He looked almost exactly as he had the last time Daniel saw him, except for a small scar near his temple. He wore a dark coat and carried a pistol.
Daniel aimed directly at him.
"Put the weapon down!"
Marcus smiled faintly.
"You really should lower your voice. There are people here who don't appreciate surprises."
"You made us think you were dead."
"I needed you to think that."
Claire stepped forward.
"Where is my sister?"
Marcus looked at her.
"Still asking the same question after all these years."
"Answer me."
He sighed.
"Emily was never supposed to disappear. Your father was never supposed to die. And Rebecca Stone was never supposed to become another body in an apartment."
Claire's eyes narrowed.
"You know who killed Rebecca?"
Marcus looked away.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Arthur Bennett ordered it. But he didn't pull the trigger."
"Then who did?"
Marcus slowly raised his eyes.
"Someone you have been trusting for years."
Daniel tightened his grip on his weapon.
"Enough games, Marcus."
Suddenly, a sharp gunshot shattered the silence.
The lights went out.
Michael threw himself toward Daniel, knocking him to the floor. Another shot struck the metal wall, sending sparks across the corridor.
Claire heard someone running.
She fired toward the sound.
A door slammed.
When the emergency lights flickered back on, Marcus was gone.
Daniel pushed himself up.
"Are you hurt?"
Michael shook his head.
Claire looked at the open doorway.
On the floor lay a small object.
A silver necklace.
She recognized it immediately.
It was identical to the one found beside Rebecca Stone's body.
But attached to it was a tiny folded piece of paper.
Claire opened it.
There were six handwritten words.
THE SECOND FILE IS WITH EMILY.
Michael looked at the message.
"That's what they were trying to find."
Daniel turned toward him.
"What second file?"
Michael took a deep breath.
"The first file contains evidence of the corruption. The second file contains the names of everyone who helped cover it up. Judges, police officers, politicians, businessmen."
Claire looked at him.
"And Emily has it?"
Michael nodded.
"She took it before she disappeared."
A distant engine started outside.
Daniel moved toward the stairs.
"Someone's leaving."
But Michael grabbed his arm.
"Daniel, listen to me. Marcus isn't the only person we need to worry about."
"Who else?"
Michael looked directly at his brother.
"Your captain."
Daniel went still.
"Hayes?"
"He's been hiding something since the beginning."
Claire looked toward the warehouse entrance.
Outside, the sound of the engine disappeared into the night.
For the first time since entering the building, she felt that finding Emily might be only the beginning of the nightmare.
The drive back to the precinct was almost silent.
Michael sat in the back seat, wrapped in Daniel's jacket. His hands trembled occasionally, and every few minutes he looked over his shoulder as if expecting another vehicle to appear behind them.
Claire sat beside Daniel.
Her thoughts were fixed on one thing.
Emily was alive.
For twelve years, she had imagined countless possibilities. Sometimes she pictured Emily living somewhere under another name. Sometimes she imagined her sister locked in a room, waiting for someone to find her. And sometimes, in the darkest hours of the night, she had convinced herself that Emily was already dead.
Now she had proof that her sister was alive.
But she also knew that the people responsible for her disappearance were still operating.
When they reached the precinct, Captain Hayes was waiting near the entrance.
His face was pale when he saw Michael.
"You're back."
Michael looked at him coldly.
"Surprised?"
Hayes ignored the question.
"Daniel, get your brother medical attention. Claire, come with me."
Claire didn't move.
"No."
Hayes looked at her.
"We need to talk."
"We have been talking for hours, Captain. Every time you speak, another secret comes out."
"Then you should listen to this one."
He led them into his office.
Michael refused to sit.
Hayes closed the door.
For several seconds, he looked at all three of them.
Then he opened a drawer and removed a small black envelope.
"I found this in Thomas Morgan's personal effects after his death," he said.
Claire stared at it.
"Why didn't you give it to me?"
"Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"Of what it contained."
He placed the envelope on the desk.
Claire opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Thomas Morgan standing beside a woman. The woman was younger than Claire remembered, but her face was unmistakable.
Emily.
On the back of the photograph, Thomas had written:
IF THEY EVER FIND HER, THEY WILL COME FOR THE PEOPLE SHE LOVES.
Claire's fingers began to shake.
"How long have you known she was alive?"
Hayes lowered his head.
"I suspected it. I didn't have proof."
"That's not an answer."
"I learned that she had been moved into an unofficial witness-protection arrangement. The operation was never entered into the official system. Only a handful of people knew about it."
Michael stepped forward.
"And you let Bennett control it."
Hayes looked at him.
"I didn't have a choice."
Michael laughed bitterly.
"There's always a choice. You just didn't want to lose your position."
Hayes accepted the accusation without defending himself.
Daniel moved between them.
"Where is Emily now?"
Hayes looked at the photograph.
"That is what we need to discover."
Claire placed the photograph on the desk.
"Marcus said the second file is with her."
Hayes's expression changed.
"Did he?"
"Yes."
For the first time, the captain looked genuinely frightened.
"The second file must never fall into Evelyn Blackwood's hands."
"Why?"
"Because the first file proves that money was transferred. The second file proves who received it, who authorized it, and who made sure the investigations disappeared."
Claire folded her arms.
"Then we release it."
"Not yet."
"Why not?"
"Because some of the people named in that file are still powerful. If we release it without securing the evidence, they can destroy everything and make the entire case look fabricated."
Daniel looked at him.
"You're telling us to wait while my brother and Claire's sister remain targets?"
Hayes didn't answer.
A sudden alarm sounded from the corridor.
An officer rushed into the office.
"Captain! We've got a security breach."
Hayes immediately stood.
"Where?"
"The evidence room. Someone is trying to access the restricted archive."
Daniel grabbed his weapon.
"Marcus?"