2026-10-01 09:46:24Adrian stared at the photograph.
Daniel was alive.
That was the first thing that mattered.
The second was the man standing behind him.
Adrian zoomed in.
The photograph was too dark to identify his face, but the expensive watch on his wrist was clearly visible.
Adrian had seen it before.
At Cole Meridian.
On the wrist of one of Marcus's senior executives.
“Victor.”
The call connected immediately.
“I’m here.”
“Send me the photograph I just received.”
“You already sent it.”
“Then look at the man standing behind Daniel.”
Victor was silent for several seconds.
“I see him.”
“Do you recognize him?”
“No.”
Adrian looked at the watch.
“I do.”
“Who?”
“Marcus's head of corporate security.”
Victor cursed under his breath.
“Are you sure?”
“I saw him at the building yesterday.”
“That means Marcus knows where Daniel is.”
“Or Marcus wants us to think he does.”
Victor paused.
“You think Marcus is behind this?”
“I think someone wants me to blame him.”
Adrian opened another file.
“Find the security chief.”
“His name is Raymond Cole.”
“Not his name. His location.”
“I'll start looking.”
“Don't start. Find him.”
The call ended.
Adrian stood and walked toward the window.
Midnight was less than twelve hours away.
Someone wanted him frightened.
It wasn't working.
What bothered him was Daniel.
His cousin had been sixteen when Adrian left.
Daniel had known something about his father's death.
Now someone had taken him.
Adrian couldn't ignore that.
He picked up his phone.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
“Prepare a team.”
“For what?”
“We're going to find Daniel.”
“Do you want the police involved?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever took him knows too much about the company.”
Elena was quiet.
“Understood.”
---
At eight that evening, Adrian returned to Cole Meridian.
He didn't use the main entrance.
He entered through the underground parking area with Victor and Elena.
The building was almost empty.
Most employees had gone home.
A few security officers remained at their posts.
Adrian stopped beside the elevators.
“Where's Raymond?”
Victor checked his phone.
“His office is on the twenty-first floor.”
“Is he there?”
“No.”
Adrian looked at Elena.
“Lock the elevators.”
She nodded.
Minutes later, they reached the twenty-first floor.
Raymond's office was unlocked.
The room had been cleared.
No computer.
No files.
No personal belongings.
Adrian walked to the desk.
There was a single envelope sitting in the middle.
His name was written on it.
He opened it.
Inside was a photocopy of an old bank statement.
Victor leaned over his shoulder.
“What is that?”
Adrian looked at the account number.
“It belonged to my father.”
Victor's eyes widened.
“This account was never in the inheritance records.”
“I know.”
Adrian scanned the transactions.
Large payments.
Small transfers.
The same recipient appearing again and again.
Victor took out his phone.
“I'll trace the account.”
Adrian continued reading.
The final transaction had been made three days before Richard Cole died.
The amount was enormous.
And the recipient was listed under a company name.
**Grant Strategic Holdings.**
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Elijah Grant.”
Victor looked at him.
“His company received the money?”
“Apparently.”
“Then why did your father tell you to find him?”
Adrian looked at the bank statement.
“I don't know.”
A noise came from the hallway.
Elena immediately turned.
Someone ran past the open doorway.
“Stop!”
She chased him.
Adrian followed.
The man disappeared around the corner.
Elena reached the stairwell first.
The door was still moving.
They ran down.
On the next floor, they found an emergency exit hanging open.
Elena looked outside.
“Gone.”
Adrian stepped closer.
A black security badge lay on the floor.
He picked it up.
Raymond Cole.
Victor stared at it.
“So he was here.”
“Or someone wants us to think he was.”
Adrian slipped the badge into his pocket.
His phone rang.
Marcus.
Adrian answered.
“What do you want?”
Marcus's voice was unusually calm.
“You're searching my building.”
“It's my family's building too.”
“Not anymore.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“Then why are you calling?”
“I heard about Daniel.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“What do you know?”
“Enough.”
“Where is he?”
Marcus laughed softly.
“You really believe I took him?”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“I think you already know.”
Adrian said nothing.
Marcus continued.
“You've spent two days digging through things that should have stayed buried.”
“My father was killed.”
“You don't know that.”
“I know he died.”
“You know what the official report says.”
“And you know what really happened.”
Marcus's breathing changed.
Just slightly.
Adrian caught it.
“Where were you the night my father died?”
Silence.
“Marcus?”
“I was at home.”
“You're lying.”
