“Then we need to find it first.”
Thomas smiled faintly.
“My brother hid it for twenty-three years.”
He looked at the Jaguar.
“I think we can give him a few more hours.”
They returned to the workshop.
Every hidden compartment was inspected.
The dashboard.
The glove box.
The seats.
The trunk.
The door panels.
Nothing.
Then Caleb entered.
He was carrying a tool tray.
“What are you doing?”
Thomas explained.
Caleb listened carefully.
Then he looked at the Jaguar.
“Can I ask something?”
“Of course.”
“You said Daniel hid evidence in the car.”
“Yes.”
“Would he hide it somewhere obvious?”
“No.”
“Would he hide it somewhere difficult to remove?”
Thomas nodded.
“Probably.”
Caleb looked at the driver's seat.
“Then why are we looking at compartments?”
Thomas frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Caleb pointed.
“What's inside the seat?”
Thomas stared.
“The seat?”
“Yes.”
Caleb crouched.
“There are two layers.”
Ryan looked closer.
“He's right.”
The seat had been restored.
But beneath the leather was an older layer.
Caleb carefully removed a section.
Something metallic appeared.
Thomas leaned forward.
Caleb pulled it out.
A small metal cylinder.
Thomas's heart stopped.
He recognized it.
Daniel used to store important documents in containers like this.
Ryan looked at him.
“Is that it?”
Thomas took the cylinder.
“No.”
He shook it gently.
There was something inside.
He opened it.
A tiny memory card fell into his hand.
Everyone stared.
Thomas smiled.
“Daniel.”
David looked concerned.
“What's on it?”
Thomas didn't know.
But he suspected.
And before they could find out, a black SUV stopped outside the workshop.
A man stepped out.
He wore a dark suit.
He walked toward the entrance.
David looked through the window.
His face changed.
“That's Michael Hale.”
Thomas closed his hand around the memory card.
The door opened.
Michael entered.
He looked around the workshop.
Then his eyes settled on the Jaguar.
He smiled.
“Mr. Reed.”
Thomas stood.
“Mr. Hale.”
Michael glanced at the apprentices.
Then at Ryan.
Then back at Thomas.
“I believe we need to talk.”
Thomas's voice remained calm.
“About what?”
Michael smiled.
“About a car that doesn't belong to you.”
Thomas looked at the Jaguar.
Then at the memory card hidden in his palm.
“No,” he said quietly.
“I think it belongs to me more than you realize.”
Michael's smile disappeared.
And Thomas knew the real battle had finally begun.
Michael Hale stood in the doorway of the workshop as though he owned the place.
He was in his early forties, tall, perfectly dressed, with dark hair combed neatly backward. His charcoal suit probably cost more than every piece of clothing in the workshop combined.
Behind him stood two men who looked like private security.
The apprentices had stopped working.
Tools were frozen in their hands.
Caleb stood beside the Jaguar, staring at the newcomer.
Thomas remained calm.
He had lived long enough to understand that some people used expensive clothes the way others used weapons.
Michael looked around.
“This is quite an operation.”
Thomas didn't answer.
Michael smiled.
“I've heard a lot about it.”
“Have you?”
“Yes.”
He glanced at the apprentices.
“The Bennett Automotive Apprenticeship Program.”
Thomas corrected him.
“Daniel Reed Apprenticeship Program.”
Michael's smile faded slightly.
“Of course.”
Thomas noticed.
“You knew my brother.”
“Not personally.”
“But your father did.”
Michael's expression tightened.
“My father knew a lot of people.”
“And wanted this car.”
Michael looked directly at the Jaguar.
“Yes.”
Thomas said nothing.
Michael walked closer.
“That vehicle has been the subject of a legal dispute for many years.”
“That's interesting.”
“You don't seem concerned.”
“Should I be?”
Michael smiled.
“Perhaps.”
He reached into his jacket and produced a folder.
“The vehicle was transferred through several owners under questionable circumstances.”
Thomas looked at the folder.
“Questionable?”
“Ownership records are complicated.”
“I've seen them.”
Michael nodded.
“Then you know why I am here.”
Thomas smiled.
“To take the Jaguar.”
Michael's expression remained neutral.
“To resolve the matter.”
“You mean take it.”
“I mean secure it.”
Thomas glanced at David.
David shook his head.
“There is no court order.”
Michael looked at him.
“Not yet.”
Thomas smiled.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
Michael frowned.
“You're making this personal.”
“No.”
Thomas looked at the Jaguar.
“You are.”
Michael stepped closer.
“You don't understand what you're dealing with.”
Thomas's eyes hardened.
“I understand exactly what I'm dealing with.”
Michael lowered his voice.
“My father spent years trying to recover this vehicle.”
“And failed.”
“He had reasons.”
“I know.”
“Then you know this car is worth far more than its market price.”
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then you also know people will do almost anything to possess it.”
Thomas looked directly into Michael's eyes.
“That sounds like something you should be worried about.”
For the first time, Michael's confidence slipped.
He glanced toward the apprentices.
Then back at Thomas.
“I'll make you an offer.”
“No.”
“You haven't heard it.”
“I don't need to.”
“You should.”
Michael opened the folder.
“Seven hundred thousand dollars.”
The workshop became silent.
Caleb's eyes widened.
Ryan looked at Thomas.
Thomas didn't react.
Michael continued.
“Cash.”
Thomas smiled.
“You came here to buy a car you claim doesn't belong to me.”
“Yes.”
“With money.”
“Yes.”
“Then why not simply take it?”
Michael's expression hardened.
“Because I prefer civilized solutions.”
Thomas nodded.
“I see.”
Michael closed the folder.
“Seven hundred thousand.”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
“Eight hundred.”
“No.”
“One million.”
The apprentices stared at each other.
Thomas smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“This isn't about the money.”
Michael stepped closer.
“Everything is about money eventually.”
Thomas looked at him.
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“That's what my brother spent his life proving wrong.”
Michael's jaw tightened.
“You're making a mistake.”
“Perhaps.”
Michael turned toward the door.
“Think about the offer.”
Thomas didn't respond.
Michael stopped.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
He looked back.
“The Jaguar is not safe here.”
Thomas's expression changed.
“Is that a threat?”
Michael smiled.
“It's advice.”
He left.
The door closed behind him.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then Caleb asked:
“Who was that?”
Thomas looked at him.
“A man who believes everything has a price.”
Ryan shook his head.
“He offered you a million dollars.”
Thomas smiled.
“And still didn't understand what the car was worth.”
David approached.
“We need to call the police.”
Thomas nodded.
“Not yet.”
David looked surprised.
“Why not?”
“Because we don't know what is on the memory card.”
Thomas held it up.
“And until we do, we don't know what Michael is afraid of.”
Ryan looked toward the door.
“You think he knows?”
“I think he suspects.”
“Suspects what?”
“That Daniel hid evidence.”
David looked worried.
“And if he knows?”
Thomas looked at the apprentices.
“Then we need to move carefully.”
That afternoon, they found an old computer capable of reading the memory card.
It took nearly an hour to access the files.
There were dozens.
Photographs.
Scanned documents.
Audio recordings.
Vehicle identification numbers.
Bank transfers.
Names.
Dates.
Thomas stared at the screen.
“This is everything.”
David leaned closer.
“What is it?”
“Daniel's investigation.”
The files revealed a pattern.
Victor Hale had purchased vehicles from private owners using shell companies.
Then, through a network of restoration businesses, he replaced original components with parts from stolen or disputed vehicles.
The paperwork was manipulated.
Ownership records were altered.
Vehicles were sold at enormous profits.
But the Jaguar was different.