Chapter 14 - The Price of Saving Daniel
Franklin believed he understood me.
That was his advantage.
It was also his mistake.
He expected the former agent to protect the ledger.
He expected the sister to protect Daniel.
He believed forcing those identities into conflict would paralyze me.
I did not choose between them.
I used both.
Federal agents created a duplicate evidence case containing scanned ledger pages and a tracker. The originals moved to a secure federal repository.
I carried the duplicate to the private airfield.
Miller accompanied the tactical team but remained outside Franklin’s hangar until I gave the signal.
Dad insisted on coming.
I refused.
He answered with the same stubbornness I inherited.
“He is my brother.”
“He nearly killed you.”
“And Daniel is my son.”
Federal command allowed Dad to remain in an armored vehicle within visual range.
Franklin stood inside the hangar beside a small jet.
Daniel remained tied to the chair.
Helen Ward was there.
So was Ellis Crane.
The people who had manipulated everyone now stood together because none trusted the others enough to escape separately.
Priscilla was absent.
That worried me.
Franklin extended his hand.
“The ledger.”
“Daniel first.”
He smiled.
“You always negotiated too directly.”
“And you always confused complication with intelligence.”
Helen watched me carefully.
She knew my habits.
I needed her focused on me.
I placed the evidence case on the floor and pushed it forward.
Crane opened it.
The top pages looked authentic.
Franklin moved closer.
Daniel raised his head.
His face was bruised, but he was conscious.
“Rebecca, don’t.”
The first decent choice he had made came too late, but it mattered.
Franklin opened the case fully.
The tracker activated.
Federal agents moved into position.
Then Priscilla appeared above us on the hangar’s metal walkway.
She held a handgun pointed at Daniel.
“I’m not going to prison for all of you.”
Franklin looked up, furious.
“You were told to leave.”
“You were going to kill me.”
Everyone’s alliance collapsed at once.
Helen stepped away from Franklin.
Crane reached toward the case.
Daniel drove his bound feet against Franklin’s knees, knocking him sideways.
Priscilla’s weapon shifted.
I moved toward Daniel.
A shot struck the concrete near the chair.
Federal agents entered from both sides.
“Drop the weapon!”
Priscilla froze.
Helen ran toward the jet.
Miller intercepted her near the wing.
Crane surrendered immediately.
Franklin tried to reach a side door, but Dad’s voice came from the hangar entrance.
“Frank.”
My father had left the armored vehicle.
He stood supported by an agent, bruised and weak, but upright.
Franklin stopped.
For the first time, the founder looked old.
“You should have stayed away,” he said.
Dad shook his head.
“You should have left my children alone.”
That moment of distraction allowed agents to restrain Franklin.
Priscilla lowered the weapon.
Daniel was freed.
The immediate danger ended, but nothing was resolved.
The archive still required verification.
Hundreds of victims needed identification.
Public officials named in the files would fight exposure.
Helen began offering information before she was even transported.
Priscilla blamed everyone.
Crane requested protection.
Franklin said nothing.
Then an agent approached me carrying a tablet.
“We recovered a live transmission from the jet.”
“Sent where?”
“We don’t know yet.”
The screen showed a file upload completed seconds before entry.
Franklin had transmitted part of the archive.
Someone outside the hangar now possessed the names of witnesses, investigators, and victims.
Including Dad.
Including me.
The agent opened the transmission log.
The recipient field did not display an address.
Only a designation:
CARTER SUCCESSOR.
Dad saw the screen.
His face changed.
“Franklin doesn’t have a successor.”
Franklin laughed from the floor.
Then he looked directly at Daniel.
May you like
My brother went pale before Franklin said a word.
📖 Chapter 15 reveals who Franklin prepared to inherit the network and why Daniel’s silence may be hiding the conspiracy’s most dangerous surviving member. 👇
