Chapter 3 - The Name Sophia WhisperedI left the house in less than thirty seconds.
Sarah grabbed my sleeve.
"Where are you going?"
I pulled free.
"To my daughter."
"You can't just leave me here."
I looked at her.
For the first time, she looked genuinely afraid.
"You're right."
I stepped closer.
"You're staying."
Two men appeared behind me.
Sarah froze.
"Who are those people?"
I didn't answer.
At the hospital, I entered Sophia's room.
She reached for me immediately.
I wrapped her in my arms.
"I'm here."
She buried her face against my chest.
The doctor watched from the doorway.
"Try not to upset her."
"I won't."
I sat beside her.
"What did you mean earlier?"
Sophia's fingers tightened around my shirt.
"The man."
"What man?"
"The man in the black coat."
My stomach twisted.
"Where did you see him?"
"At home."
"Did he talk to you?"
She nodded.
"What did he say?"
She whispered:
"He asked if Daddy still remembered the box."
I stared at her.
The box.
There was only one box I could think of.
A steel case hidden beneath the floorboards of my study.
A box I hadn't opened in twelve years.
A box containing the evidence from the last intelligence operation I had conducted before retirement.
A box that was supposed to have disappeared.
Apparently, it hadn't.
"Did you tell him anything?"
Sophia shook her head.
"I said you're Colonel Dad."
I almost smiled.
Then she continued.
"He got angry."
My smile disappeared.
"What did he say?"
"That your Army was gone."
My blood ran cold.
"Anything else?"
She nodded.
"He said..."
Her lip trembled.
"He said Uncle Daniel would come back."
I sat perfectly still.
Uncle Daniel.
That name hadn't been spoken in my house since my wife died.
Daniel wasn't my brother.
He was the one person from my old unit I had trusted completely.
And the one person I had buried twelve years ago.
Or thought I had.
I stood.
I walked into the hallway.
My old instincts took over.
"Get me the archived personnel file."
My contact replied:
"On what?"
"Daniel Mercer."
A few seconds passed.
Then:
FILE CLASSIFIED.
I stared at the screen.
"By whom?"
Another pause.
Then:
You.
I felt the floor shift beneath me.
I had classified Daniel's file myself.
Because I had personally signed the report stating that he had died during a covert operation overseas.
Except now someone was walking around my house using his name.
Either the dead man had returned.
Or someone wanted me to believe he had.
I called Claire.
She answered immediately.
"Is Sophia okay?"
"She's stable."
"Thank God."
"Claire, I need you to tell me something."
"What?"
"Did Sarah ever mention Daniel?"
Silence.
Too long.
"Claire?"
"I don't know."
"That's not an answer."
She sighed.
"Sarah has been acting strange."
"How strange?"
"She started asking questions about you."
"What kind?"
"Where you served. Who your friends were. Whether you still had military contacts."
I closed my eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I thought she was just being nosy."
I stared through the hospital window at Sophia.
"Claire, listen carefully."
"What?"
"Do not go home."
"Why?"
"Because whoever is behind this knows about you too."
I ended the call.
Then my secure phone rang.
The voice on the other end was one I hadn't heard in a decade.
"Colonel Reed."
I froze.
"Who is this?"
A soft laugh.
"You know who."
The line went silent for two seconds.
Then the voice said:
"You should have opened the box years ago."
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
There was only one thing I knew for certain.
May you like
The past wasn't chasing me.
It had been waiting.
