
The father who kissed my forehead after nightmares.
Knowing he was dangerous didn’t erase those memories.
It poisoned them.
“You came.”
“I want this over.”
Dad nodded.
“So do I.”
“Where’s Aaron?”
His eyes changed slightly.
“You’ve been talking to David.”
“I heard the recording.”
Dad’s smile disappeared.
“What recording?”
I saw it.
Fear.
Tiny.
But real.
“Aaron’s.”
Dad took a step toward me.
“He lied.”
“He recorded you.”
“People can manipulate recordings.”
“Like you manipulated the photo of David?”
His jaw tightened.
“You think you understand everything now.”
“No.”
I swallowed.
“But I understand you lied.”
“To protect us.”
I almost laughed.
“Everybody says that.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Where is the evidence?”
“Safe.”
“Marcus.”
“No.”
He moved closer.
“You’re making the same mistake your mother made.”
“What mistake?”
“Thinking you can survive without me.”
Something inside me finally became calm.
“Mom survived you.”
His face darkened.
“She’s weak.”
“No.”
“She poisoned you against me.”
“No.”
“David did.”
“No.”
His voice rose.
“I am your father.”
“And I’m not your property.”
Silence.
Dad stared at me.
Then he smiled again.
But now there was nothing warm in it.
“Take off your jacket.”
My blood chilled.
“What?”
“Take it off.”
He knew.
My microphone.
I didn’t move.
Dad stepped closer.
“I said take it off.”
Then another voice came from behind me.
“No.”
Mom.
I spun around.
She stood in the doorway.
No one had planned for her to enter.
“Mom!”
Dad laughed.
“There she is.”
Mom’s hands shook.
But she stayed.
Thomas looked delighted.
“You never could follow instructions, Elaine.”
Mom stared at him.
“For twenty years, I followed yours.”
Dad’s smile faded.
“Not anymore.”
Then he reached behind his back.
I didn’t see a weapon.
I only saw David rush through the side doorway.
Police shouted from outside.
Dad grabbed me.
His arm locked around my chest.
Mom screamed.
“THOMAS!”
Everything happened at once.
Doors crashed open.
Ramirez shouted commands.
David froze several feet away.
Dad pulled me backward.
“Everyone stays where they are!”
I felt his breath against my ear.
Then Mom did the one thing nobody expected.
She stepped forward.
Not to protect Dad this time.
To stand beside me.
“Let my son go.”
May you like
Dad stared at her.
And for the first time in my life, I saw my father realize he had lost control.
