It contained an address and a simple instruction.
Come alone if you want to know what happened to your father.
Daniel showed it to Marcus.
"Don't go," Marcus warned.
"I have to."
"It's obviously a trap."
"Maybe. But someone knows something."
Marcus studied the address.
It belonged to an old courthouse that had been abandoned for several years.
Daniel decided to go.
But he didn't go alone.
Marcus followed at a distance.
Inside the courthouse, Daniel found a man waiting in the main hall.
He was wearing a gray suit and holding a leather briefcase.
"Officer Carter?"
"Who are you?"
"Robert Collins."
Daniel immediately reached for his weapon.
The deputy commissioner smiled.
"Relax. If I wanted you arrested, you wouldn't be standing here."
Daniel remained cautious.
"What do you want?"
Collins opened his briefcase.
Inside were several photographs.
One showed Thomas Carter entering a building.
Another showed Captain Hayes meeting with Dr. Whitmore.
The third showed Arthur Mitchell standing outside Saint Mary's Hospital.
"Your father was a good officer," Collins said.
"Then why did you let him die?"
Collins looked away.
"Because I was a coward."
Daniel was surprised by the answer.
Collins continued.
"Twenty years ago, Hayes discovered that the hospital was being used to facilitate illegal child transfers. He offered several people money to keep quiet. Others were threatened."
"And you?"
"I signed the reports."
Daniel stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because my wife was sick. I needed money. Hayes knew it."
Collins placed another document on the table.
"This is the original transfer ledger. It contains the identities of the children and the families who received them."
Daniel grabbed it.
"Where did you get this?"
"Your father gave it to me before he died."
Daniel looked up sharply.
"Why didn't you release it?"
Collins lowered his eyes.
"Because I was afraid."
A sudden noise came from the entrance.
Marcus appeared.
"Daniel! We need to move!"
Collins looked toward the door.
His face changed.
"They followed you."
Several armed men entered the building.
Daniel grabbed the ledger.
Marcus opened fire, forcing them behind the pillars.
The three men escaped through a side entrance.
Outside, Collins stumbled.
A bullet had struck his side.
Daniel caught him.
"Stay with me!"
Collins grabbed Daniel's arm.
"There's something else you need to know."
"What?"
"Your father didn't die because of the investigation."
Daniel leaned closer.
"Then why?"
Collins struggled to breathe.
"Because he refused to give Hayes the original list."
Daniel stared at him.
Collins continued.
"He hid it somewhere. A place only you would recognize."
"Where?"
Collins looked directly into his eyes.
"Your childhood home."
Then he whispered something else.
"Don't trust Marcus."
Daniel froze.
Before he could ask why, Collins lost consciousness.
Marcus approached.
"Daniel, we need to go."
Daniel looked at his partner.
For the first time, he wondered whether the man standing beside him had been telling the truth all along.
Daniel didn't speak to Marcus during the entire drive home.
The deputy commissioner's warning repeated in his mind.
Don't trust Marcus.
He wanted to believe it was a lie.
Marcus had helped him for years. They had faced dangerous situations together. Marcus had saved his life more than once.
But Daniel had learned something important.
People could hide terrible secrets behind familiar faces.
When they arrived at Daniel's childhood home, he went directly to his father's study.
The room smelled of old wood and dust.
He examined every drawer, every shelf, and every photograph.
Nothing.
Then he remembered something from his childhood.
His father used to tell him that the house had three secrets.
One was hidden in the walls.
One was hidden beneath the floor.
And the last was hidden in plain sight.
Daniel had never understood what it meant.
He looked at the old bookshelf.
Three books were arranged differently from the others.
He pulled them out.
Behind them was a small wooden panel.
Inside was a key.
Daniel walked to the basement.
Near the old furnace, he found a metal cabinet.
The key opened it.
Inside was a thick folder containing photographs, medical records, and a handwritten diary.
He opened the first page.
October 17. The children have been transferred. I managed to save one of them, but the others are still missing.
Daniel turned the page.
Arthur believes David is alive. I have reason to believe he is right.
Another page contained a list of names.
Dr. Samuel Whitmore.
Richard Hayes.
Robert Collins.
And a fourth name.
Marcus Reed.
Daniel stopped.
His hands began to shake.
The diary continued.
Marcus is not responsible for the transfers. He was ordered to protect the records. He has a daughter. They are using her to control him.
Daniel slowly closed the diary.
Collins had been telling the truth.
Marcus wasn't part of the conspiracy.
He was another victim.
But there was something else.
A photograph had been tucked between the pages.
It showed Daniel's father standing in front of a hospital room.
Beside him was a young nurse holding a baby.
On the back, Thomas had written:
The nurse who saved Michael.
Daniel immediately called Rebecca.
She recognized the woman.
"Her name was Helen Brooks."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know. She disappeared years ago."
Rebecca paused.
"Wait. My father mentioned her once. He said she moved to a small town near the coast."
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
"Can you find the address?"
"I'll try."
Meanwhile, Marcus was sitting inside his car outside the house.
He received a phone call.
"Did he find it?" a man asked.
Marcus closed his eyes.
"Yes."
"Good. Bring it to us."
"I can't."
The man laughed.
"You don't have a choice."
Marcus looked at a photograph on the passenger seat.