Chapter 5: The Brother Who Was Buried Twice
Emily stared at the photograph until the screen blurred.
The man in the reflection was only partially visible.
A shoulder.
A jawline.
A black leather vest.
And that patch.
*NOMAD FIRST NINE.*
But Michael's reaction had frightened her more than the photograph itself.
“Daniel,” he had whispered.
Emily slowly lifted her eyes.
“What did you mean?””
Michael didn't answer.
“Michael.””
He looked at her through the windshield.
“I said the name because, for a second, I thought I was looking at him.””
Razor took the phone from Emily again.
He enlarged the photograph.
The man's face remained mostly hidden behind the woman Emily knew as her mother.
But there was something familiar about the posture.
The way he stood.
The slight tilt of his head.
Emily knew that posture.
She had seen it her entire childhood.
Her father used to stand exactly like that whenever he was watching something he didn't trust.
“No,” she whispered.
Razor looked at her.
“It can't be.””
“Why?””
“Because Daniel was six feet away from me when he died.””
Emily stared at him.
“You saw his body?””
Razor's expression tightened.
“No.””
“Then what did you see?””
“The wreck.””
“Not him?””
“No.””
Silence filled the truck.
Emily's heartbeat became painfully loud.
“Was there a funeral?””
“Yes.””
“Closed casket?””
“Yes.””
“Did you see his face?””
Razor shook his head.
“Not clearly.””
Emily's hands went cold.
Caruso suddenly leaned forward from the back seat.
“There was a reason for that.””
Everyone turned.
“What reason?”” Emily asked.
Caruso hesitated.
Razor's voice hardened.
“You knew something.””
“I knew there were injuries.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
Caruso looked at Emily.
“We were told the body was too damaged.””
Emily stared at him.
“Who told you?””
“The coroner.””
“Did anyone verify the identification?””
Caruso remained silent.
Razor slowly shook his head.
“No.””
Emily felt the world shift beneath her.
“You buried a man without seeing his face.””
Razor looked away.
“We believed it was him.””
Emily's voice cracked.
“You believed?””
Nobody answered.
She took the phone back.
The photograph remained open.
Her mother's face was clear.
There was no question about that.
Alive.
Older.
Real.
And there was somebody standing behind her.
Someone who looked enough like her father to make every buried memory rise back up.
The truck was silent until Michael finally spoke.
“There was another thing.””
Emily turned.
“What?””
“Daniel had a scar.””
She frowned.
“What scar?””
“Here.””
Michael touched his left shoulder.
“From a motorcycle accident when he was twenty-three.””
Emily nodded slowly.
“My dad had a scar there.””
Michael stared at the photograph.
“The man in the picture has the same scar.””
Razor turned around.
“You're sure?””
“I saw it dozens of times.””
Emily's stomach tightened.
“Then it is him.””
Caruso shook his head.
“That isn't possible.””
“Why not?””
“Because if Daniel were alive, Victor would know.””
Emily looked at him.
“Would he?””
Caruso stopped talking.
That answer told her more than words could.
Razor started the truck.
“We're going to Bakersfield.””
Emily looked at him.
“For the storage unit?””
“For your mother.””
“And the man in the photograph?””
Razor's hands tightened around the wheel.
“For both.””
They drove in silence.
The highway stretched through the night.
Emily sat in the back with the photograph on her lap.
She couldn't stop thinking about what her father might have said if he were alive.
Would he have found her?
Would he have watched her sleep on sidewalks and done nothing?
Would he have stayed away because he was protecting her?
Or had somebody forced him into hiding?
There were too many questions.
And only one place left to search.
B-19.
The storage facility was almost completely abandoned.
A single security light flickered above the entrance.
Razor parked outside the gate.
Michael climbed out first.
He examined the lock.
“Cut recently.””
Caruso nodded.
“Someone's been inside.””
Emily's throat tightened.
“Then we’re already late.””
They entered.
Rows of metal doors stretched into darkness.
Emily counted the numbers.
B-15.
B-16.
B-17.
B-18.
Then—
B-19.
The brass key turned.
The door opened.
Inside, the room looked empty.
Razor stepped forward.
“There's nothing here.””
Emily disagreed.
She crouched.
A thin line of dust ran beneath the far wall.
“Someone moved something.””
Michael looked closer.
A section of concrete was slightly lighter than the rest.
They searched until Caruso found a loose metal plate.