“You have no proof.”
“Not yet.”
Marcus's voice became colder.
“Walk away, Adrian.”
“Or?”
“Or you'll lose more than an inheritance this time.”
The call ended.
Victor looked at Adrian.
“What did he say?”
Adrian stared at the phone.
“He's afraid.”
“Of Daniel?”
“No.”
Adrian looked down at the bank statement.
“Of the money.”
---
At eleven forty-three that night, Adrian received another message.
No photograph this time.
Only an address.
An abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city.
Then another message arrived.
**Come alone.**
Victor immediately objected.
“Absolutely not.”
Adrian was already putting on his jacket.
“I'm going.”
“It could be a trap.”
“It probably is.”
“That doesn't make it better.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Someone has Daniel.”
Victor shook his head.
“We can call the police.”
“By the time they arrive, whoever has him will be gone.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Then don't go alone.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Stay back.”
“You're not the only one who can make decisions.”
Adrian almost argued.
Then he stopped.
She was right.
“Fine.”
Elena nodded.
“We'll follow from a distance.”
Adrian turned toward the door.
Victor called after him.
“What if Marcus is waiting?”
Adrian stopped.
“Then I'll ask him why.”
---
The warehouse was dark.
Adrian entered through a side door.
His footsteps echoed across the empty floor.
“Daniel?”
No answer.
He walked farther inside.
A single light switched on above him.
Daniel was sitting in a chair.
His hands were tied.
His face was bruised.
But he was alive.
“Adrian…”
Adrian moved toward him.
A voice came from the darkness.
“Stop.”
Adrian froze.
A man stepped into the light.
Raymond Cole.
Marcus's head of security.
He held a gun pointed toward Adrian.
“You came alone.”
Adrian looked around.
“You knew I wouldn't.”
Raymond smiled.
“You've become difficult to predict.”
“Where's Marcus?”
Raymond's smile disappeared.
“Marcus doesn't know I'm here.”
Adrian looked at Daniel.
“Then who sent you?”
Raymond lowered the gun slightly.
“Your father.”
Adrian stared at him.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Raymond reached into his coat and pulled out a small black drive.
“Your father gave me this the night before he died.”
Adrian's eyes fixed on it.
“Why didn't you give it to me?”
“Because I was told not to.”
“By whom?”
Raymond looked toward Daniel.
“Because your father knew that if this information reached the wrong person, Daniel would be killed.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Who is the wrong person?”
Raymond handed him the drive.
“Your uncle isn't the man you should be worried about.”
Before Adrian could respond, the warehouse lights suddenly went out.
A gunshot tore through the darkness.
Daniel screamed.
Raymond dropped to the floor.
Adrian grabbed Daniel and pulled him behind a concrete pillar.
Another shot struck the wall.
Someone else was inside.
And this time, they weren't there to threaten Adrian.
They were there to silence Raymond.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 10: The Door Marked Seventeen
Adrian didn't sleep.The key sat on the desk in front of him.Small. Heavy. Old.And marked with the number seventeen.By sunrise, he had read his father's letter three times.One sentence kept bothering him.I hid you in plain sight.It sounded simple.It wasn't.Victor arrived at eight.“You look terrible.”“I didn't sleep.”“I noticed.”Elena entered behind him.“Claire changed the meeting again.”Adrian looked up.“The courthouse?”“She confirmed it.”Victor placed a file on the desk.“The old courthouse has been closed for nearly six years. No regular staff. No active security.”“Which means?”“Someone chose the location because they don't want witnesses.”Adrian picked up the key.“Then we're going.”Elena shook her head.“Not yet.”She opened the file.“I checked the ownership records. The courthouse was sold eight years ago.”“To whom?”“A company called Meridian Heritage Properties.”Adrian looked at her.“Who owns it?”“That is the strange part.”Elena pushed a document towa
Chapter 9: The Woman in the Photograph
Adrian stared at the photograph on his phone.The woman stood outside a London hotel, one hand resting on the strap of a black handbag.She looked directly at the camera.She wasn't hiding.That bothered him more than anything else.“Who is she?” Elena asked.“I don't know.”Victor took the phone from him and studied the image.“There may be a name attached to the original file.”He checked the image details.Nothing.Whoever had sent it had stripped the information.Elena looked at Adrian.“Then we find her the old-fashioned way.”Adrian nodded.“Start with the hotel.”Victor was already making a call.While he worked, Adrian looked again at the photograph.His father had been standing beside this woman the day before he died.And someone had just told him Richard had hidden Adrian.There had to be a connection.Victor ended the call.“The hotel is the Langford Royal. The photograph was taken three days ago.”“Three days?”Victor nodded.“She checked in under the name Claire Morgan.”
