Daniel kept his weapon trained on Anthony.
“Hands behind your head!”
Anthony complied slowly, but his eyes never left the officer's face.
“What's your name?” Daniel demanded.
“Anthony Reed.”
“Identification.”
“In my jacket.”
“Don't move.”
Anthony remained still.
Elena approached from the side, maintaining distance.
“Daniel, we need to verify his identity and establish whether he's injured. We don't know what happened before we arrived.”
“I'm handling it.”
“You're pointing a weapon at a man who has his hands behind his head.”
“A possible suspect who may have faked his own death.”
Anthony gave a faint smile.
“That's an interesting theory.”
“Shut up!”
“Daniel,” Elena warned.
The officer ignored her.
“Why did you come here?”
“To see my brother.”
“After eleven months?”
Anthony's expression became harder.
“I had reasons.”
“What reasons?”
“Reasons that have nothing to do with you.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Everything has to do with me when I'm responding to a possible violent crime.”
Anthony glanced at the cameras.
“Then you should be interested in the recording.”
Elena looked toward the SUV.
The footage on Marcus's phone showed the figure entering the garage before the officers arrived. But it didn't establish what had happened between Victoria and Marcus, nor did it explain Daniel's unusual reaction to Anthony.
She turned to Marcus.
“Did you receive any calls or messages before you arrived home?”
Marcus shook his head.
“I was at work until ten. I stopped for gas, then came straight here.”
“What do you do?”
“I'm an electrical systems engineer. I work for a private infrastructure contractor.”
“Do you know why someone might want to target you?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Not until tonight.”
Anthony laughed softly.
Marcus looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Anthony lowered his eyes.
“I was hoping you wouldn't have to find out.”
Daniel suddenly shouted, “Enough! Both of you are coming with me.”
Elena turned.
“On what basis?”
“Obstruction. Possible conspiracy. Whatever the supervisor determines.”
“You can't arrest people because you don't understand what's happening.”
Daniel's face reddened.
“Are you refusing a direct order?”
“I'm asking you to articulate a lawful basis for detention.”
The two officers stood facing each other beneath the garage lights.
Victoria watched from the edge of the driveway, her trembling gradually giving way to something more complicated.
She was no longer looking at Anthony with simple fear.
She was looking at him with resentment.
“You said he wouldn't be here,” she whispered.
Anthony heard her.
“I said he wouldn't be here tonight.”
“You promised me!”
Anthony looked at her with an expression of exhaustion.
“I promised you I would keep Marcus out of this until I had the evidence.”
“And you failed.”
Marcus stared between them.
“What evidence?”
Neither answered.
He turned toward Victoria.
“Why did you come to my house?”
She wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her trench coat.
“I was told you were going to hurt me.”
“By whom?”
She looked at Daniel.
The officer stepped toward her.
“Victoria, don't say anything else.”
Elena's eyes narrowed.
“Why are you telling her not to speak?”
“Because she's distressed.”
“She's an adult. She can answer questions if she chooses.”
Victoria swallowed.
Then she reached into her coat pocket.
Daniel's hand moved toward his belt.
“Don't!”
She froze.
“I'm getting my phone.”
“Slowly.”
Victoria withdrew a black smartphone and held it up.
“I have messages.”
“From whom?” Elena asked.
Victoria looked at Daniel.
“From him.”
The silence that followed was immediate and absolute.
Daniel's expression hardened.
“She's lying.”
Victoria shook her head.
“You told me Marcus was dangerous. You told me his brother was dead. You told me the police would arrive before he could explain anything.”
Elena stared at Daniel.
“Is that true?”
“No.”
Victoria opened her phone.
“I have the messages.”
Daniel lunged toward her.
Elena moved between them.
“Don't touch her.”
“She's evidence! Give me that phone!”
“You have no authority to seize it without a lawful basis.”
Daniel's eyes flashed.
“She's interfering with an investigation.”
“Then explain how.”
Victoria backed away, clutching the phone against her chest.
“I didn't want to do this,” she whispered. “I swear I didn't.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Do what?”
She turned toward him, tears filling her eyes.
“I was supposed to get you arrested.”
The words seemed to strike Marcus physically.
“Why?”
“Because someone told me you were stealing money. They said you had been moving funds through your company and hiding the records here.”
Marcus stared at her in disbelief.
“That's insane. I don't control company funds.”
“They showed me documents.”
“What documents?”
“Transfers. Bank records. Messages with your name on them.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Those records are fabricated.”
Anthony finally spoke.
“That's what I told her.”
Victoria looked at him bitterly.
“You didn't tell me everything.”
“No,” Anthony admitted. “I didn't.”
Marcus turned toward his brother.
“What is going on?”
Anthony's face grew serious.
“Someone has been using your identity to hide a financial operation. When I discovered it, they tried to make me disappear.”
Marcus felt cold spread through his chest.
“Who?”
Anthony glanced at Daniel.
“I was hoping we'd get through tonight without having to answer that question.”
Elena took a step toward Anthony.
“Are you saying a police officer is involved?”
Anthony didn't answer immediately.
Then he looked directly at Daniel.
“I'm saying someone inside law enforcement has been protecting the people responsible.”
Daniel raised his weapon again.
“Everyone on the ground! Now!”
Elena's voice became sharp.
“Daniel, lower your firearm!”
Instead, Daniel reached for the phone in Victoria's hand.
She screamed and pulled away.
The device slipped from her fingers, struck the pavement, and landed screen-up beneath the cruiser's headlights.
The display remained illuminated.
A message was visible.
DANIEL: Once Reed is in custody, delete everything. He won't get another chance to explain.
Elena stared at the screen.
Daniel stared at Elena.
And Marcus understood that the man who had arrived to protect him might be the person he needed protection from.