Chapter 10 - DANIEL RUNS
Daniel received news of the failed board move at 9:47 a.m.
By 10:05, he was no longer at Mercer Development.
His driver was gone.
His phone was turned off.
His corporate laptop had been wiped remotely.
His private jet requested clearance for departure from Teterboro Airport.
Marcus learned about the flight at 10:22.
Claire was still inside Whitmore headquarters when he told her.
“Destination?”
“Montreal.”
Richard looked at Rachel.
“Can he leave?”
Rachel was already calling prosecutors.
“The investigation isn’t formal enough for an automatic travel restriction.”
Claire looked at Marcus.
“Who is on the passenger list?”
Marcus checked.
“Daniel.”
He paused.
“And Vanessa Crane.”
Claire frowned.
“Vanessa?”
“She told me Daniel was blaming her.”
“He may have convinced her to leave.”
Richard shook his head.
“Or forced her hand.”
Claire remembered the late-night call.
Vanessa had sounded frightened.
“What time did she last use her phone?”
Marcus checked.
“8:11 this morning.”
“Where?”
He stared at the screen.
“Near Daniel’s townhouse office.”
Claire stood.
“We need to find her.”
Richard looked at his daughter.
“Claire.”
“She has evidence.”
“She also pushed you into a mirror.”
“I know exactly who she is.”
Claire looked at Marcus.
“But if Daniel gets her out of the country, we lose a witness who can connect him to the plan.”
Marcus contacted airport security.
The jet was still on the ground.
Its departure had been delayed.
Daniel had arrived.
Vanessa had not.
Then a message reached Claire’s phone.
It came from an unknown number.
The text contained only five words.
HE KNOWS I CALLED YOU.
Claire showed Marcus.
He immediately traced the communication as far as possible.
The phone was disposable.
The signal came from Queens.
A second message arrived.
WAREHOUSE 14.
A third.
ALONE OR HE DELETES EVERYTHING.
Richard read it.
“No.”
Claire agreed.
“I’m not going alone.”
Marcus looked at the map.
“There are dozens of warehouse complexes.”
Claire typed back.
Which address?
No response.
Thirty seconds later, an image appeared.
A red brick building beside an elevated rail line.
Marcus’s team identified it within minutes.
The property belonged to a Mercer Development subsidiary scheduled for demolition.
Police were contacted.
Claire remained at headquarters.
She hated it.
But she stayed.
At 11:18 a.m., Marcus called.
“We found Vanessa.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
Vanessa had been locked inside a conference room.
Her phone and bag were missing.
There were no severe injuries.
Daniel was not there.
But he had left something behind.
A laptop sat on the conference table.
Its screen displayed a countdown.
Twenty-eight minutes remained.
Marcus sent a photograph.
DELETE REMOTE ARCHIVE.
Claire stared at it.
“Can you stop it?”
“We’re trying.”
“What happens at zero?”
“We don’t know.”
Then one of Marcus’s technicians spoke in the background.
Claire heard him clearly.
“This isn’t deleting files.”
Marcus turned.
“What is it doing?”
May you like
The technician answered.
“It’s publishing them.”
