Chapter 4 - The Story Travis Told the Police
Rebecca Shaw placed the envelope on Daniel's kitchen table.
She refused coffee.
She refused water.
She wanted the curtains closed.
Only then did she sit.
"My husband made terrible choices," she said.
Daniel remained across from her.
"He stole from my company."
"Yes."
"You knew?"
"Not at first."
Rebecca explained that Victor had been recruited into the scheme by someone inside Daniel's company.
At first, the fraud had seemed small.
Inflated invoices.
Fake consulting expenses.
Vendor accounts controlled through intermediaries.
Then the amounts grew.
Victor wanted out.
He was threatened.
"By Travis?"
Rebecca shook her head.
"Travis wasn't in charge."
"Mark?"
Rebecca looked at Daniel.
"I don't know."
She pushed the envelope forward.
"Victor wouldn't tell me the name."
Inside were photocopied invoices, bank-transfer records, and handwritten notes.
One page contained initials.
M.E.
Daniel's stomach tightened.
Another contained T.C.
Travis Cole.
Mercer arrived and took custody of the documents.
By midnight, investigators had a clearer picture.
Travis appeared connected to Halcyon Consulting, one of the shell vendors.
Mark's connection remained less direct.
But the initials were enough to justify deeper investigation.
Meanwhile, Travis told police a very different story about his marriage.
He claimed Lena had become suspicious and unstable after discovering his financial problems.
He denied intentionally hurting her.
He claimed she had grabbed the bat during an argument and injured herself when she fell.
Mercer told Lena this only because Lena needed to understand what might come next.
Lena listened quietly.
Then she said, "He always told me nobody would believe me."
Daniel sat beside her.
Mercer answered.
"We follow evidence."
The evidence was growing.
Medical records documented Lena's injuries.
Daniel had heard her statement during the call.
Emergency dispatch had the recording of his immediate report.
Derek had witnessed Lena's condition before anyone had time to coordinate a story.
And then investigators found something Travis had apparently forgotten.
The security system.
The cameras outside the house were obvious.
The interior camera wasn't.
It had been installed months earlier after Lena complained about packages disappearing.
A small camera faced the foyer.
It did not capture the living room.
But it captured sound.
Investigators retrieved the stored footage.
At 2:09 p.m., voices rose.
At 2:11, Lena shouted, "Put it down."
At 2:12, a loud impact could be heard.
Then Lena cried out.
At 2:13, Travis said, "Call somebody and see what happens."
Daniel left the room when he heard it.
Derek followed.
In the hallway, Daniel leaned against the wall.
"I should've gotten her out months ago."
"You didn't know."
"I knew something was wrong."
"Something wrong isn't the same as knowing this."
Daniel looked at his brother.
"I asked her once."
"What did she say?"
"She said they were having problems."
"And?"
"I let it go."
Derek put a hand on his shoulder.
"Then don't let go now."
Inside the interview room, Lena listened to the recording.
She cried.
But she didn't look away.
When it finished, she asked Mercer to play the last thirty seconds again.
There.
Behind Travis's voice.
A sound.
Three electronic beeps.
Lena sat upright.
"What?"
Mercer paused.
"Those beeps."
"What about them?"
"I know what that is."
She explained.
Travis kept a small electronic safe inside his office.
Every time someone entered a code, it made three confirmation tones.
"He opened the safe during the argument."
Mercer made a note.
"What's inside?"
"I don't know."
Police had seen the safe.
They hadn't opened it because their initial authority related to the assault and specific evidence.
Now the financial investigation created another path.
The next day, investigators obtained what they needed.
The safe was opened.
Inside were passports.
Cash.
A flash drive.
And a photograph.
The photograph was old.
Two men stood outside a restaurant.
One was Travis.
The other was Victor Shaw.
The date printed on the back was nearly three years earlier.
A year before Travis claimed he first met Victor.
More importantly, it was months before Travis met Lena.
The photograph proved one thing.
Their relationship had started earlier than Travis admitted.
The flash drive contained spreadsheets.
Most were encrypted.
One wasn't.
Daniel's company appeared in the filename.
Mercer wouldn't discuss details until forensic specialists examined it.
But Daniel understood enough.
The assault on Lena and the financial fraud were becoming connected.
That evening, Rebecca called Daniel.
Her voice shook.
"Victor contacted me."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"What did he say?"
"Only that he's alive."
"Did he mention Mark?"
"No."
"Travis?"
Rebecca went quiet.
"Rebecca?"
"He said Travis knows where the original ledger is."
"What ledger?"
"The one that proves who created Halcyon."
Daniel stood.
"Where is it?"
"I don't know."
"Who does?"
"Victor."
"Then we need to find him."
Rebecca began crying.
"He won't come back while they're watching us."
"Who's watching?"
Before she could answer, the line disconnected.
Daniel immediately called Mercer.
She told him not to contact Rebecca again until officers checked on her.
Twenty minutes later, Mercer called back.
Rebecca was safe.
Her phone had died.
But the phrase remained.
They're watching us.
That night, Daniel couldn't sleep.
At 1:07 a.m., he went downstairs.
Lena was already there.
She sat at the kitchen island drinking tea.
"Can't sleep?"
She shook her head.
He sat beside her.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Lena said, "I loved him."
Daniel looked at her.
"I know."
"Part of me still remembers the person I thought he was."
"That doesn't make you weak."
She stared into the cup.
"I keep trying to figure out what was real."
Daniel considered that.
"Maybe some of it was."
She looked at him.
"Does that make it worse?"
"Probably."
She almost smiled.
Then her phone vibrated.
Both of them froze.
Unknown number.
Lena didn't touch it.
Daniel called Mercer.
Under her instructions, Lena opened the message.
It contained six words.
YOUR UNCLE KNOWS MORE THAN HE SAYS.
Lena stared at Daniel.
Then another message arrived.
A photograph.
Derek.
Taken years earlier.
Standing beside Victor Shaw.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
At the bottom of the image was a date.
Seven years ago.
Long before any of them believed Derek had ever met Victor.
Footsteps sounded behind them.
Daniel turned.
Derek stood in the kitchen doorway.
May you like
He looked at the photograph on Lena's screen.
And all the color drained from his face.
