Chapter 9 - The Truth About My WifeWe escaped through an underground service tunnel.
Sophia clung to my hand.
Daniel led the way.
Claire followed behind us.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then I stopped.
"Daniel."
He turned.
"Why did my wife think I should trust you?"
Daniel looked at Sophia.
Then at me.
"Because I was the one who helped her hide the ledger."
My chest tightened.
"You were there."
"That night."
"The night she died?"
He nodded.
"She called me."
I felt anger rise.
"Why didn't you come?"
"Because I was being hunted."
"And she died."
"Yes."
I stepped toward him.
"Why didn't you save her?"
Daniel lowered his eyes.
"Because I arrived too late."
He pulled out a battered photograph.
On the back was a date.
The date of my wife's death.
Then a second date.
Three days earlier.
"Your wife found a financial network tied to Black Harbor."
He handed me another document.
"She planned to expose it."
I looked at the names.
Bank executives.
Defense contractors.
Politicians.
Military officials.
Corporate attorneys.
Then one name made everything inside me freeze.
Nathan Cole.
My former commander.
Daniel continued.
"Your wife gave me the original ledger."
"What happened to it?"
"It disappeared."
"How?"
"Someone took it from me."
"Who?"
Daniel looked at Claire.
She stepped closer.
"Sarah."
I stared at her.
"No."
"She didn't know what it was."
"So how did she get it?"
"Because someone paid her."
My jaw clenched.
"North Vale."
Claire nodded.
"She sold the box's location."
"What?"
"Not the box itself."
"The location?"
"Yes."
I looked toward Sophia.
My daughter was watching me.
She suddenly spoke.
"Daddy?"
"What?"
"Mommy told me something."
I crouched.
"What did she say?"
Sophia whispered:
"She said you shouldn't be angry with Aunt Sarah."
I felt something crack inside me.
"Why?"
"Because Aunt Sarah was scared."
Claire began crying.
"Your wife knew Sarah would eventually be involved."
I looked at her.
"She planned all this?"
"No."
Claire shook her head.
"She tried to prevent it."
Daniel looked at me.
"There's more."
He handed me a final document.
It was a medical record.
My wife's death had been officially ruled accidental.
But one paragraph was highlighted.
Evidence of prior poisoning suspected but inconclusive.
I stared at the words.
"Poisoning?"
Daniel nodded.
"Someone poisoned her before the crash."
"Why wasn't I told?"
"Because the lab report was altered."
"By Cole?"
Daniel didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
I stood.
Something inside me had changed.
The grief I had carried for twelve years suddenly had a shape.
A face.
A name.
Nathan Cole.
My phone vibrated.
A message from my team.
COLE HAS TAKEN SARAH.
Then another.
HE'S HEADING TO SOPHIA'S ORIGINAL HOUSE.
I stared at the screen.
That house was empty now.
Except for one thing.
The steel box.
And something else hidden beneath it.
Something even Cole didn't know about.
I looked at Daniel.
"Let's go home."
He frowned.
"Why?"
May you like
I picked up Sophia.
"Because we're done running."
