Chapter 7 - RICHARD VANE IS STILL ALIVERyan didn't answer.
The phone rang again.
And again.
Hale watched him.
“Put it on speaker.”
Ryan shook his head.
“Absolutely not.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Then I'll take the phone.”
Ryan backed away.
The call stopped.
A message appeared.
YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES.
Then another.
BRING YOUR SISTER.
Ryan looked at me.
I didn't need him to explain.
I understood.
Richard Vane knew I was here.
He knew about the case.
And he wanted me.
Hale immediately called his team.
The atmosphere in the house changed from family argument to operation.
Doors locked.
Windows checked.
Vehicles repositioned.
My mother sat on the couch with both hands clasped together.
My father looked broken.
I knelt beside him.
“Dad.”
He looked at me.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“Everything.”
I waited.
He swallowed.
“After the convoy, an investigator came to me.”
“Who?”
“Not military. A civilian.”
“What did he want?”
“He told me your name had appeared in a financial file.”
I felt my stomach turn.
“What kind of file?”
“Payments.”
“To whom?”
“People connected to Redstone.”
“Why would my name be there?”
“I don't know.”
Ryan suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned.
He looked almost hysterical.
“You really don't understand.”
I stood.
“Then explain.”
Ryan ran both hands through his hair.
“The convoy wasn't supposed to be attacked.”
Hale's expression sharpened.
“What?”
Ryan looked at him.
“The route was supposed to change.”
“When?”
“The morning before.”
“Who changed it?”
Ryan didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Who?”
His eyes met mine.
“Dad.”
The room froze.
Dad shook his head.
“No.”
“You changed the delivery schedule.”
“I moved a construction team.”
“You moved the convoy schedule,” Ryan said.
Dad's voice broke.
“I didn't know.”
“You didn't know?”
“I was told it was routine.”
“By Vane.”
“Yes.”
Ryan looked at me.
“He told Dad the route needed to be adjusted because the original road was compromised.”
My heart hammered.
“And you?”
Ryan's jaw tightened.
“I passed the message.”
“Where?”
“Through an intermediary.”
“Who?”
He whispered a name.
“Daniel.”
Daniel's face went blank.
“What?”
Ryan immediately shook his head.
“Not you personally.”
“Then who?”
“A man using your name.”
Daniel's expression changed.
Someone had impersonated him.
Or someone had used his identity to pass information.
Hale looked toward the door.
“Everyone stop.”
We listened.
A faint sound came from outside.
A car engine.
Then headlights appeared across the curtains.
Daniel moved toward the window.
“That's not one of ours.”
Hale drew his sidearm.
My mother screamed.
The front window shattered.
Everyone dropped.
Glass exploded across the floor.
A second shot struck the wall.
Hale shouted:
“DOWN!”
I pulled Mom behind the sofa.
Ryan crawled toward the hallway.
Daniel reached for his phone.
Then a third shot.
His phone flew from his hand.
He stared at it.
Silence.
The vehicle outside accelerated away.
Hale moved to the window.
“Everybody alive?”
No one answered immediately.
Then Ryan whispered:
“Daniel?”
Daniel slowly raised his head.
He looked at me.
“No blood.”
I exhaled.
Hale checked the wall.
Then his expression hardened.
The bullet had struck something hidden behind a framed photograph.
A metal box fell from the wall.
My father's face changed.
I opened it.
Inside was a single handwritten note.
THE SECOND VEHICLE WASN'T THE TARGET.
May you like
Underneath:
AUDREY WAS.
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