Chapter 8 - The Mother Who Left a WarningThe truth about Grace Brooks begins to surfaceMy mother's name was Grace.
She had died when I was twenty-one.
The official cause had always been listed as complications from an undiagnosed heart condition.
I had accepted it because Dad had never given me reason not to.
Now everything felt different.
“Tell me.”
Dad sat across from me.
“Grace was investigating something.”
“What?”
“I can't tell you everything.”
“Why?”
“Because some of it is classified.”
“I am your daughter.”
“Yes.”
“And I'm asking you about my mother.”
He closed his eyes.
Then slowly, he spoke.
“Your mother believed someone inside the government was leaking sensitive information.”
I stared at him.
“What kind of information?”
“Strategic information.”
“Was she right?”
“I never found proof.”
“What happened?”
“She became frightened.”
I swallowed.
“By whom?”
“We don't know.”
I stood.
“You let me believe she died naturally.”
“She did.”
“Did she?”
Dad looked at me.
“Yes.”
Then he added:
“But I never believed the circumstances were simple.”
My hands shook.
“What does this have to do with Dominic?”
“I don't know.”
“But somebody gave us files.”
“Yes.”
“And somebody said she didn't die naturally.”
“Yes.”
Dad stood.
“We need to determine whether the two are connected.”
That night, Elena discovered the flash drive had one hidden partition.
Inside was a scanned letter.
The handwriting was my mother's.
I recognized it immediately.
Dear Audrey,
If you are reading this, something has gone wrong.
My breath caught.
The letter continued.
There are people who study families because they want access to what those families protect.
Never confuse curiosity with love.
Never confuse persistence with loyalty.
And never reveal everything about yourself to someone who has not earned it.
My eyes filled with tears.
The last paragraph was underlined.
Your father will try to protect you. Let him. But do not let anyone protect you by keeping you blind.
I looked at Dad.
“You had this?”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who did?”
We searched the metadata.
The letter had been scanned recently.
Not twenty years ago.
Recently.
Someone had digitized it.
Someone had access to my mother's original papers.
Then Elena noticed a hidden name in the file properties.
G. Mercer.
“Who is that?”
Dad's face went pale.
“My mother's maiden name?”
“No.”
He stood.
“That's a former intelligence officer.”
“You know him?”
“I knew of him.”
“What does he have to do with Dominic?”
Dad didn't answer.
Elena opened another file.
It contained a bank transfer.
From a consulting company owned by G. Mercer.
The payment had gone to one of Dominic's shell companies.
Date:
Three months before my wedding.
I stared at the screen.
“So Dominic's operation was funded by someone else.”
“Yes.”
“Your enemy?”
Dad shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Then his security adviser entered.
“General.”
Dad turned.
“We found the source of the leak.”
“Who?”
The adviser looked at me.
“It came from inside Dominic's company.”
“Vanessa?”
“No.”
He handed Dad another photograph.
It showed a woman entering a parking garage.
I recognized her.
Victoria.
Dad looked at me.
“She has been meeting the same intelligence contractor for almost a year.”
I felt cold.
“Why?”
“We don't know yet.”
Then the adviser's phone rang.
He listened.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He turned to Dad.
“They found Vanessa.”
My heart raced.
“Where?”
“She was taken to a private clinic.”
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see her?”
Dad looked at me.
“I don't think you understand.”
“What?”
“Vanessa requested to speak to you.”
“Why?”
The adviser hesitated.
May you like
“Because she says Dominic is planning something tonight.”
End of Chapter 8And Vanessa's warning was worse than anything Audrey had heard before.
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