Chapter 7 - The Lazarus Ledger
The tunnel opened nearly half a mile from the farmhouse.
Marcus emerged on his hands and knees.
Eli crawled beside him.
Daniel came last.
Behind them, orange light suddenly illuminated the night.
The farmhouse was burning.
Eli stared at the flames.
“Voss.”
Marcus said nothing.
Daniel's phone vibrated.
News alert.
A fire had been reported at an abandoned property.
One unidentified body had been found.
Marcus closed his eyes.
Voss was dead.
Maybe murdered.
Maybe sacrificed.
Either way, another person connected to Marcus's recovery had died.
Daniel touched his shoulder.
“We move.”
Marcus looked at Eli's brass key.
“First we find what this opens.”
The answer came six hours later.
A private train station locker.
Locker 317.
Inside was a metal box.
Eli inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
Marcus opened it.
Inside were three things.
A photograph.
A notebook.
And a sealed envelope addressed to Marcus.
Marcus opened the envelope.
The handwriting belonged to Anna Ward.
Marcus,
If Eli reached you, then I failed.
Do not trust Richard.
Do not trust Price.
Do not trust anyone who benefited from your accident.
And whatever happens, do not let them learn who Eli really is.
Marcus stopped reading.
He looked at the boy.
Eli frowned.
“What?”
Marcus continued.
The final sentence made his heart stop.
Eli is not Samuel Ward's grandson by blood.
He is your son.
Marcus slowly lowered the letter.
The room became silent.
Eli stared at him.
“What does it say?”
Marcus couldn't speak.
Eleven years earlier.
Before the accident.
Anna.
The missing days.
The photograph.
Marcus looked at Eli's face differently now.
The eyes.
Hazel.
Exactly like his mother's.
But the jaw.
The slight cleft in the chin.
Marcus had seen it every morning in the mirror before age had softened it.
Eli stepped backward.
“What?”
Marcus whispered.
“How old are you?”
“Twelve.”
Marcus calculated.
His stomach dropped.
Anna had disappeared shortly after the accident.
Marcus had no memory of a relationship with her.
But perhaps there had been one.
Or perhaps the truth was even stranger.
Daniel read the letter.
His face changed.
“We need proof.”
Marcus nodded.
“DNA.”
Eli stared between them.
“Proof of what?”
Marcus looked at him.
He couldn't lie.
Not after eleven years of lies.
“Anna says I'm your father.”
Eli laughed.
Then stopped.
Because nobody else was laughing.
“No.”
Marcus remained silent.
“No.”
Eli backed toward the wall.
“My dad died when I was little.”
Marcus frowned.
“Who?”
“Thomas Ward.”
Daniel looked through the notebook.
“Anna's husband.”
Eli nodded.
“He was my father.”
Marcus didn't argue.
He simply said,
“Then we'll prove the letter wrong.”
The DNA test took four hours.
The result arrived just before midnight.
Probability of paternity:
99.9987%.
Marcus stared at the number.
Eli sat across from him.
Neither spoke.
Marcus had lost eleven years of walking.
Now he discovered something even worse.
He had lost eleven years of his son's life.
Eli finally whispered.
“Did you know?”
Marcus immediately answered.
“No.”
“Did you leave us?”
“No.”
“Did you know about Mom?”
“I barely remember her.”
Eli's eyes hardened.
“Then why does she say you're my father?”
Marcus looked at the photograph.
“I intend to find out.”
Daniel suddenly entered.
“We have another problem.”
Marcus almost laughed.
“Of course we do.”
Daniel placed a tablet on the table.
Hale Biodyne had issued an emergency announcement.
Richard Hale appeared behind a podium.
“My nephew Marcus is currently experiencing a serious neurological and psychological crisis.”
Marcus stared at the screen.
Richard continued.
“Individuals have manipulated his vulnerable condition.”
“We are working with authorities to locate him and ensure his safety.”
Marcus understood immediately.
Richard was preparing the public.
Making Marcus look unstable.
Daniel switched screens.
A court petition had already been filed.
Calvin Price was requesting emergency guardianship over Marcus's finances and medical decisions.
Marcus smiled.
“They're putting me back in the chair.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Worse.”
He displayed the final page.
“If the judge approves this tomorrow morning, Richard gets temporary voting control of your Hale Biodyne shares.”
Marcus looked at the clock.
Nine hours.
Eleven years had been stolen from him slowly.
Now they were trying to steal everything else before sunrise.
Marcus reached for his crutches.
“Then tomorrow morning…”
May you like
He stood.
“…I'm walking into court.”
