Chapter 9 - THE FAMILY TABLEPatrick lived two hours west of Norfolk.
I drove there alone.
I knew Dana would have preferred otherwise.
I also knew she would never approve of me conducting my own confrontation.
But I didn't go to accuse him.
I went to ask one question.
“What did you know about Daniel?”
Patrick opened the door.
He looked older than I remembered.
Gray hair.
Heavy shoulders.
The same eyes my father had.
He stared at me for a long moment.
Then smiled.
“Rachel.”
“You knew Daniel was worried.”
His smile vanished.
“Come inside.”
The house smelled of coffee and wood smoke.
Patrick sat across from me.
“Your mother always said you were stubborn.”
“My mother died before she could answer my questions.”
He looked down.
“I knew Daniel had concerns.”
“About Evan?”
“Yes.”
“About Meridian Shield?”
“Yes.”
“About me?”
Patrick's jaw tightened.
“About what would happen if you kept pushing.”
I leaned forward.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father asked me not to.”
“My father was dead.”
“Before he died.”
Silence.
Patrick went to a cabinet.
He removed a box.
Inside were documents.
Daniel had given them to him.
Records of suspicious payments.
Names.
Company addresses.
Military contracts.
And one page with several handwritten notes.
The same handwriting I had seen in Daniel's files.
Patrick looked at me.
“Daniel thought someone inside your professional circle was leaking information.”
“Who?”
“He didn't know.”
“Did he suspect Sandra?”
“Yes.”
“Captain Lewis?”
“Yes.”
“Evan?”
“Yes.”
Patrick paused.
“And Caleb.”
I felt the room tilt.
“Caleb?”
“Your brother-in-law was already struggling financially.”
“How bad?”
“Bad enough to be desperate.”
I remembered the $10,000.
Patrick continued.
“Evan approached him.”
“When?”
“Months before Daniel died.”
I sat back.
“That long ago?”
Patrick nodded.
“They offered him money for information.”
“What kind?”
“Anything about you.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel knew too much.”
My heartbeat thundered.
“What did Daniel know?”
Patrick's face hardened.
“He knew a procurement fraud network was bigger than Meridian Shield.”
“How big?”
“Big enough that people were willing to destroy careers to protect it.”
Then he handed me another paper.
A list of payments.
At the bottom was one name.
Sandra Pike.
Patrick looked at me.
“She was never the mastermind.”
“Then who was?”
He didn't answer.
Instead he asked:
“Have you ever wondered why Evan didn't simply attack you professionally?”
“Yes.”
“Because he couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because your record was too clean.”
I stared at him.
“So they needed something personal.”
Patrick nodded.
“Something emotional.”
“Eli.”
“Yes.”
The room became silent.
Then Patrick said something that made my blood freeze.
“They didn't choose Monica because she hated you.”
I stared at him.
“They chose her because she wanted something.”
“What?”
“Your house.”
I blinked.
“My house?”
“Daniel left something hidden there.”
“What?”
Patrick shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“Then why would Evan care?”
“Because he believes something is still inside.”
That explained the surveillance.
The photographs.
The access attempts.
The pressure.
They weren't just trying to take Eli.
They wanted access to my home.
To something Daniel had hidden.
I drove home and searched everything.
Under the floorboards.
Inside cabinets.
Behind pictures.
Nothing.
Then I remembered the three folders.
White.
Blue.
Black.
I had never asked why Daniel had helped me organize them.
I opened the white folder again.
Medical records.
School documents.
Then, behind the back cover, my fingers touched something.
A hidden seam.
I pulled.
A small metal key fell onto the table.
I stared at it.
There was one number engraved on it.
217.
I called Dana.
She came within an hour.
I showed her the key.
“Storage unit?” she asked.
“Maybe.”
We traced the number.
It belonged to a storage facility near the naval station.
Unit 217.
The facility manager checked the records.
The unit had been rented by Daniel.
But it hadn't been opened in nearly three years.
We stood outside the door.
Dana looked at me.
“You ready?”
“No.”
She nodded.
“Good answer.”
The lock opened.
Inside were boxes.
Furniture.
Old uniforms.
Photographs.
Then I saw a black duffel bag.
I opened it.
There was a recorder.
A stack of documents.
And an envelope addressed to me.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a message from Daniel.
Rachel, if they ever come for Eli, don't give them the child. Give them the truth.
Below it was a second line.
The person you trust most will be the first one to betray you.
Dana read over my shoulder.
Then the lights inside the storage facility went out.
We heard footsteps.
Someone was running toward the door.
Dana reached for her phone.
I grabbed the envelope.
May you like
And from the darkness came a man's voice.
“Rachel, you should never have opened that box.”
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