The date on the photograph was October 17, 2019.
One day before the explosion.
Sophia sat down slowly.
"Why was my father with them?"
Ethan had no answer.
Then the laptop made a sound.
A new file had appeared.
It contained a video message.
The image was grainy.
A man sat in a dark room, facing the camera.
It was Daniel Cole.
He looked older, thinner, and exhausted.
But his eyes were unmistakable.
"Ethan," he began. "If this message has reached you, then they have failed to destroy everything."
He paused.
"There is something you need to understand about Michael Bennett."
Sophia moved closer to the screen.
Daniel continued.
"Your father was not killed in an accident, Sophia."
Her face went white.
"He was murdered because he discovered who really started the fire."
The recording suddenly distorted.
Then Daniel leaned closer to the camera.
"And the person responsible is someone you both trust."
The video ended.
Neither Ethan nor Sophia moved.
Outside, a car stopped in front of the motel.
Its headlights remained pointed directly at their window.
Then the engine shut off.
Someone stepped out.
And began walking toward their room.
The footsteps stopped outside the motel room.
Ethan grabbed the laptop while Sophia switched off the lights.
They stood silently in the darkness.
A key entered the lock.
Then the door opened.
A woman stepped inside.
She was wearing a gray coat and carrying a leather handbag.
Ethan raised a metal lamp.
"Don't move!"
The woman lifted both hands.
"Please. I'm not here to hurt you."
Sophia recognized her immediately.
"Dr. Eleanor Price?"
The woman nodded.
Eleanor Price had been the medical examiner responsible for several major investigations in Blackwood City.
More importantly, she had signed Daniel Cole's official death certificate.
Ethan lowered the lamp slightly.
"Why are you here?"
"Because I know what happened to your father."
"Then start talking."
Eleanor placed her handbag on the table.
"Seven years ago, I was ordered to identify a body recovered near the Riverside facility."
"Was it Daniel?"
"No."
Ethan stared at her.
"What?"
"The body belonged to Jonathan Reed."
Sophia covered her mouth.
Eleanor continued.
"Jonathan had been severely burned. His face was almost unrecognizable. The police told me that Daniel's personal belongings had been found beside the body. They instructed me to sign the certificate under Daniel's name."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because Richard Hayes threatened my family."
Ethan stepped closer.
"You helped them erase my father."
Eleanor lowered her eyes.
"Yes."
"Did you know he was alive?"
"I discovered that months later."
She removed a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Daniel sitting inside a hospital room.
His face was bandaged.
His right arm was in a sling.
The photograph was dated October 21, 2019.
"Where was he?" Sophia asked.
"An underground medical facility outside Blackwood City. He had suffered severe burns while helping several workers escape the factory."
Ethan stared at the photograph.
"Why didn't he come home?"
Eleanor looked at him sadly.
"Because the people responsible for the explosion wanted him dead. They believed he had the original evidence. If he returned, they would have killed you too."
Ethan's eyes filled with anger.
"He could have told me!"
"He tried."
Eleanor took another document from her bag.
It was a letter addressed to Ethan.
The handwriting was unmistakably Daniel's.
Ethan opened it.
My son,
I have watched you from a distance for seven years. Every birthday, every graduation anniversary, every time you stood outside the old house, I wanted to walk toward you.
But I couldn't.
The people who destroyed Riverside were not simply businessmen. They controlled the police investigation, the medical reports, and the officials who were supposed to protect us.
If they knew you had contact with me, you would become their next target.
I am sorry.
Ethan stopped reading.
He couldn't continue.
For seven years, he had believed his father had abandoned him.
Now he discovered that Daniel had been alive, watching him from a distance.
Sophia gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
Eleanor waited until Ethan folded the letter.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"The death certificate wasn't the only document I signed."
She removed a second file.
Inside was a hospital transfer record.
It listed three patients admitted after the Riverside explosion.
Daniel Cole.
Jonathan Reed.
And Michael Bennett.
Sophia stared at the page.
"My father was alive?"
Eleanor nodded.
"For six hours."
Sophia stepped backward.
"Why wasn't I told?"
"Because he asked me not to reveal it."
"Why?"
Eleanor hesitated.
"Before he died, he told me that his daughter must never know what he had done."
Sophia's voice trembled.
"What did he do?"
Eleanor looked toward Ethan.
"He helped Daniel escape."
Sophia felt tears running down her cheeks.
"Then who killed him?"
Eleanor opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, the lights suddenly came on.
A voice came from the doorway.
"That is enough, Eleanor."
Richard Hayes stood there.
Behind him were two armed officers.
Ethan immediately pushed Sophia behind him.
Hayes smiled.
"I was wondering when you would bring me the missing pieces."
Eleanor looked terrified.
"Richard, please. I did what you asked."
"You did. And now you've done something very stupid."
Hayes pointed toward the handbag.
"Give me the documents."
Ethan shook his head.
"You're not getting anything."
Hayes sighed.
"Your father was always stubborn. I suppose that trait runs in the family."
Then he looked at Sophia.
"Your father was a hero, you know."
Sophia stepped forward.
"Who killed him?"
Hayes smiled.
"Your father killed himself the moment he decided to help Daniel Cole."
A gunshot exploded.
Eleanor fell to the floor.
The officers rushed forward.
Ethan grabbed Sophia and pulled her through the bathroom door.
They crashed through a small rear window and landed in the bushes outside.
Behind them, Hayes shouted orders.
Ethan helped Sophia stand.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded, crying.
They ran toward the parking lot.
But when they reached the car, they found a message written across the windshield.
THE ORIGINAL FOOTAGE IS IN THE HANDS OF THE WRONG MAN.