Chapter 9: The Man Behind the Missing Records
The first call came at 5:41 p.m.
The second came at 5:43.
By the third, Marcus Ellison had stopped pretending he wasn't worried.
David Chen finally answered.
“Marcus, we have a location.””
Marcus stood in the executive conference room, looking down at the city through the glass windows.
“Where?””
“A medical research facility outside Pittsburgh. The company records list Daniel Mercer as the principal owner, but the facility itself operates under a different name.””
“Is he there?””
“We don't know. The registered office is a management address. However, the corporate filings show a property leased by the company in western Pennsylvania.””
Rachel sat across the table, reviewing the documents Vanessa had provided.
“Have you verified the records?”” she asked.
David replied, “The corporate filings are authentic. The ownership trail is complicated, but the company was incorporated nine years ago.””
Marcus looked at Rachel.
“Daniel would have been missing for twenty years by then.””
“Which means we need to verify whether the name refers to the same person,” she said.
David continued.
“There's another detail. The company's financial records show payments from Northstar Equity Trust.””
Marcus felt his jaw tighten.
“How much?””
“Approximately one point six million dollars over six years.””
Rachel stopped writing.
“Those payments may be significant. But we need the underlying records before drawing conclusions.””
Marcus nodded.
“Get the forensic team to preserve the transaction history. And don't contact the facility directly until we've established a safe, lawful way to verify the identity.””
David agreed.
When the call ended, Marcus looked at Rachel.
“Someone has been paying a company connected to Daniel for years.””
“Possibly. But the records don't yet prove Daniel received the money, or even that he controls the company in practice.””
“Then we'll find out.””
Rachel closed the folder.
“Marcus, we need to talk about Vanessa's statement. Her admission that she knowingly made a false allegation could have legal consequences. We should not promise her immunity or make private arrangements to secure her cooperation.””
“I'm not going to offer her immunity.””
“Good. We can preserve her statement, pass the relevant evidence to the authorities, and let them decide how to proceed.””
Marcus looked down at his hands.
“I keep thinking about my father.””
“Thomas?””
“Yes. He raised me. He protected me. And he apparently spent his life carrying a secret that could have destroyed him.””
Rachel's voice softened.
“He made choices based on what he believed was necessary. You don't have to agree with every choice to recognize that he loved you.””
Marcus said nothing.
His phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
*IF YOU WANT TO MEET DANIEL, COME TO THE OLD RAILWAY DEPOT AT 8:00 P.M. NO POLICE. NO LAWYERS.*
Rachel read it over his shoulder.
“No.””
Marcus looked at her.
“I haven't said anything.””
“You were thinking about going.””
“I was thinking about the possibility that this is the first direct lead we've had.””
“And it could be a trap.””
“Then we verify the location and arrange the meeting safely.””
Rachel nodded.
“Exactly. We do not follow instructions that require you to abandon basic precautions.””
Marcus forwarded the message to the security team.
Within twenty minutes, they identified the sender as a prepaid number with no reliable subscriber information. The railway depot had been closed for years and was now owned by a private development company.
There was no legitimate reason for Daniel Mercer to choose it.
At 6:35 p.m., David called again.
“We found a second address connected to Mercer Biomedical Holdings. It's a residential property near the research facility.””
“Who lives there?””
“The lease is held by a woman named Catherine Mercer.””
Marcus stopped breathing.
“My mother?””
“Her full legal name is Catherine Ellison, formerly Catherine Mercer. The lease application uses her maiden name.””
Marcus stared at the phone.
His mother had died eleven years earlier.
“Could it be an old record?””
“Possibly. The property tax account is current, but the ownership details are held by a property management company. We're verifying the status.””
Rachel leaned forward.
“Don't assume Catherine is alive because a lease is current. The account could be managed by someone else.””
“I know,” Marcus replied.
But the possibility had already opened a door in his mind.
His mother had supposedly spent her final years battling a degenerative illness. Marcus had visited her regularly until she died at a hospice facility in Ohio.
He had held her hand when her breathing slowed.
He had listened to the doctor explain that there was nothing more they could do.
He had attended her funeral.
Could that have been false?
No.
He forced himself to breathe.
There were explanations that didn't involve an elaborate deception. A property could be held in someone's name after death. A relative could manage the lease. A record could be outdated.
He needed facts.
At 7:12 p.m., Rachel received a call from the company's external investigator.