Chapter 8: The First Attack
Adrian looked at the empty cabinet.“Who knew about the key?”Nathan shook his head.“Richard gave it to me privately. I never told anyone.”“Then someone was watching you.”Nathan didn't answer.Elena was already checking the security system.“The camera outside this office was disabled for four minutes.”Victor looked at her.“Can you recover the footage?”“I'm trying.”Adrian walked toward the window.The city below looked completely normal.Traffic moved through the streets. People crossed intersections. Office workers hurried home.Somewhere in that crowd, someone had just stolen a key connected to his father's final days.His phone rang.Unknown number.Adrian answered.“Hello?”No response.Then a man's voice came through.“You should have left the past alone.”Adrian's expression changed.“Who are you?”“You took your father's company. You exposed Marcus. You started asking questions.”“Where is the key?”A short silence.“You're asking the wrong question.”Adrian's grip tight
Chapter 6: The Boardroom Coup
By nine in the morning, the Cole Meridian boardroom was already full.Marcus Cole sat at the head of the table.He no longer looked as confident as he had the previous evening.Neither did the directors around him.Adrian walked in with Victor and Elena.The conversation stopped.Marcus looked at him.“You're late.”Adrian pulled out a chair.“No. You started without me.”A few directors exchanged uncomfortable glances.Marcus tapped his fingers against the table.“This meeting concerns the future of Cole Meridian. It isn't a place for personal grudges.”“Then you shouldn't have invited me.”Marcus's expression tightened.“You don't understand what you're dealing with.”“I understand the numbers.”Adrian placed a folder on the table.Victor placed another beside it.Elena remained standing.Marcus didn't touch either folder.“What is this?”“Money that disappeared from three Cole Meridian subsidiaries over the last four years.”Marcus glanced at the documents.“Old transactions.”“Twe
Chapter 7: The Leak Inside Apex Meridian
Adrian didn't go home after the board meeting.He went straight to the Apex Meridian office.The building was nearly empty when he arrived.Elena was waiting for him on the twenty-second floor, a tablet in her hand.“You were right about one thing,” she said.Adrian stopped.“Marcus?”“No. The message.”She turned the tablet around.“The sender didn't use a Cole Meridian account.”Adrian studied the screen.“It came from inside Apex.”That was the answer he hadn't wanted.Victor arrived a few minutes later.“Any idea who?”Elena shook her head.“Not yet. But whoever sent it had access to an internal security terminal.”Adrian walked toward the glass wall overlooking the city.Apex Meridian had taken years to build.He had trusted very few people with it.Richard had taught him that trust wasn't something you gave because someone seemed loyal. It was something people earned when there was something to lose.“Show me the access records.”Elena opened them.“There were three unusual logi
Chapter 5: The Missing Inheritance
Adrian stared at the photograph.Daniel was alive.That was the first thing that mattered.The second was the man standing behind him.Adrian zoomed in.The photograph was too dark to identify his face, but the expensive watch on his wrist was clearly visible.Adrian had seen it before.At Cole Meridian.On the wrist of one of Marcus's senior executives.“Victor.”The call connected immediately.“I’m here.”“Send me the photograph I just received.”“You already sent it.”“Then look at the man standing behind Daniel.”Victor was silent for several seconds.“I see him.”“Do you recognize him?”“No.”Adrian looked at the watch.“I do.”“Who?”“Marcus's head of corporate security.”Victor cursed under his breath.“Are you sure?”“I saw him at the building yesterday.”“That means Marcus knows where Daniel is.”“Or Marcus wants us to think he does.”Victor paused.“You think Marcus is behind this?”“I think someone wants me to blame him.”Adrian opened another file.“Find the security chief
You may also like
The Heir of the Family
Rytir92.9K viewsSecretly The Billionaire Boss
Debbie chocolate 2.4M viewsThe rejected Son-in-law
Hunni98.3K viewsIncredible Oliver Storm
Dragon Sly107.9K viewsPAYBACK Of Johnson Lancaster
Heaven On Earth224 viewsThe Beast Evolution System
Mercyxxx126 viewsThey Declared the War God Dead
La Viene231 viewsThe Supreme Commander of the Immortal Guard
Mitchell85 views