Chapter 4 - THE MEN WITH THE PHOTOGRAPH
The entire showroom watched as the two strangers stepped inside without hesitation.
Unlike ordinary customers, neither of them glanced at the polished sports cars or the rows of luxury SUVs. Their attention remained fixed on the glass conference room where Daniel and Samuel Whitaker sat facing one another.
Marcus Vale instinctively moved toward them.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Can I help you?"
The taller of the two men reached into his coat and produced a leather business wallet.
"We're looking for Daniel Cross."
Marcus forced another polite smile.
"I'm afraid you'll have to leave your contact information."
The second man calmly unfolded an old photograph instead.
It showed four men standing inside a small engineering workshop nearly twenty-five years earlier. The picture had faded with age, but one face was unmistakable.
A much younger Daniel Cross stood beside an unfinished engine prototype, smiling in greasy coveralls. Beside him stood Edward Charles Reeves.
Marcus's expression shifted.
"You know him?"
"We've been trying to find him for almost eight years."
Ryan, standing nearby, overheard every word.
Inside the conference room, Samuel noticed Ryan's anxious expression through the glass and immediately stood.
"What is it?"
Ryan opened the door carefully.
"Sir...they have a photograph of Mr. Cross."
Daniel's eyes narrowed the instant he saw the picture.
His face lost all color.
"I know them."
Samuel looked toward the visitors.
"Friends?"
Daniel slowly shook his head.
"No."
Samuel immediately understood.
He walked outside first.
"I'm Samuel Whitaker."
The taller visitor nodded politely.
"Richard Coleman."
He pointed toward Daniel.
"We only need five minutes."
"For what?"
Richard answered carefully.
"To return something that should have belonged to him years ago."
Daniel stepped out behind Samuel.
"You should have mailed it."
Richard gave a sad smile.
"We tried."
"I never stayed anywhere long enough."
There was no anger in Daniel's voice anymore.
Only exhaustion.
Richard opened the old briefcase resting beside his leg.
Every employee nearby unconsciously leaned closer.
Inside were dozens of yellowed folders.
Engineering notebooks.
Blueprint copies.
Handwritten calculations.
Letters.
Several notebooks carried the initials E.C.R.
Daniel stared silently.
"I thought these were destroyed."
"So did everyone else," Richard replied.
"The originals were. These are the copies your father secretly asked us to store."
Daniel looked unable to breathe.
"My father..."
"He knew someone would eventually try to erase everything."
Richard gently removed another folder.
"This was sealed with instructions that it could only be delivered to you."
Daniel reached out with shaking hands.
The envelope remained unopened after all these years.
His own name was written across the front in familiar handwriting.
Daniel Cross.
If you're reading this...
His fingers trembled so violently he almost dropped it.
Samuel quietly placed a hand beneath the envelope to steady it.
Marcus watched from several feet away.
Until that moment, he had believed Daniel was simply another unfortunate homeless man wandering into the dealership.
Now strangers carrying decades-old documents were treating him like someone whose past still mattered.
Customers whispered throughout the showroom.
Nobody was looking at the luxury cars anymore.
Every eye remained on Daniel.
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Because everyone sensed this story was becoming much bigger than a misunderstanding inside a dealership.
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