For three seconds, nobody moved.
Lieutenant Samuel Carter stood in the driveway, staring at the bloodied man lying across Marcus Reed's porch. His expression had become unreadable, and his right hand rested near his utility belt.
From somewhere inside the house, the voice came again.
“You should have stayed dead, Anthony.”
Elena turned toward Carter.
The lieutenant was standing directly beside her.
His mouth was closed.
The voice had come from inside the residence, not from the man standing in the driveway.
“Everyone hold your positions,” Carter ordered.
He drew his weapon and signaled the other officers to take cover.
Marcus rushed toward Elliot, but Elena caught his arm.
“Wait! We don't know who's inside.”
“He's bleeding!”
“And if someone is waiting behind that door, running inside could get you killed. Let the medical team reach him.”
Marcus looked down at Elliot.
The financial executive was struggling to breathe. His expensive dark jacket was torn at the shoulder, and blood spread across his pale shirt.
Elliot reached toward Marcus.
“Listen to me,” he whispered.
Marcus knelt beside him, keeping his hands away from the wound.
“Who did this to you?”
Elliot's eyes moved toward the house.
“He knows.”
“Who?”
Elliot tried to speak, but a coughing fit interrupted him.
Elena called for the paramedics.
Then the voice from inside the house spoke again.
“Marcus, don't trust the officers.”
This time, Marcus recognized something in the voice.
It sounded like his brother.
But Anthony was standing beside the garage, pale and motionless.
Marcus turned toward him.
“Anthony?”
His brother shook his head.
“That's not me.”
The voice laughed.
“You always were the cautious one.”
Marcus felt the hair rise along his arms.
Whoever was inside knew Anthony well enough to imitate his manner of speaking. The person also knew that the brothers had a history, which meant this was not a random intruder.
It was someone who had been watching them.
Someone who understood their relationship.
Lieutenant Carter raised his voice.
“Police! Come out with your hands visible!”
Silence answered him.
Then the lights inside the house went out.
The garage lights remained on, but the open doorway became a black rectangle. The cameras above the entrance continued recording, their small indicator lights blinking in the darkness.
Elena looked at the security technician.
“Are the cameras still transmitting?”
“Yes. All three exterior cameras are online.”
“Can you see inside?”
“Only the front hallway through the door camera.”
The technician turned the laptop toward her.
A grainy image appeared.
The hallway was empty.
Then a shadow crossed the far wall.
Someone was moving toward the back of the house.
Carter immediately radioed for additional units and instructed them to secure the perimeter. No one was to enter until the situation had been assessed and the appropriate response personnel were in position.
Marcus remained beside Elliot.
“Why did you come here?” he asked.
Elliot struggled to lift his head.
“I was trying to stop them.”
“Stop whom?”
“The people who hired me.”
Marcus stared at him.
“You hired people to fabricate evidence against me.”
Elliot closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The admission landed like a physical blow.
“Why?”
“Because they needed someone whose identity could withstand an audit. Your credentials were clean. Your employment history was legitimate. Your signature was easy to obtain.”
“You destroyed my life to protect a financial scheme?”
Elliot's eyes filled with tears.
“I thought it would only be temporary. They told me you would be questioned, then released. They promised nobody would be hurt.”
Marcus felt anger burn through his shock.
“And Victoria?”
“She was supposed to make the accusation believable.”
“Did you tell her to say I tried to kill her?”
“Yes.”
Marcus stood slowly.
“You knew an armed officer might respond.”
“I didn't know Daniel would draw his weapon.”
“You arranged the entire thing.”
Elliot looked away.
“I arranged the accusation. I didn't arrange what happened after.”
Elena exchanged a glance with Marcus.
“Who arranged Daniel's involvement?”
Elliot swallowed.
“I don't know his real role. He was already involved when I joined the operation.”
Lieutenant Carter approached.
“What operation?”
Elliot stared at him.
For a moment, his expression became almost amused.
“That's the question, isn't it?”
Carter's face tightened.
“Answer it.”
“The operation involves money diverted from public infrastructure contracts. The equipment never arrives, but the invoices are paid. When auditors begin asking questions, the people investigating are discredited, threatened, or accused of crimes.”
“And the police?”
“Some officers provide information. Others make sure the right people get arrested.”
Carter looked toward Daniel's cruiser.
“Who is in charge?”
Elliot hesitated.
Then he whispered, “The person who told me to come here.”
A loud crash sounded from the back of the house.
Officers immediately turned toward the noise.
The technician looked at the laptop.
“The rear camera just went offline.”
Carter radioed the perimeter units.
“Report your positions.”
One officer answered.
“Rear fence secured. No one has exited the property.”
Another voice followed.
“Side gate is locked. No movement observed.”
The technician frowned.
“Wait. I'm receiving a new motion alert.”
The front-entry camera displayed a figure standing at the end of the hallway.
The person wore a dark jacket and held something in one hand.
A phone.
The figure looked toward the camera.
Then raised the phone to its face.
Marcus watched the image.
The person was smiling.
Elena leaned closer.
“Can you identify them?”
The technician enlarged the image.
The face became clearer.
Marcus's stomach tightened.
He knew that face.
It belonged to a man who had attended Anthony's funeral.
A man who had delivered the eulogy, comforted Marcus afterward, and assured him that his brother's death had been an accident.
A man who had worked alongside Anthony for years.
David Cole.
Anthony's former business partner.
Marcus whispered, “What is he doing in my house?”
Anthony looked at the screen.
All the color drained from his face.
“Because David knows where I hid the original ledger.”
The figure inside the hallway tilted its head, as though it had heard him.
Then the phone displayed a message.
The technician read it aloud.
YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO GIVE ME THE LEDGER. AFTER THAT, EVERYONE DIES.