Chapter 7 - The Secret Her Father BuriedRobert Carter arrived at Emily's apartment forty minutes later.
He didn't bring Linda.
That alone frightened her.
He sat at the kitchen table with both hands wrapped around a cup of coffee he never touched.
Emily sat across from him.
“Tell me everything.”
Robert stared down.
“There are some things a father thinks he can bury because they're better left in the past.”
“Apparently the past just hired a lawyer.”
He sighed.
“You're right.”
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he began.
“In 1998, I had a small electrical contracting company. Six employees. Good people. We worked hard.”
Emily nodded.
“I got a call from a development firm connected to the Maro family.”
“The tower?”
“Yes.”
“How big was the contract?”
“Big enough to change my entire life.”
“Then why didn't you take it?”
Robert's jaw tightened.
“Because I discovered something.”
“What?”
“The project specifications had been deliberately altered.”
Emily frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“They wanted us to install electrical equipment that didn't meet code.”
Her eyes widened.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“You didn't ask?”
“I did.”
Robert leaned back.
“The project manager told me not to worry about it. He said everyone involved understood the arrangement.”
“What arrangement?”
“Money.”
Emily stared at him.
“Bribes?”
Robert nodded.
“I refused.”
“And they threatened you?”
“Not immediately.”
He looked toward the window.
“Two weeks later, one of my employees was injured.”
Emily's stomach dropped.
“What happened?”
“He fell from a temporary platform.”
“Was it an accident?”
Robert looked at her.
“That was what the official report said.”
Emily whispered:
“But you don't believe it.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because the safety railing had been removed.”
Silence.
“Who removed it?”
“I never proved who did.”
Robert rubbed his face.
“I closed my company six months later.”
Emily stared at him.
“You never told me.”
“You were twenty-one.”
“I was your daughter.”
“And I wanted you to have a life that wasn't built around fear.”
Emily felt tears forming.
“You should have trusted me.”
“I know.”
He looked directly at her.
“That is my greatest regret.”
Her phone buzzed.
Another message.
Ask him about Daniel Mercer.
Emily read it aloud.
Robert's face changed instantly.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“Someone is sending me messages.”
“Emily, stay away from this.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No, Dad.”
She stood.
“Someone just threatened my family with a lawsuit over something that happened nearly thirty years ago. I'm not walking away.”
Robert's voice cracked.
“You don't understand who you're dealing with.”
“Then help me understand.”
He looked exhausted.
Finally, he said:
“Daniel Mercer was the employee who got hurt.”
Emily's blood ran cold.
“What happened to him?”
“He disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“After the accident, his family moved away.”
“Did you ever see him again?”
“No.”
Emily opened her laptop.
“I'm going to find him.”
Robert stood.
“You don't know what you're doing.”
“Maybe not.”
She looked at him.
“But I know something you taught me.”
“What?”
“Never run from a problem just because the person causing it has more money.”
For the first time that night, Robert smiled.
“That sounds like something I would say.”
“It is.”
She hugged him.
Then her phone buzzed again.
This time, there was no text.
There was a photograph.
A young Daniel Mercer stood beside a construction site.
Next to him was a younger version of Phipe Maro.
Emily stared.
Her father saw the image.
His face went completely pale.
“Where did you get that?”
“Someone wants me to find the truth.”
May you like
Robert whispered:
“Then we're both in danger.”
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