Beneath the message was a photograph.
It showed Victor Hargrove shaking hands with Daniel Cole.
The date was October 25, 2019.
Seven days after the explosion.
Ethan stared at the image.
His father had survived.
But apparently, he had made a deal with the very man responsible for the disaster.
Victor Hargrove lived in a mansion overlooking Blackwood Bay.
The property covered nearly forty acres and was surrounded by high stone walls, private security cameras, and armed guards.
To the public, Victor was a respected businessman.
He funded hospitals, supported local schools, and donated millions to charitable organizations.
His face appeared on billboards across the city.
But Ethan Cole knew another version of Victor Hargrove.
He knew the man who had allowed twelve workers to die.
He knew the man who had helped frame Daniel.
And now he knew that Daniel had met him after the explosion.
Why?
At 4:30 a.m., Ethan and Sophia sat inside an abandoned apartment building.
They had managed to recover most of the documents from Eleanor's handbag before escaping.
Sophia studied the photograph.
"Maybe your father was forced to cooperate."
"That's what I want to believe."
"Then we need to find out."
Ethan opened the laptop.
The encrypted drive contained a partially damaged financial database.
Sophia examined the files.
After several minutes, she discovered a series of payments made by a company called Northstar Holdings.
Every payment had been transferred to an account belonging to Jonathan Reed.
The first transaction was dated October 19, 2019.
The second was dated October 26.
The final transfer was dated November 2.
All three payments had been authorized by Victor Hargrove.
"Look at this," Sophia said.
Ethan moved closer.
"The money was paid to Jonathan Reed after his supposed death."
Sophia nodded.
"That means someone was using his identity."
"Or Jonathan was never dead."
They looked at each other.
Suddenly, Ethan remembered Daniel's message.
He died in my place.
Perhaps the message meant something different.
Perhaps Jonathan had taken Daniel's identity, while Daniel had taken Jonathan's.
Sophia opened the personnel records.
The database showed that Jonathan Reed had been transferred to a private security division three weeks after the explosion.
The transfer authorization carried Victor's digital signature.
"He's alive," Sophia whispered.
Ethan stared at the screen.
"Then we find him."
But first, they needed access to Victor's private archives.
Sophia knew exactly where to look.
Victor's mansion had a secondary security network installed by a private contractor. Its system used an older encryption protocol that she had worked with before.
She could access the network remotely if they found the correct signal.
At 8:00 p.m., they parked outside the mansion.
The property was brightly illuminated.
Security guards patrolled the entrance.
Ethan watched the main gate.
"How do we get inside?"
Sophia pointed toward the western wall.
"Maintenance entrance."
They waited until a delivery truck arrived.
When the gates opened, they slipped through behind it.
Inside the property, they moved through the gardens toward the underground security building.
Sophia connected her laptop to a maintenance terminal.
Within minutes, the system accepted her credentials.
She began searching.
The archive contained hundreds of recordings.
Most were ordinary security footage.
Then she found a folder marked:
PRIVATE MEETINGS β OCTOBER 2019.
She opened the first recording.
Victor Hargrove sat at a desk.
Across from him was Daniel Cole.
Ethan moved closer to the screen.
His father looked injured but conscious.
Victor poured two glasses of water.
"You're lucky to be alive," Victor said.
Daniel replied, "You owe me the truth."
Victor smiled.
"You have the wrong idea about what happened."
"I saw the chemicals. I saw the emergency systems shut down."
"And you survived. That's what matters."
"Twelve people are dead."
Victor's expression became cold.
"Twelve employees are dead. The company will compensate their families."
"That's not enough."
"Then what do you want?"
Daniel leaned forward.
"The original recordings. Every document. Every name."
Victor remained silent.
Then he said something that surprised Ethan.
"I can give you all of that. But you must disappear."
Daniel looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because there are people above me who will never allow this investigation to continue."
"Who?"
Victor smiled.
"People whose names you wouldn't dare say aloud."
The recording ended.
Ethan sat back.
His father had negotiated with Victor.
But why?
Sophia opened another video.
This one showed Victor standing beside a large screen.
On the screen was a photograph of a young boy.
Ethan recognized himself.
He was fourteen years old.
Victor spoke to someone outside the camera's view.
"Daniel will cooperate. He has no choice. His son is the only weakness we need."
Ethan felt sick.
Sophia paused the video.
"There's more."
She opened a final recording.
Victor stood alone in the room.
He looked directly toward the camera.
Then he said:
"If Daniel ever returns, remind him that the original explosion was not an accident."
A second voice answered.
"Who ordered it?"
Victor looked toward the door.
Then whispered:
"The man who owns the city."
Suddenly, the security terminal went black.
Sophia looked up.
"Someone detected us."
A loud alarm sounded.
Red lights flashed across the corridor.
Ethan grabbed the laptop.
They ran toward the maintenance exit.
But before they reached it, two guards appeared.
Ethan knocked one aside.
Sophia pushed the other into a storage cabinet.
They escaped through the garden and climbed over the western wall.
As they reached the street, Ethan's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A familiar voice spoke.
"Ethan."
He froze.
It was Daniel.
"Where are you?"
"Somewhere you cannot find me."
"Why did you meet Victor?"
Silence.
Then Daniel replied:
"Because I was trying to save your life."
Ethan's voice rose.
"By working with the man who destroyed Riverside?"
"Listen to me. Victor Hargrove is not the person you should be afraid of."
"Then who?"
Daniel whispered:
"Richard Hayes is only the beginning."
The call ended.
A few seconds later, a new message arrived.
It contained a location.
And one sentence:
COME TOMORROW. ALONE. IT'S TIME YOU LEARNED WHO YOUR FATHER REALLY WAS.
The location Daniel had sent was an old church outside Blackwood City.