CHAPTER 7 — THE CHOICE BETWEEN A FORTUNE AND A FATHER
CHAPTER 7 — THE CHOICE BETWEEN A FORTUNE AND A FATHER
The room fell silent.
Thomas Bennett's words echoed through my mind.
"They want everything Margaret hid."
I looked around the secret room.
Boxes.
Letters.
Financial records.
Old photographs.
The camera.
The truth about my family.
"What exactly do they want?" I asked.
Thomas opened his briefcase.
"They believe your mother kept evidence."
"Evidence that could send several powerful businessmen to prison."
I remembered my mother's recording.
My father hadn't disappeared because he was guilty.
He had disappeared because he had uncovered someone else's crimes.
"They contacted us an hour ago," Thomas continued. "If you hand over every document in this room, Richard walks free."
"And if I refuse?"
Thomas lowered his eyes.
"They'll kill him."
Lily stepped beside me.
"They're lying."
Both of us looked at her.
She spoke quietly but firmly.
"People like that never leave witnesses."
"If you give them the evidence..."
"...they'll still kill him."
Deep down, I knew she was right.
The kidnappers didn't want justice.
They wanted silence.
For years, I had solved problems by writing checks.
This time, money couldn't buy the answer.
I took out my phone.
"I'm calling the FBI."
Thomas looked surprised.
"They specifically warned you not to involve law enforcement."
"I spent my whole life letting fear make my decisions."
I looked toward Lily.
"I'm done living that way."
Within hours, federal agents surrounded my estate.
The evidence hidden by my mother was carefully cataloged.
One detective looked at me in disbelief.
"Mr. Reyes..."
"Do you realize what this contains?"
I shook my head.
He held up one folder.
"Twenty-three years of offshore accounts."
"Corporate bribery."
"Political corruption."
"Murder-for-hire payments."
The conspiracy reached far beyond my family.
My father had been hunted because he refused to bury the truth.
Now it was finally coming into the light.
That night, the kidnappers called.
"You've involved the FBI."
"Yes."
"You just signed your father's death warrant."
I answered calmly.
"No."
"You signed your own."
I hung up.
For the first time in years...
I wasn't acting out of fear.
The rescue operation lasted eighteen terrifying hours.
Every minute felt like a lifetime.
Lily stayed beside me the entire time.
Neither of us spoke much.
We simply waited.
Then, just after sunrise...
The lead FBI agent walked toward us.
His expression gave nothing away.
"Mr. Reyes?"
My heart nearly stopped.
"We found him."
I couldn't breathe.
"Is he..."
The agent smiled.
"He's alive."
My legs gave out beneath me.
Lily caught my arm before I hit the floor.
Two hours later...
I walked into a secure hospital room.
An older man sat on the bed.
Gray hair.
Deep lines across his face.
But the eyes...
They were mine.
He slowly stood.
"Alexander."
My voice disappeared.
For seven years I had hated a man who had never abandoned me.
I crossed the room.
Neither of us spoke.
We simply embraced.
Both of us cried like the years between us no longer existed.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"So am I," he replied.
"I missed your entire life."
"No."
May you like
I shook my head.
"They stole it from both of us."
