Chapter 6: The Photograph That Shouldn't Exist
Wolf stepped into the hallway.
Gordon Price stood beneath the red emergency lights, holding the photograph between two fingers.
He was in his early fifties, clean-shaven, with silver hair combed neatly backward.
Unlike the other bikers, he looked like a businessman.
Expensive boots.
Tailored black jacket.
A silver watch.
The kind of man who could walk into a bank and make people assume he belonged there.
Wolf stared at him.
“Gordon.””
Gordon smiled.
“Been a long time.””
“Not long enough.””
Gordon glanced toward the hospital room.
“Is Sarah inside?””
“She's not talking to you.””
“I didn't ask you.””
Wolf stepped closer.
“You're trespassing.””
Gordon looked at the photograph.
“Funny. I was just thinking about Michael.””
Wolf's jaw tightened.
“Leave.””
Gordon laughed softly.
“You always were an emotional man.””
He held up the photograph.
It showed Ava standing outside her school.
Her backpack hung from one shoulder.
The image had been taken from across the street.
On the back, someone had written:
She looks just like her mother.
Wolf took one step forward.
“Where did you get that?””
Gordon slipped the photograph into his pocket.
“People talk.””
“Who took it?””
“Does it matter?””
“Yes.””
Gordon's smile disappeared.
“Michael should have kept his nose out of business that didn't concern him.””
Wolf stared at him.
“You helped Curtis steal from his own brother.””
“I helped him survive.””
“You helped him murder a man.””
Gordon looked down the hallway.
“Careful, Wolf. Accusations can be expensive.””
Wolf moved closer until they were only inches apart.
“Try me.””
Gordon glanced toward the hospital room again.
Then he lowered his voice.
“I came to offer Sarah a deal.””
“She doesn't want anything from you.””
“Then perhaps Ava does.””
Wolf's expression turned dangerous.
Gordon smiled.
“Michael left something valuable. You know that now. Give me the memory card, and I'll make sure the children never have to worry about money again.””
Wolf didn't blink.
“You think you can buy them?””
“Everything has a price.””
“Not this.””
Gordon sighed.
“That's what Michael used to say.””
Then he turned and walked toward the elevator.
Wolf followed.
“Stop!””
Gordon pressed the elevator button.
He looked over his shoulder.
“You should ask Preacher why Michael was really expelled from the club.””
Wolf stopped.
“What?””
The elevator doors opened.
Gordon stepped inside.
“Ask him.””
The doors closed.
Wolf stood motionless.
For several seconds, the only sound was the hum of the emergency generator.
Then Ryder appeared at the far end of the corridor.
“Where did he go?””
“Down.””
“Should I follow?””
Wolf shook his head.
“No. He's trying to pull us away from the family.””
Ryder looked at him.
“What did he say?””
Wolf stared at the closed elevator doors.
“He said Michael was expelled from the club.””
Ryder frowned.
“That's impossible.””
“I know.””
“Michael left voluntarily.””
Wolf turned.
“Then why would Gordon say otherwise?””
Neither man had an answer.
Back inside the hospital room, Sarah was holding Ava's hand.
Noah had woken up and was sitting beside them.
He looked toward the door.
“Where did the bad man go?””
Ava brushed his hair away from his forehead.
“He's gone.””
“Is he coming back?””
“Not if Wolf can help it.””
Noah looked at the memory card in Ava's hand.
“Is that Dad's?””
Ava nodded.
“He hid it in his jacket.””
Noah's eyes brightened.
“Can we see Dad?””
Sarah looked at Wolf.
“Can you find a computer?””
Wolf nodded.
“Preacher has a laptop in his truck.””
Ava hesitated.
“Will it show what happened to Dad?””
Wolf crouched beside her.
“Maybe.””
“Are you sure?””
“No,” he answered honestly.
“But we'll find out.””
Twenty minutes later, they gathered in a private hospital consultation room.
Preacher arrived carrying a laptop.
He looked tired.
His eyes moved from Ava to Sarah, then to Wolf.
“Everyone all right?””
“Gordon was here,” Wolf said.
Preacher froze.
“Where?””
“He left.””
Preacher put the laptop on the table.
“What did he want?””
“The memory card.””
Preacher looked at Ava's hand.
“Michael's card?””
Ava nodded.
Preacher sat down slowly.
“Then we'd better see what's on it.””
He inserted the card.
A folder appeared.
There were dozens of files.
Bank statements.
Scanned contracts.
Photographs.
Audio recordings.
And one video file.
*OCTOBER_14_GARAGE_CAM_11:43_PM.*
Ava leaned forward.
“That's the night Dad died.””
Sarah covered her mouth.
Wolf clicked the file.
The screen showed Michael's garage.
The camera angle was slightly tilted.
Michael stood near his workbench, talking on the phone.
His voice came through the laptop speakers.
“I'm telling you, Curtis. I'm done covering for you.””
Ava's eyes filled immediately.
It was her father.
Alive.
Speaking.
