Chapter 2 - Two Dead Men and a Badge
Emily forgot how to breathe.
The room seemed to tilt sideways beneath her feet.
The polished marble floor felt like ice beneath her server shoes.
“What did you say?” she whispered, clutching the edge of the granite desk.
Daniel did not answer her.
Instead, his eyes shifted toward Lucas DeLuca.
There was a heavy, unspoken history hanging in that glance.
It was the look of a man assessing an old enemy.
That sudden shift in his focus terrified Emily more than his initial denial.
Lucas noticed it immediately.
He stepped between Daniel and the security door, blocking any sudden exit.
Lucas raised a single hand, signaling Foster to leave the room.
Foster hesitated, then backed out into the rain and pulled the heavy doors shut.
The lock clicked with finality.
“Start talking,” Lucas ordered, his tone devoid of mercy.
Daniel exhaled a slow, measured breath.
“This is not the place for this conversation.”
“You don’t dictate the terms in my house, Captain,” Lucas countered, crossing his arms.
Emily rounded the counter, stepping directly into Daniel’s personal space.
The fear that had paralyzed her minutes ago was rapidly burning into rage.
“My father died in that raid,” Emily said, her voice rising.
“The precinct had a memorial.”
“They gave my mother a folded flag.”
“They buried an empty coffin because the fire destroyed everything.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened until the muscles bulged.
“I was there, Emily.”
“Then where is he?” she demanded, slamming her hand against the desk.
“Where is Michael Hart?”
Daniel looked down at the floor, his shoulders sinking under an invisible weight.
“I don’t know.”
A bitter, hysterical laugh tore from Emily’s throat.
“You don’t know?”
“You expect me to stand here and believe that?”
“No,” Daniel replied honestly.
“Good,” she snapped.
She turned frantically toward Lucas.
“Call the police.”
“Have him arrested for trespassing, fraud, whatever it takes.”
Daniel let out a dry, humorless sound.
“That won’t help you, Emily.”
Lucas tilted his head, watching Daniel with calculating intensity.
“Why won’t it help?” Lucas asked.
“Because officially, Robert Hale is an active captain with full departmental clearance,” Daniel said.
Emily stared at him in disgust.
“And Daniel Cross?”
“Daniel Cross has a death certificate on file at City Hall,” he answered.
The coldness in his admission made her stomach churn violently.
“So you stole a dead man’s identity to save your own skin?” she asked.
Daniel shook his head slowly.
“Robert Hale was a real officer.”
“Was?” Emily pressed.
“Past tense?”
“He died too,” Daniel murmured.
Lucas’s eyes narrowed into slits.
He took another step closer, his towering frame casting a long shadow across Daniel.
“You’re telling me you’ve been walking around with a corpse’s badge for twelve years?” Lucas asked.
“Yes.”
The answer came with chilling ease.
It was the confession of a man who had made peace with his own damnation.
Lucas leaned in, his voice dropping into a harsh whisper.
“Why?”
Daniel turned his gaze back to Emily.
The cold officer façade softened for a fraction of a second, revealing a deep, rotting sorrow.
“Because Michael asked me to.”
Emily’s pulse jumped into her throat.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“You just said you don’t know where he is!”
“I don’t,” Daniel insisted, his voice cracking slightly.
“He helped you fake your death?”
“No.”
Daniel closed his eyes for a second, rubbing the bridge of his crooked nose.
“He helped fake both of ours.”
A heavy, suffocating silence descended upon the foyer.
Outside, a clap of thunder rattled the thick glass panels.
Emily felt the room spinning.
Twelve years of grief, twelve years of her mother crying in empty rooms, all based on a manufactured lie.
“What happened in that warehouse?” Emily asked, her voice trembling.
Daniel glanced upward toward the black dome of the security camera mounted in the corner.
Lucas followed his gaze and understood instantly.
Without a word, Lucas reached under the lip of the desk and flipped the emergency override switch.
The green indicator light on the microphone system died, turning a dull crimson.
“Audio is killed,” Lucas said coldly.
“Now talk before I have my men take you down to the cellar.”
Daniel gave Lucas a faint, contemptuous smirk.
“You really think that security system belongs to you, Lucas?”
Lucas didn’t flinch, but his eyes promised violence.
Daniel straightened his back, resting his hands inside the pockets of his slacks.
“The raid twelve years ago was compromised six hours before we even breached the doors.”
Emily frowned, trying to piece together the fragments of old news broadcasts.
“Compromised by who?” she asked.
“Someone at the very top of Metro PD,” Daniel said.
Emily shook her head, bitter disbelief coloring her tone.
“Another dirty cop story.”
“Except this one tore my family to pieces.”
Daniel’s gaze drifted toward Lucas again.
“What were you raiding that night, Daniel?” Emily pressed.
May you like
Daniel didn’t hesitate.
“A DeLuca import warehouse on Pier 42.”
