Chapter 8 - The Last Man With Daniel
Smoke filled the county hallway.
Sharon disappeared down the stairwell with Jason behind her.
Olivia turned toward Walter.
“You saw my father after the crash.”
Walter’s face revealed the answer before he spoke.
“Yes.”
Olivia stepped closer.
“Was he alive?”
“Yes.”
The single word hurt more than every lie before it.
“Why did you let me bury him?”
“The body was Daniel’s.”
“But Sharon said he survived.”
“He survived the crash. He died later.”
“How?”
Walter looked toward David.
David lowered his eyes.
Walter spoke slowly.
“Daniel called me from the highway. His car had been forced through a barrier, but he crawled out before it burned. I found him injured near the river.”
“You could have taken him to a hospital.”
“He refused. He believed Sharon controlled the nearest emergency room.”
“What happened?”
“We brought him to the Sunset Cactus Inn. He recorded the message you found. Then Jason arrived.”
Olivia stared at her former husband’s father.
“Jason was there?”
“He was twenty eight. Sharon had told him Daniel destroyed their family.”
“What did Jason do?”
Walter’s voice broke.
“He struck Daniel with a tire iron.”
Olivia felt the walls close around her.
“Did he kill him?”
“Daniel was still breathing when Jason left.”
“And then?”
“Daniel asked me to protect you. He said if Sharon knew he was alive, she would use you to force him to surrender the trust.”
“You still have not told me how he died.”
Walter looked directly at her.
“I ended his pain.”
The hallway became silent except for the alarm.
Olivia stepped backward.
“You killed my father.”
“He was bleeding internally. We had no doctor. He begged me not to let Sharon take him alive.”
“You expect me to believe he asked you to kill him?”
“No.”
Walter’s eyes filled with tears.
“I expect you to hate me.”
David moved toward Olivia.
“Daniel had minutes left.”
“You were there too?”
“Yes.”
“Everyone knew except me.”
“We were trying to keep you alive.”
Olivia laughed through tears.
“That sentence has been used to excuse every lie in my life.”
Police sirens approached the building.
Rachel emerged from the records room holding the scanned deed.
“The recording uploaded before the fire system cut power. Sharon’s confession is safe.”
Olivia looked toward the stairwell.
“She has the metal case.”
Walter’s expression changed.
“Daniel’s original ledger.”
“What is in it?”
“Every official Sharon paid. Every property she stole. Every person who disappeared.”
David checked the lower floor through the stairwell window.
“Jason’s car is leaving.”
Olivia took the keys from one of the unconscious security officers.
Rachel grabbed her arm.
“You cannot chase them alone.”
“I am not letting them erase my father again.”
Walter tried to follow.
Olivia stopped him.
“You have spent years deciding what truth I could survive.”
She removed his key card from his pocket.
May you like
“From now on, I decide.”
Continue to the next part: Olivia follows Jason to the house where her marriage began and discovers the final property transfer is already underway.
