CHAPTER 11 The Face in the Photograph Was Someone I Never Expected
CHAPTER 11 The Face in the Photograph Was Someone I Never Expected
No one in the conference room spoke.
Every phone was still in our hands.
Every pair of eyes was locked on the same surveillance photo.
The circled face was blurred, but not enough to hide the familiar posture.
The familiar haircut.
The familiar way the person carried a leather briefcase.
My heart began pounding.
"No..."
I whispered.
"That can't be right."
Luke immediately reached for my phone.
"Let me see."
He enlarged the image.
Rebecca leaned closer.
Nathan stood behind us.
For several long seconds, nobody said a word.
Finally, Luke broke the silence.
"I don't think the media knows who this person is."
I looked at him.
"But you do."
He nodded slowly.
"I've seen him before."
"Who is he?"
Luke zoomed in one more time.
"The man in the picture..."
He paused.
"...is David Mercer."
The name meant nothing to me.
I frowned.
"Who's David Mercer?"
Rebecca answered first.
"He served on the advisory committee for Justin's company."
Justin looked up sharply.
"No."
Rebecca turned toward him.
"What?"
"He resigned almost a year ago."
Justin shook his head.
"No."
"He disappeared."
Detective Harris folded his arms.
"Our records show he officially retired."
Justin laughed bitterly.
"That's the story they told everyone."
The room fell silent again.
Luke looked at Justin.
"You think he didn't retire?"
Justin nodded.
"I think he vanished because he knew too much."
Detective Harris received another message on his tablet.
He read it quickly.
Then his expression changed.
"What is it?"
Luke asked.
"The surveillance image wasn't taken this week."
"When was it taken?"
"Eight months ago."
Eight months.
That was before the incident at the clinic.
Before I knew Vanessa existed.
Before everything fell apart.
Nathan looked thoughtful.
"So federal investigators have been watching Regency House for months."
Detective Harris nodded.
"At least."
Rebecca quietly added,
"Probably much longer."
Justin remained unusually quiet.
He hadn't looked away from the photograph.
Finally, he spoke.
"I met David once."
Everyone turned toward him.
"When?"
"About two years ago."
"Where?"
"At a charity fundraiser."
"What did he do?"
Justin hesitated.
"He warned me."
Luke leaned forward.
"About what?"
Justin swallowed.
"He told me..."
His voice dropped.
"...that if I ever entered Regency House..."
"...I would never really leave."
A chill spread across the room.
"What did he mean?"
Justin shook his head.
"I didn't understand then."
"I do now."
I sat quietly, listening.
The more Justin talked, the more conflicted I became.
He had made terrible choices.
There was no denying that.
He had betrayed me.
He had betrayed our marriage.
Nothing could change that.
But I was beginning to see something else.
He hadn't been the only person making decisions.
Someone had been manipulating events long before I knew there was a problem.
That realization didn't excuse Justin.
But it changed the shape of the story.
Luke suddenly looked at Detective Harris.
"I need access to every public record involving David Mercer."
The detective nodded.
"I've already requested them."
"What do we know?"
"Very little."
"He has no recent financial activity."
"No recent travel."
"No active business licenses."
Rebecca frowned.
"It's like he disappeared."
"Exactly."
Mark, who had been unusually quiet throughout the meeting, suddenly spoke.
"I've seen him."
Everyone turned toward him.
Luke looked surprised.
"When?"
Mark rubbed his forehead, trying to remember.
"I couldn't place him before."
"But now I remember."
"It was outside Justin's office."
"When?"
"About five months ago."
"What was he doing?"
"He wasn't meeting Justin."
Mark looked directly at me.
"He was watching the building."
The room became silent.
"For how long?"
"I don't know."
"I only noticed him because he stayed in the same parking spot for nearly three hours."
Nathan frowned.
"Did he speak to anyone?"
"No."
"He just watched."
Detective Harris wrote down every detail.
Then another officer knocked on the conference room door.
"Detective?"
"What is it?"
"We just received the lab report."
Harris stepped outside.
A minute later, he returned carrying another folder.
"This just came from the forensic lab."
Luke looked interested.
"The family photograph?"
Harris nodded.
"We found fingerprints."
Justin looked confused.
"Mine?"
"No."
"Clara's?"
"No."
He slowly opened the report.
"There were three unidentified prints."
Rebecca frowned.
"Three?"
"Yes."
"But that's not the surprising part."
Luke crossed his arms.
"What is?"
"The photograph wasn't stolen."
Everyone looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
Detective Harris placed a close-up image on the table.
"The original frame was left behind."
I frowned.
"So what disappeared?"
He answered quietly.
"Only the photograph itself."
I blinked.
"They removed the picture..."
"...but left the frame?"
"Exactly."
Nathan looked puzzled.
"Why?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody understood.
Until Justin suddenly stood up.
His chair scraped loudly across the floor.
"I know why."
Every eye turned toward him.
"What?"
Justin looked at me.
"Turn the picture over."
I frowned.
"What picture?"
"The copy."
"The one hanging in our hallway."
I tried to remember.
The family portrait had always hung near the front entrance.
The one taken shortly after Maya was born.
Justin looked increasingly anxious.
"Please."
"Someone needs to check."
Luke immediately called one of his investigators.
Within thirty minutes, the investigator arrived at the Reynolds house.
He called us on video.
"The frame is still here."
Justin nodded.
"Take the picture out."
The investigator carefully removed the backing.
Suddenly, he stopped moving.
Luke noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
The investigator looked stunned.
"There's..."
He paused.
"...there's something taped behind the photograph."
Every person in the conference room froze.
"What is it?"
Luke asked.
The investigator carefully peeled away the tape.
A folded piece of paper fell into his hand.
He opened it slowly.
His eyes widened.
"What does it say?"
The investigator swallowed hard.
"It's not a letter."
"What is it?"
"It's..."
He looked back at the page.
"...a bank account number."
Rebecca immediately leaned forward.
"Read the rest."
The investigator continued.
"There are also routing numbers."
"And..."
He stopped again.
"And what?"
"A password."
Justin slowly closed his eyes.
"I knew it."
Luke stared at him.
"You hid this?"
Justin nodded.
"I needed somewhere Vanessa would never think to look."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"You hid evidence..."
"...behind our family portrait?"
Justin looked at me with deep regret.
"I couldn't risk keeping it at work."
"Or in the storage unit."
"So I chose the last place anyone would expect."
I shook my head in disbelief.
"Our daughter's picture."
He nodded.
"Because no one ever looks behind happy memories."
The room fell silent.
Rebecca carefully wrote down every number.
Then she looked at Luke.
"If that account still exists..."
She didn't finish the sentence.
She didn't have to.
We all understood.
It could contain the missing link.
The money.
The names.
The truth.
Before anyone could say another word, Detective Harris's phone rang again.
He answered.
His expression immediately hardened.
"What happened?"
A long pause followed.
Then he slowly lowered the phone.
Luke stood.
"What's wrong now?"
Harris looked directly at Justin.
"They found David Mercer."
Justin's eyes widened.
"Alive?"
The detective nodded once.
"Yes."
A wave of relief swept across the room.
Then Harris finished the sentence.
"He walked into an FBI field office this morning..."
"...and asked for one person by name."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Who?"
Detective Harris looked directly at me.
May you like
"You."
And suddenly, every assumption we had made over the past week was about to be challenged once again.
