Daniel frowned.
“Why has Richard been paying Graham?”
“Blackmail. Graham threatened to reveal Claire’s identity and the location of Samuel’s remaining research.”
“Samuel died in prison.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“No, he didn’t.”
Another silence.
“The man who died in prison was an inmate named Peter Lorne,” she said. “Samuel switched identities during a hospital transfer.”
I felt the cold floor through my shoes.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
A red light began flashing on the security console.
Evelyn turned.
One monitor showed a dark SUV stopping near the cottage.
Three men emerged.
One was Graham Voss.
The second carried a rifle.
The third man was tall and silver-haired.
Even after decades, I recognized the delicate metal frames of his glasses.
Samuel Vale looked directly into the camera.
Then he smiled.
“My father,” I whispered.
Evelyn grabbed the shotgun.
“No,” she said. “Your father is the man sitting in jail because he spent seventeen years keeping Samuel away from you.”
