Chapter 9 - The Safe House With No AddressElise was transferred to a protected medical facility under the supervision of her doctors and the appropriate authorities.
The location was not publicized. Access was restricted, her records were protected, and only a small number of people knew where she had gone.
I stayed beside her whenever I could.
The first night, she woke screaming from a nightmare.
Ryan was standing over her in the dream, holding the metal bar. Morgan sat at the kitchen counter, checking her nails while Elise begged for them to stop.
I held her until she realized where she was.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered.
“You don't have to apologize for being frightened.”
“I should have seen it coming.”
“No.”
“I ignored the signs. He controlled our money. He checked my phone. He said he was only protecting our marriage.”
I brushed the hair away from her forehead.
“People who hurt others are very good at making their victims question their own judgment.”
She stared at the ceiling.
“Do you think I can ever feel normal again?”
I wanted to give her a simple answer.
Instead, I gave her the truth.
“I don't know what normal will look like afterward. But you won't have to find out alone.”
She fell asleep holding my hand.
Outside the room, Crosswind continued its work with the FBI.
Grant had successfully preserved the recovered drive and begun a forensic examination under appropriate safeguards. The files appeared to contain evidence of unauthorized access to sensitive logistics systems, financial transfers, and internal communications.
Several documents referenced Nightglass.
Others referred to an event called the Red Harbor incident.
The operation had occurred years earlier, when a convoy carrying humanitarian and technical personnel had been redirected after someone leaked its route. Two vehicles were attacked, several people were injured, and the investigation never conclusively identified the source of the leak.
Daniel had worked for a contractor involved in reconstructing the transport records.
His note suggested he discovered that the route had not been exposed by accident.
Someone had sold it.
And Voss Meridian had profited from the resulting cover-up.
The documents were not yet enough to prove every connection, but they offered a possible explanation for why Daniel had become afraid.
They also explained why Ryan wanted the drive so desperately.
His company had recently been paid to review historical logistics data associated with the same contracts.
He might have discovered that Daniel's evidence still existed.
Or someone might have told him.
At 11:40 p.m., Grant appeared in the corridor.
“Commander wants everyone in the briefing room.”
I followed him.
Hale was waiting on a secure call with Torres.
“We've identified the source of the message naming Elise as a target,” Torres said. “It came from an encrypted account used by a contractor who previously worked with Voss Meridian.”
“Can you connect the account directly to Voss?” I asked.
“Not yet. But the payment records point toward his organization.”
Hale brought up the original threat assessment.
“There's another detail. The document includes a contingency for your return.”
My name appeared on the screen.
NIA CARTER: CLASSIFICATION UNKNOWN.
Below it was a note.
SUBJECT MAY HAVE OPERATIONAL ACCESS NOT REFLECTED IN PUBLIC RECORDS. AVOID DIRECT CONFRONTATION. USE FAMILY PRESSURE.
I stared at the words.
Ryan had assumed I was powerless, but someone in Voss's network had at least suspected the truth.
That made the assault more frightening.
They might have chosen Elise because they knew exactly how to hurt me.
Torres spoke again.
“Ryan has not returned to his home. His attorney says he is cooperating voluntarily, but we have not confirmed his location.”
“Morgan?”
“Her phone was switched off two hours ago.”
Grant glanced at his screen.
“There's movement in the financial accounts. Several transfers are being routed through a company registered in another state.”
“How much?” Hale asked.
“Enough to suggest they're preparing to leave.”
Torres nodded.
“We're coordinating with local authorities. If Ryan attempts to flee, we need to act on lawful grounds and preserve the evidence.”
I looked toward the room where Elise slept.
“Then we need to know where they're going.”
Grant typed for several seconds.
A map appeared on his monitor.
One financial transfer pointed toward a rural property registered to an inactive company.
The property's address was familiar.
Daniel had once brought me there to meet a contractor.
An old industrial warehouse beside a disused rail line.
Grant opened a photograph.
A black vehicle was parked outside the building.
Beside it stood Ryan Cole.
He was holding a phone to his ear.
His expression was furious.
Hale enlarged the image.
Ryan's mouth was caught mid-sentence.
A video reconstruction revealed only a few words.
THE MOTHER IS HERE.
Then another voice came through a recovered message.
Morgan's.
“Then we stop waiting.”
The recording ended with a click.
I looked at Hale.
“What are they planning?”
He closed the file.
“We're about to find out.”
But before he could give any further instruction, Grant announced that the drive had finished decrypting one additional file.
Its title appeared on the screen.
NIGHTGLASS_FINAL_WITNESS_LIST.
The first name was Daniel Carter.
The second was mine.
May you like
The third belonged to someone who was still alive.
And that person was scheduled to testify against Adrian Voss in less than forty-eight hours.
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