Chapter 3 - The Man Who Was Buried
Daniel drove faster than he should have.
Grant sat beside him coordinating with the security team.
"Lily's safe," he said.
Daniel didn't respond.
"Mercer. Did you hear me?"
"Yes."
"Cross never reached her room."
"Where is he?"
"Gone."
Daniel looked over.
"Gone?"
"He knew the building."
That bothered Daniel more than anything.
The secure apartment was not publicly listed.
Only authorized personnel knew its location.
Cross had known.
They arrived eleven minutes later.
Lily ran into Daniel's arms.
He held her longer than usual.
"Did you see anyone?"
She nodded.
"A man."
"What did he say?"
"He said he knew Mommy."
Daniel's body went rigid.
"What else?"
"He gave me this."
Lily opened her hand.
A silver key.
Attached to it was a small metal tag.
Grant photographed it.
Daniel recognized the key type.
Safe-deposit box.
Cross had deliberately allowed himself to be seen.
This wasn't an attempted kidnapping.
It was a message.
That night, analysts examined Rachel's flash drive.
Most files were encrypted.
One wasn't.
A video.
Rachel appeared on screen.
Daniel had not heard her voice in eighteen months.
He nearly stopped the recording.
Then Rachel spoke.
"Daniel, I need you to listen before you react."
He sat perfectly still.
"If you're seeing this, something happened to me."
Daniel swallowed.
Rachel continued.
"Sarah isn't innocent. But she isn't the person you should fear."
Grant glanced at Daniel.
"Years ago, my father created a private trust. I discovered someone was using it to move money through defense contractors."
Daniel frowned.
Rachel's father had been a wealthy businessman.
He had died before Lily was born.
"I thought it was tax fraud," Rachel continued. "Then I found names. Military names."
Cross.
Daniel knew before Rachel said it.
"Colonel Nathan Cross helped me investigate."
Daniel closed his eyes.
His commanding officer and his wife had been working together without telling him.
"Cross believed someone inside Army Intelligence was selling access to classified procurement networks. He couldn't investigate openly. Neither could you, Daniel, because whoever was responsible had access to your assignments."
Rachel leaned closer to the camera.
"That's why we kept you out."
Daniel's anger collapsed into something worse.
Understanding.
Rachel had been protecting him.
The video continued.
"When Lily was born, my father transferred control of the trust to her. Whoever controls Lily's legal guardianship can eventually control the records attached to it."
Daniel looked toward Grant.
The forged guardianship.
Sarah.
The money.
Everything connected.
Rachel's expression became frightened.
"If they try to take Lily from you, it means they're running out of time."
The video ended.
Daniel sat silently.
Grant finally said, "We need box seventeen."
The bank opened at nine.
Daniel arrived at 8:55.
The key worked.
Inside the box was a ledger.
Names.
Payments.
Dates.
Defense contracts.
Daniel recognized officers.
Contractors.
Politicians.
Then one name appeared repeatedly.
Cross.
Daniel stared at it.
"Was he investigating these transactions," Grant asked, "or receiving them?"
Daniel didn't answer.
There was another envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Sarah accepting a package from an unidentified man.
The date was six months after Rachel's death.
Sarah had lied.
Again.
Daniel confronted her that afternoon.
She broke.
"I needed money."
"You received eighty-four thousand dollars from me."
"I had debts."
"What debts?"
Sarah covered her face.
"Gambling."
Daniel stared.
She confessed.
After Rachel died, Sarah had discovered documents in Rachel's belongings.
A man contacted her.
He offered money for anything connected to Rachel's investigation.
Sarah sold copies.
Then he wanted access to Lily.
"No," Daniel said.
Sarah sobbed.
"I never let him hurt her."
"You forged guardianship documents."
"He said it was temporary."
"You locked my sick daughter outside."
Sarah couldn't answer.
Daniel leaned across the table.
"Who paid you?"
"I never knew his real name."
"Describe him."
Sarah looked up.
"He had a scar across his left hand."
Daniel knew someone with that scar.
His former deputy director.
General Marcus Vale.
A man Daniel had trusted for twelve years.
Daniel immediately called Grant.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Then a message arrived from Grant's number.
COME ALONE.
An address followed.
Daniel recognized it.
An abandoned training facility outside the city.
He forwarded the message to a secure response team and drove there.
The building was dark.
Inside, he found Grant tied to a chair.
Alive.
Barely.
"Daniel," Grant whispered.
"Who did this?"
Grant looked behind him.
Daniel turned.
General Marcus Vale stepped from the shadows.
Older now.
Silver-haired.
Scar across his left hand.
"Colonel Mercer."
Daniel stared at him.
Vale smiled.
"You were always difficult to surprise."
"Where's Cross?"
Vale's smile disappeared.
"You still think Cross is the enemy?"
Daniel said nothing.
Vale stepped closer.
"Rachel didn't."
Daniel's hand tightened.
"Don't say her name."
Vale laughed softly.
"Your wife discovered something she wasn't supposed to discover."
"You killed her."
"No."
"Who did?"
Vale looked toward Grant.
Then back at Daniel.
"Ask the man who survived the same accident."
Daniel froze.
Rachel's accident had supposedly involved only two vehicles.
Vale walked backward toward a side door.
Daniel moved after him.
Grant shouted.
"Daniel, stop!"
Too late.
The door slammed.
Daniel reached it.
Locked.
His phone vibrated.
A photograph appeared.
Lily asleep in her bed.
Taken minutes earlier.
Underneath were five words:
YOU LEFT HER ALONE AGAIN.
Daniel called the security detail.
No answer.
He called again.
Then his phone rang.
Lily's number.
Daniel answered.
A man's voice spoke.
"Colonel."
Daniel recognized it.
Nathan Cross.
"Where is my daughter?"
A pause.
May you like
Then Cross said:
"She's with the person who killed your wife."
