Chapter 9 – The Lighthouse
Mara didn't wait for anyone to respond.
She put the call on speaker, but only silence came through. Then a distorted male voice spoke.
"Come alone with Nathan."
The line crackled.
"No police. No trackers. No delays."
The caller paused.
"If you bring anyone else..."
"You'll never see the boy again."
The call ended.
The room erupted.
"It's a trap," Detective Grant said immediately.
"Probably," I replied.
"But it's the only lead we have."
Ruiz folded her arms.
"If Charles Collins is really alive, we can't let you walk into an ambush."
Marcus stepped forward.
"We don't have to."
He unfolded a map of the coastline.
"The old Blackwater Lighthouse sits on a narrow peninsula. There's only one road in, but there are two old Coast Guard trails through the woods."
Grant nodded.
"We'll stay out of sight."
"No flashing lights. No marked vehicles."
I looked at Mara.
"Can you think of any reason your father would know where mine is?"
She hesitated.
"My father worked for Charles years ago."
"As what?"
"A boat mechanic."
She lowered her eyes.
"He disappeared around the same time your father supposedly died."
Richard Howard looked up sharply.
"He wasn't missing."
Everyone turned toward him.
"I helped Charles hide him."
"You what?" I demanded.
Richard nodded miserably.
"Your father needed someone he could trust outside the family."
"So Mara's father worked with him."
Richard nodded again.
"They maintained a safe house near the lighthouse."
Forty-five minutes later, we arrived at the abandoned Blackwater Lighthouse.
The structure towered over the rocky shoreline, its white paint peeling from decades of storms.
Waves crashed against the cliffs below.
The place felt forgotten.
Marcus parked two hundred yards away.
Grant's team disappeared into the surrounding woods.
Only Mara and I walked toward the lighthouse entrance.
The heavy iron door creaked open.
Inside, dust covered the stone floor.
Everything was silent.
Then...
A voice echoed from above.
"Nathan."
I froze.
I knew that voice.
"Dad?"
A man slowly descended the spiral staircase.
Older.
Thinner.
His beard was gray now.
Deep lines marked his face.
But his eyes...
They were unmistakable.
Charles Collins.
Alive.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then I crossed the room and embraced him.
Seven years of grief collapsed into a single moment.
"I thought you were dead."
"I know."
He held me tightly.
"I'm sorry."
When we finally stepped apart, I looked around.
"Where's Leo?"
Charles's expression darkened.
"He isn't here."
"What?"
"I never had him."
Confusion swept over me.
"The phone call..."
"I made it because I intercepted a message."
Charles reached into his coat and handed me a satellite phone.
"They're moving Leo tonight."
"Who are they?"
Before he could answer, footsteps echoed outside.
Marcus's voice came over my hidden earpiece.
"Nathan."
"You've got company."
I looked through the cracked window.
Three black SUVs sped toward the lighthouse.
Charles cursed under his breath.
"They found us."
Within seconds, armed men surrounded the building.
Grant's team remained hidden, waiting for the signal.
The front door exploded inward.
Masked men rushed inside.
"Get down!" Marcus shouted through the radio.
Gunfire erupted.
Bullets shattered ancient windows.
Stone chipped from the lighthouse walls.
Charles pulled me behind a concrete pillar.
"They want the key."
"No."
I looked him straight in the eye.
"They want Leo."
Charles nodded grimly.
"They want both."
Outside, Grant ordered his officers to move.
Police vehicles raced toward the lighthouse from every direction.
The attackers realized they were trapped.
One by one, they retreated toward their SUVs.
But before the last vehicle escaped, its rear window rolled down.
A masked man threw something onto the lighthouse floor.
It slid to my feet.
A cell phone.
It began ringing immediately.
I answered.
A distorted voice laughed softly.
"You wasted your time."
My grip tightened.
"Where's my son?"
"You've been chasing the wrong enemy."
The caller paused.
"Richard knew only half the truth."
"Your mother knew the other half."
"And Charles..."
The voice laughed again.
"...never told you who ordered all of this."
I looked at my father.
His face had gone pale.
"Who?" I demanded.
The answer came without hesitation.
"The chairman."
The call disconnected.
Charles slowly closed his eyes.
"He found us."
I grabbed his shoulder.
"Who is the chairman?"
Charles looked directly at me.
"The man who created the trust."
I frowned.
"You did."
"No."
His voice shook.
"I only signed the papers."
"The trust..."
"...was designed by someone far more powerful."
At that moment, Detective Ruiz ran inside holding a tablet.
"We've identified the masked attackers."
Grant followed close behind.
"They're former employees of a private security corporation."
I stared at the company logo on the screen.
It felt hauntingly familiar.
Then I realized why.
It was the same lion emblem engraved on my father's old signet ring.
The company had only one listed owner.
Collins Legacy Holdings.
According to every public record...
The company's chairman had been dead for fifteen years.
May you like
Yet someone was still running it.
And that someone had my son.