She listened without speaking, then turned to Marcus.
“We've identified a former employee of Mercer Biomedical Holdings. He says the company was established to finance long-term care and rehabilitation for a single patient.””
“Who?””
“He doesn't know the patient's full name. But he remembers that the patient was referred to as D.M.””
Marcus's heart pounded.
“Daniel Mercer.””
“Possibly.””
“Where is the facility?””
Rachel checked the notes.
“An hour and forty minutes from here.””
Marcus looked at the clock.
7:14.
The message had specified eight o'clock at the railway depot, but he no longer intended to follow it.
Instead, he called the external investigator.
“Can you verify whether the facility is currently operating and whether Daniel Mercer is listed as a patient or employee?””
“We can make inquiries through appropriate channels, but medical privacy laws limit what we can obtain without authorization.””
“Understood. Don't access anything you're not entitled to access. Find out what can be confirmed through public records and the company itself.””
After the call, Marcus sat down.
Rachel placed a glass of water in front of him.
“You need to consider the possibility that the person contacting you is deliberately using your hopes against you.””
“I know.””
“And if Daniel is alive, he may not want to meet you. We have to respect that.””
Marcus looked at the photograph of Daniel and Catherine.
“I don't know whether I want answers or whether I just want to know he existed.””
Rachel said nothing.
At 7:48 p.m., a new email arrived.
The sender was an account associated with Mercer Biomedical Holdings.
The subject line read: *FOR MARCUS ELLISON — PRIVATE.*
The message contained a single photograph.
It showed a man in his late sixties sitting beside a window in a rehabilitation room. His hair was white, his face thin, and a long scar ran from his left temple toward his cheek.
But his eyes were Marcus's eyes.
Beneath the photograph was a short message.
I know who you are. I have known for years. I did not abandon you.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Rachel read the message silently.
“Could this be Daniel?””
“Yes,” Marcus whispered.
“It could.””
A second email arrived immediately.
*Do not come to the railway depot. That message was not sent by me. If you want to meet, come to the address below tomorrow at noon.
Bring no one from Halbrook Meridian. Your attorney may accompany you.*
An address followed.
It was the same residential property David had identified earlier.
Marcus looked at Rachel.
“We need to verify it.””
“Already underway,” she replied.
She contacted the investigator and provided the address. Within minutes, the response came back.
The property existed.
The lease was active.
A private medical transport service had made several deliveries there over the previous six months.
And the name on the most recent delivery record was *Daniel Mercer*.
Marcus sat back, overwhelmed.
“Tomorrow,” he said.
Rachel nodded.
“Tomorrow. After we confirm the identity and make arrangements that respect his privacy.””
For the first time in twenty-nine years, Marcus had a credible lead to the man who might be his biological father.
But the discovery raised a question that wouldn't leave him alone.
If Daniel had been alive all this time, why had he never contacted Marcus?
And why had someone been paying for his care through the same trust that had concealed Thomas Ellison's shares?
At 9:06 p.m., Marcus received another call.
This time, the caller ID displayed Vanessa Halbrook.
He answered.
“Vanessa.””
“Marcus, you need to listen to me.””
Her voice was strained, almost frantic.
“What happened?””
“Someone broke into my office.””
Marcus stood.
“Did you call the police?””
“Yes. They're here now. They haven't found anything missing yet.””
“What makes you think someone broke in?””
“The door was forced. My files were open. And there was a note on my desk.””
“What did it say?””
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
“STOP ASKING ABOUT DANIEL.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Did you preserve the note?””
“The police have it.””
“Did anything else happen?””
“Yes.””
She hesitated.
“Someone accessed my private email account. They downloaded the messages I sent to Elliot Mercer.””
Marcus looked at Rachel.
“Can you tell whether the account was accessed remotely?””
“I don't know. The police are checking.””
“Vanessa, listen carefully. Don't delete anything. Don't contact the person you think is responsible. Give the investigators every relevant record.””
She was silent for several seconds.
Then she whispered, “I think I know who did it.””
“Who?””
“Someone who has been protecting my father for decades.””
Marcus gripped the phone.
“Who, Vanessa?””
Her answer came in a whisper.
“Margaret Sloan.””
Marcus froze.
Margaret was the chair of Halbrook Meridian's audit committee. She had supported the independent investigation, approved the preservation of records, and helped Marcus uncover the suspicious payments.