Behind it was a narrow compartment.
Inside sat a black envelope.
Emily grabbed it.
Her father's handwriting covered the front.
*FOR EMILY ONLY.*
Her fingers trembled.
She opened it.
There was no letter.
Only a photograph.
It showed her father standing beside a woman.
Emily gasped.
Her mother.
But this photograph was different.
They were younger.
And the date on the back was from only six months before Daniel's death.
Emily stared.
“My mother wasn't gone.””
Caruso nodded.
“No.””
“She was with him.””
“Yes.””
“Then why did she disappear?””
Caruso didn't answer.
Emily turned the photograph over.
There was another line on the back.
*She knows what happened to me.*
Emily felt her chest tighten.
“Then why is she pretending I’m dead to her?””
Michael shook his head.
“She may not be.””
“What?””
“She might be afraid.””
Emily laughed bitterly.
“Everyone is always afraid.””
A faint metallic sound came from the hallway.
Everyone froze.
Razor drew his weapon.
“Stay here.””
He stepped outside.
Emily heard footsteps.
A struggle.
Then Razor shouted.
“Run!””
The storage door slammed open.
A man in dark clothes lunged inside.
Emily backed away.
Caruso grabbed her hand.
They ran through the rear exit.
Michael followed.
Razor stayed behind.
Three shots echoed through the facility.
Then silence.
Emily stopped.
“Razor!””
Caruso grabbed her shoulder.
“Keep moving.””
“He's back there.””
“He knows what he's doing.””
Emily tore away.
“I’m not leaving him.””
She ran back.
She found Razor kneeling beside a fallen man.
But Razor wasn't looking at him.
He was looking at something in his hand.
A motorcycle key.
Emily approached carefully.
“What happened?””
Razor held it up.
“He came for this.””
“What is it?””
Razor stared at the key.
“The key to Daniel's motorcycle.””
Emily's breath caught.
“My father's bike was destroyed.””
Razor shook his head.
“Only the one from the crash was destroyed.””
She stared at him.
“You mean he had another?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
Razor looked toward the road.
“Your father had a hidden garage.””
Emily's heart raced.
“Where?””
“Near the old freight yards.””
Before they could move, footsteps echoed behind them.
Caruso turned.
The man from the café photograph stood at the end of the corridor.
Emily couldn't see his face clearly.
But his voice carried through the darkness.
“Emily.””
She stopped breathing.
That voice.
She knew it.
Not from the photograph.
From somewhere deeper.
A memory.
A kitchen.
A storm.
Her father singing badly while washing dishes.
And another man laughing.
The man in front of her stepped into the light.
Emily saw his face.
Her legs nearly gave out.
It was Daniel.
Older.
Thinner.
A scar ran along his temple.
But it was him.
Her father.
Alive.
Emily couldn't speak.
Daniel stared at her.
His eyes filled with tears.
“You grew up.””
Emily shook her head.
“No.””
He took one step closer.
“I tried to get back to you.””
She backed away.
“Don't.””
“I know you hate me.””
“I don't know you.””
Daniel looked crushed.
“You're wearing my jacket.””
Emily pulled it tighter around herself.
“You let me think you were dead.””
“I had no choice.””
“You had every choice!””
Her voice echoed through the storage corridor.
“You could have found me.””
“I did.””
“When?””
“Three weeks after the crash.””
Emily's breathing became uneven.
“Then where were you?””
Daniel looked at Caruso.
Caruso lowered his head.
Daniel looked back at his daughter.
“I was being hunted.””
“By Victor?””
“Yes.””
“By Bishop?””
“Yes.””
“By all of them?””
Daniel nodded.
“But there was one person I couldn't protect you from.””
Emily whispered, “Who?””
Daniel's expression changed.
He looked past her.
At the far end of the corridor.
A shadow moved.
Daniel's hand reached for his weapon.
“Emily, get behind me.””
Razor immediately raised his gun.
Michael turned toward the darkness.
Caruso stepped backward.
A familiar voice came from the shadows.
“You always were terrible at saying goodbye, Ghost.””
Victor walked into the light.
Emily felt Daniel move in front of her.
Victor smiled.
“You should have stayed dead.””
Daniel stared at him.
“You should have stayed buried.””
Victor's smile disappeared.
May you like
Then the lights went out.
And Emily heard the sound of a gun being cocked directly behind her.