His familiar voice filled the room.
Curtis appeared in the garage doorway.
“Michael, just listen.””
“No. You listen.””
Michael placed a folder on the workbench.
“You've been taking money from the business for three years.””
Curtis looked toward the camera.
“You don't understand what Gordon promised me.””
Michael shook his head.
“I don't care what Gordon promised you.””
“He said we'd both be rich.””
“We were already doing fine.””
Curtis laughed bitterly.
“You were doing fine.””
Michael stared at him.
“You were my brother.””
“And you never let me forget it.””
Michael picked up the folder.
“I'm taking this to the police tomorrow.””
Curtis stepped forward.
“You can't.””
“I can.””
“Michael, think about Ava and Noah.””
“I am.””
Curtis looked around the garage.
Then he said something that made Sarah gasp.
“Gordon says if you go to the police, neither child will be safe.””
Michael went completely still.
“Don't you ever threaten my children again.””
Curtis raised both hands.
“I'm just telling you what he said.””
Michael reached for his phone.
“Get out.””
Curtis stepped backward.
“Fine.””
He left the garage.
Michael stood alone for several seconds.
Then he turned toward the camera.
He looked directly into the lens.
Ava leaned closer.
“Dad?””
Michael spoke quietly.
“If you're watching this, something has happened to me.””
Sarah began crying.
Michael continued.
“First, I want you to know that I love you. All three of you. More than anything.””
He looked down at the workbench.
“I tried to fix this without involving the club. I thought I could protect everyone.””
He paused.
“Sarah, if you're watching, take the children and leave. Don't trust Curtis. Don't trust Gordon.””
Then he leaned closer to the camera.
“And Wolf…”
Wolf stopped breathing.
Michael looked directly into the lens.
“I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner.””
Wolf stared at the screen.
“Michael…”
The video continued.
“I know you think I left the club because I wanted a quiet life. That's not the whole truth.””
Preacher lowered his eyes.
Michael continued.
“Eight years ago, Gordon tried to use the club to move stolen motorcycles. I found out. I stopped him. But somebody inside the club helped him.””
Wolf slowly turned toward Preacher.
Michael looked back at the camera.
“I never found out who.””
The video froze.
Ava looked at Wolf.
“Who helped him?””
Wolf didn't answer.
He was staring at Preacher.
“Did you know about this?””
Preacher's face was pale.
“I knew Gordon was stealing.””
“That's not what I asked.””
Preacher looked down.
Then he whispered:
“Michael came to me eight years ago.””
Wolf stepped closer.
“What did he tell you?””
Preacher rubbed his forehead.
“He told me someone had been using club records to hide the stolen motorcycles.””
“Who?””
Preacher swallowed.
“He said the person had access to the club's accounts.””
Wolf's eyes narrowed.
“Who had access?””
Preacher looked up.
Then he gave an answer that made Ryder step backward.
“The club president.””
Silence filled the room.
Wolf slowly shook his head.
“That was me.””
Preacher nodded.
“I know.””
Wolf stared at him.
“Are you saying Michael suspected me?””
“No,” Preacher said quickly.
“He suspected someone had stolen your credentials.””
“Who?””
Preacher looked toward the laptop.
“Gordon had access to the office.””
Wolf clenched his jaw.
“Then why didn't Michael tell me?””
Preacher's voice broke.
“Because he found something else.””
“What?””
Preacher reached into his vest and pulled out a small folded photograph.
He placed it beside the laptop.
It showed Michael standing outside the Black Ridge clubhouse.
Beside him was a younger Preacher.
And behind them, barely visible in the shadows, stood a third man.
Wolf leaned closer.
His expression changed.
“That's…”
Preacher nodded.
“Your father.””
Wolf looked up.
“My father died twenty years ago.””
Preacher shook his head.
“No, Wolf.””
He pointed to the date stamped on the photograph.
“Your father was alive when this picture was taken.””
Wolf's face drained of color.
Then Preacher said the words he had spent eight years trying to forget.
“Michael discovered that your father hadn't died in the motorcycle accident everyone believed.””
Wolf stared at him.
“Where is he?””
Preacher looked toward the hospital door.
“I don't know.””
Then the laptop chimed.
A new file had appeared on the memory card.
It hadn't been there before.
Its title was simple.
*WOLF — OPEN ONLY IF MICHAEL IS DEAD.*
Wolf slowly moved the cursor over it.
Ava reached for his hand.
“What's inside?””
Wolf stared at the screen.
“I think the answer to why my father disappeared.””
He clicked.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a man sitting in a wheelchair in front of a small house.
The man was older, thinner, and had a scar across his forehead.
But the face was unmistakable.
Wolf staggered backward.
“That's impossible.””
Preacher closed his eyes.
Wolf leaned toward the screen.
Beneath the photograph was a handwritten message from Michael.
Wolf, your father is alive. And Curtis knows where he's been hiding.
Then a final line appeared.
May you like
He's the only person who can prove who really killed me.
*End of Chapter 6.*