If Vanessa was telling the truth, the investigation had been compromised from the beginning.
“Why would Margaret protect your father?”” Marcus asked.
“Because she worked for him before she joined the board. She handled the legal records when the original shareholder agreement was changed.””
Marcus remembered the initials on the old filing.
E.M.
Not Margaret Sloan.
But perhaps there were multiple people involved.
“Do you have proof?”” he asked.
“I have an email from my father to Margaret. It references the transfer of Thomas's shares and the need to keep Daniel's location confidential.””
“Where is the email?””
“On my private server. I can send it to your attorney.””
“Do that. And don't discuss it with anyone else.””
Vanessa began to cry.
“Marcus, I know you have every reason to hate me. But I didn't know what my father had done until it was too late. I thought I was protecting the company.””
“You were protecting your position.””
“Yes.””
Her admission was immediate.
“And I was afraid of losing it.””
Marcus looked out at the dark garden.
“Fear doesn't excuse what you did.””
“I know.””
“Then help us establish the truth.””
“I will.””
The call ended.
Rachel immediately contacted the external investigator to verify Vanessa's claim about Margaret Sloan.
Within thirty minutes, they found a record showing that Margaret had served as a legal consultant to Halbrook Industrial Services twenty-nine years earlier.
Her role had not been disclosed in the current board biographies.
The consulting agreement was dated three weeks before Thomas Ellison's shares disappeared from the official register.
Marcus stared at the document.
“Why would Margaret support the audit if she had been involved in the original transfer?””
Rachel folded her arms.
“Perhaps she wants to correct what happened. Perhaps she's trying to control the investigation. We don't know.””
“Then we need to ask her.””
“Not tonight. We need to preserve the evidence and establish a proper interview.””
Marcus nodded reluctantly.
At 10:22 p.m., David sent another message.
*THE ORIGINAL SHAREHOLDER REGISTER HAS BEEN ACCESSED AGAIN. THIS TIME, THE USER ACCOUNT WAS MARGARET SLOAN'S.*
Marcus read it twice.
Rachel went still.
“Can we verify whether it was actually Margaret?””
“Not yet,” David replied over the phone.
“The account may have been compromised. But the login came from a device previously associated with her office.””
Marcus looked at Rachel.
“She's either involved or someone wants us to believe she is.””
“Exactly.””
He ended the call.
Then his phone rang again.
An unfamiliar man spoke in a low voice.
“Mr. Ellison, my name is Peter Walsh. I'm the attorney representing Daniel Mercer.””
Marcus stood so quickly his chair struck the wall.
“Is Daniel alive?””
“Yes.””
The single word seemed to empty the room of air.
“Does he want to meet me?””
“He does. But he has asked me to explain one thing before you come.””
Marcus waited.
“Your biological father was not the person who arranged his disappearance.””
“Then who did?””
Walsh paused.
“Your mother.””
Marcus stared at Rachel.
The attorney continued.
“Catherine Mercer arranged for Daniel to disappear after she learned that Richard Halbrook intended to use him to destroy Thomas Ellison. She believed that if Daniel remained in the country, all three of you would be in danger.””
Marcus couldn't speak.
“My mother arranged it?””
“Yes. But there's more. Daniel has evidence that Thomas knew about the arrangement and approved it.””
Marcus felt the walls closing in.
His father had sacrificed his shares to protect him.
His mother had hidden his biological father.
And Daniel had spent nearly three decades out of his life.
“Why contact me now?”” Marcus asked.
“Because Daniel has learned that the original trust is being investigated. He believes the people who arranged his disappearance are no longer able to control the records.””
Marcus looked at the photograph on his desk.
“Who arranged it?””
The attorney's answer came slowly.
“Richard Halbrook was involved. But he wasn't acting alone.””
“Who else?””
“Your father had an agreement with someone inside the company. Someone who promised to protect Catherine and you.””
Marcus's throat tightened.
“Who?””
Peter Walsh exhaled.
“Margaret Sloan.””
The call ended.
Marcus stood motionless, holding the phone.
The woman who had helped him uncover the financial irregularities might have been involved in the disappearance of his biological father.
The woman who had supported the independent audit might have known about the original shareholder agreement all along.
And tomorrow, at noon, Marcus would finally meet Daniel Mercer.
May you like
But now he had a new question.
Had Margaret Sloan been protecting his family—or protecting the secret that had kept them apart for twenty-nine years?
