The Name His Father Already Knew
Chapter 03 - The Name His Father Already Knew
Daniel locked the office door.
Charles did not like that.
“You’re being dramatic,” he said.
Daniel stepped between his father and Ellie.
“How do you know her name?”
Charles gave the smallest shrug.
“I’ve seen her before.”
“Where?”
“That isn’t important.”
“It is to me.”
Charles’s eyes narrowed.
Behind Daniel, Ellie had gone completely still.
Daniel noticed it.
Children reacted to danger before adults admitted it existed.
Charles exhaled.
“Rachel contacted me several months ago.”
Daniel felt as if the floor had shifted.
“You told me she was dead.”
“I told you what I believed at the time.”
“No. You had an attorney send me a death notice.”
Charles’s voice cooled.
“You were barely keeping the company together after the recession. Rachel had already caused enough instability.”
Daniel stared at him.
“You knew she was alive.”
“I knew she claimed to be.”
Ellie spoke from behind the desk.
“She is alive.”
Charles turned toward her.
Daniel saw the girl flinch.
That was enough.
“Don’t look at her,” Daniel said.
Charles looked back at his son.
For the first time, the old man seemed offended.
“I am trying to protect you.”
“From a nine-year-old?”
“From Rachel.”
Daniel unfolded the letter and held it up.
“She says I should protect Ellie from you.”
Charles’s mouth tightened.
“Then she is still lying.”
Ellie suddenly reached into her jacket.
Daniel instinctively stepped closer, but she pulled out nothing more than a motel key card.
“Mom said if he found out where we were staying, we had to leave.”
She pointed directly at Charles.
Daniel’s father went pale.
Not angry.
Pale.
Daniel looked from the key card to the man who had controlled nearly every important decision in his life.
“What did Rachel find twelve years ago?”
Charles’s expression changed.
The question had landed.
Daniel remembered the old story perfectly.
Rachel, twenty-six and working in Mercer’s community development division, had allegedly transferred money from an employee relief account into a private shell company.
She denied it.
Charles accused her of theft.
Daniel had signed a sworn statement saying Rachel had access to the accounts.
She disappeared before charges were filed.
For twelve years, Daniel had believed her disappearance was an admission of guilt.
Now Charles moved toward the door.
“We will discuss this after the board meeting.”
Daniel did not move aside.
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“No board meeting.”
Charles’s voice dropped.
“You do not throw away a billion-dollar company because your unstable sister sends a dirty child into your office.”
Ellie’s face crumpled.
Daniel saw it.
Something in him snapped.
“Get out.”
Charles stared at his son.
Daniel opened the door.
For once, Charles Mercer had no answer.
May you like
But before he walked away, he leaned close enough that only Daniel could hear him.
“If you go looking for Rachel, you may not like what you find.”
