He held up a folder.
“What is that?”
“Something you need to see.”
Inside were several photographs.
Daniel's expression changed.
They showed Jason and his four friends outside an abandoned warehouse.
Another showed them entering a local underground gym.
Another showed them with a man Daniel recognized.
Victor Kane.
A former fighter.
A promoter.
And one of the most dangerous people Daniel had ever encountered.
Daniel stared at the photograph.
“Where did you get these?”
Marcus sat down.
“Someone sent them to me.”
“Why?”
“Because those boys aren't just bullies.”
Daniel looked up.
“What are you saying?”
“Jason's father owns several clubs in the city. Victor Kane has been using some of them to recruit young fighters for illegal matches.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“And the boys?”
“Enforcers.”
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
“Why come after me?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Because they don't like losing.”
“That isn't enough.”
“No.”
Marcus placed another photograph on the table.
This one showed Sophie.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
“When was this taken?”
“Yesterday.”
Daniel stood.
“Who took it?”
“We don't know.”
Marcus grabbed his arm.
“Daniel.”
Daniel looked at him.
“If they go near my daughter—”
“That's exactly why you need to think.”
Daniel's breathing slowed.
Marcus continued.
“You spent years learning how to control your anger.”
Daniel looked toward the hallway where Sophie was sleeping.
“I know.”
“Then use that skill now.”
The next morning, Daniel contacted Detective Sarah Bennett, an old friend from the neighborhood.
She reviewed the evidence.
“This is serious.”
“How serious?”
“Serious enough that you shouldn't confront them.”
Daniel nodded.
“I'm not planning to.”
But someone else was.
Jason.
That afternoon, Daniel received a message.
A photograph.
Sophie walking home from school.
Below it was a single sentence:
You should have stayed out of our business.
Daniel stared at the screen.
His hands became cold.
He called Sarah.
Then Marcus.
Then the school.
Sophie was safe.
For now.
But Daniel knew something had changed.
The boys were no longer trying to prove they were tough.
They were trying to hurt him through his daughter.
And that was a line Daniel could not allow anyone to cross.
That evening, he sat alone in his garage.
His old championship belt was still there.
He had never thrown it away.
It was covered in dust.
Daniel picked it up.
He remembered the cage.
The lights.
The crowd.
The pain.
The victories.
Then he remembered Emily.
Her voice after every fight.
“Come home safe.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
He whispered:
“I did.”
Then he put the belt back.
He didn't need to become the fighter again.
He needed to become the father.
The following day, Daniel and Detective Bennett set a trap.
They released false information suggesting Daniel would be at an old community center that evening.
The goal was simple.
If someone was watching Sophie, they would react.
At 8:15 p.m., a black SUV arrived.
Police surrounded it.
Three men were arrested.
But Jason wasn't inside.
Daniel knew immediately.
“He's somewhere else.”
Sarah looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because he thinks he's smarter than everyone.”
They traced Jason's phone.
An abandoned warehouse.
The same building Marcus had photographed.
Daniel wanted to go.
Sarah stopped him.
“No.”
“My daughter could be there.”
“We have officers going in.”
Daniel nodded.
But then they heard shouting through the radio.
“Possible hostage situation.”