"Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure."
Daniel looked at Emily.
She was staring out the window.
"Sam, I need you to send me copies of everything."
"I'll send them. But Daniel, there's something else."
"What?"
"The person who authorized the final closure of the investigation was Chief Inspector Reynolds."
Daniel felt his blood run cold.
Reynolds had been the same officer who had just removed him from the case.
The pieces were finally coming together.
Someone had changed the report.
Someone had forged Arthur's signature.
And someone had ensured that no one would ever ask what happened to Emily.
Daniel parked near the old industrial district.
The streets were almost empty.
He looked toward the abandoned buildings.
Then his phone received a message.
It was from an unknown number.
This time, there was a voice recording.
Daniel played it.
A man's voice spoke calmly.
"Officer Carter, I believe you have something that belongs to us."
There was a brief pause.
Then another voice appeared.
Arthur's voice.
"Daniel, don't come here. Please."
The recording ended.
Emily began crying.
Daniel gripped the steering wheel.
He knew exactly what the message meant.
The man who had taken Arthur was waiting.
And he wanted Daniel to bring the documents.
Daniel looked at Emily.
"Stay here."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Emily, this could be dangerous."
"That is my father."
Daniel looked into her eyes.
He understood.
This time, nobody was going to separate them.
He took the folder containing the copied police records and stepped out of the car.
Emily followed.
Together, they walked toward the abandoned factory.
Inside, the truth was waiting.
But so was the man who had spent twenty years trying to bury it.
The abandoned factory stood at the end of a narrow industrial road.
Its windows were broken, its walls covered in graffiti, and its metal gates hung loosely from their hinges.
Daniel approached carefully.
He could hear voices coming from inside.
One belonged to Arthur.
The other was unfamiliar.
"Where is the envelope?" the stranger demanded.
Arthur answered weakly.
"I told you. I don't have it."
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm telling you the truth."
Daniel stopped near the entrance.
He motioned for Emily to remain behind him.
Then he stepped inside.
The factory was dark except for a single light hanging from the ceiling.
Arthur was sitting on a wooden chair.
His hands were tied.
Standing in front of him was a man in an expensive black coat.
Daniel recognized him immediately.
Richard Wallace.
He was older now, perhaps in his late sixties, but his appearance remained polished. His silver hair was perfectly combed, and a gold watch shone on his wrist.
Wallace turned.
"Officer Carter."
Daniel kept his voice calm.
"Let him go."
Wallace smiled.
"You're making a serious mistake."
"Untie him."
"Your father was a much wiser man than you."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Don't talk about my father."
Wallace laughed quietly.
"Thomas Carter understood how the world worked. He knew that some problems were too expensive to solve."
Daniel stepped closer.
"My father spent the rest of his life regretting what happened."
Wallace's smile disappeared.
"Then he should have kept his mouth shut."
Arthur looked at Daniel.
"Please be careful."
Daniel held up the folder.
"I have the original police report. I have the hospital transfer documents. And I have the letters Emily sent to my mother."
Wallace's face changed slightly.
"Those documents mean nothing."
"Really?"
Daniel removed a copy of the original accident report.
"Your son was driving the car that hit Emily Bennett. Your family pressured the hospital to hide the truth. And someone forged her father's signature to authorize a transfer."
Wallace stared at him.
"Do you understand who you're accusing?"
"Yes."
"You have no idea how much influence my family has."
Daniel looked directly at him.
"That doesn't make you innocent."
Wallace stepped closer.
"Your father understood that a man's career, reputation, and family can disappear overnight."
Daniel felt anger rising, but he controlled his voice.
"Is that why he changed the report?"
Wallace didn't answer.
"Did you threaten him?"
Wallace smiled faintly.
"Ask your mother."
Daniel's face tightened.
Wallace continued.
"Your father had a family. He had a wife and a son. He wanted to protect them. I simply gave him a choice."
Daniel stared at the man.
"Between telling the truth and keeping his family safe?"
"Exactly."
For a moment, the factory seemed completely silent.
Then Emily stepped forward.
"Mr. Wallace."
Wallace turned.
His expression changed when he saw her.
Emily walked toward Arthur.
"Dad?"
Arthur looked up.
For a second, he seemed unable to believe his eyes.
"Emily?"
She rushed toward him.
Arthur began crying.
"My little girl..."
Emily fell to her knees and held his hands.
"I'm here, Dad. I'm here."
Arthur struggled against the ropes.
"I thought you were gone."
Emily shook her head.
"I thought you didn't want me anymore."
The two embraced as best they could.
Daniel looked away.
He had witnessed hundreds of painful moments during his career, but this was different.
This was the reunion of two people who had lost twenty years because someone had decided their lives were less important than money and influence.
Wallace cleared his throat.
"Touching. Truly touching."
Daniel turned toward him.
"Step away from them."
Wallace raised his hands slightly.
"Do you think this changes anything? Your father signed the documents. Your mother knew what happened. And you are standing here violating an investigation order."
Daniel took a breath.
"My father made a mistake. My mother was frightened. And I should have looked deeper before believing everything I was told."
He looked at Arthur.
"But none of that gives you the right to take this man's daughter away from him."
Wallace's expression hardened.
"You have no proof that I ordered anything."
Daniel held up his phone.
"Perhaps you should explain why you admitted knowing about the forged documents."
Wallace froze.
Daniel continued.
"Sam Miller has copies of the original report. He has already forwarded them to internal investigations."
It was a bluff.
Daniel had sent the documents to Sam, but he did not yet know whether they had reached the investigators.
Still, Wallace seemed uncertain.
He glanced toward the entrance.
At that moment, two police officers appeared.
Sam Miller was behind them.
"Richard Wallace," Sam announced. "We need you to come with us."
Wallace laughed nervously.
"On what grounds?"
Sam stepped forward.
"Suspected kidnapping, unlawful detention, and interference with evidence. Further charges will be determined after the investigation."
Wallace looked at Daniel.
"You think you've won?"
Daniel said nothing.
"You'll regret this."
Sam approached him.