Chapter 6 - THE SECRET THE COLONEL BURIEDI had known Daniel Hayes for thirty-four years.
I knew the way his jaw tightened when he was worried.
I knew how he rubbed his left thumb against his wedding ring when he was trying to solve a problem.
And I knew what it meant when all the color drained from his face.
It meant someone had opened a door he had spent years trying to keep closed.
“Daniel?”
He stood beside Emily's hospital bed, staring at my phone.
“What's Operation Silver Ridge?”
He didn't answer.
“Daniel.”
Finally, he looked at me.
“It's something from my military career.”
Emily's eyes moved between us.
“Dad, why would Linda know about it?”
He pulled a chair closer to the bed.
“Because her husband knew someone involved.”
“Someone involved in what?”
Daniel took a long breath.
“An investigation that happened twelve years ago.”
I felt an old ache return.
Twelve years.
The year our marriage finally collapsed.
The year Daniel suddenly stopped coming home.
The year Emily decided her father didn't love her anymore.
“What investigation?” I asked.
Daniel looked at our daughter.
“Before I explain, there's something I need to tell you. Something I should've told both of you a long time ago.”
Emily's expression hardened.
“You were having an affair?”
The question startled him.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I was assigned to a joint military contracting investigation. Several companies were suspected of submitting fraudulent invoices and supplying defective equipment through government procurement contracts.”
Katherine, who had been reviewing documents nearby, looked up.
“Were the Whitmores involved?”
“Not directly, as far as the original investigation established.”
He paused.
“But one of their former business partners was.”
I felt my heart begin racing.
“Why didn't you tell us?”
“Some details were restricted while the investigation was active. But that wasn't the only reason.”
His voice became rough.
“I made the mistake of thinking I could protect our family by keeping my problems away from home.”
Emily stared at him.
“So you disappeared?”
“No. I accepted assignments that kept me away because I believed I was doing something important. Then I was ashamed of how much of your life I'd missed.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You could've told me that.”
“I should have.”
“You let me think I wasn't worth coming home for.”
Daniel's face crumpled.
For the first time since his arrival, I saw him struggle to hold himself together.
“Emily, you were always worth coming home for.”
“Then why didn't you?”
“Because I made terrible choices. I kept telling myself there would be time to fix things later.”
His voice cracked.
“And one day, there wasn't.”
Silence filled the room.
I wanted to say something.
To tell Emily that her father had loved her.
To tell Daniel that I hadn't known how to help him back then.
But neither needed me to explain their feelings.
They needed the truth.
Emily finally whispered, “Keep going.”
Daniel nodded.
“One of the companies connected to Silver Ridge had a civilian executive named Malcolm Voss. He was investigated for fraud and later pleaded guilty to federal charges.”
Katherine frowned.
“Voss?”
“Yes.”
“Richard Whitmore's former partner?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Exactly.”
Katherine leaned back.
“That's interesting.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because Richard used Voss's company as a guarantor on some of his earliest development projects.”
Daniel nodded.
“And Voss blamed me for helping uncover the misconduct.”
Emily looked frightened.
“What happened to him?”
“He served a prison sentence. After his release, he went into private consulting.”
“And Linda knows him?”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“She certainly knows of him.”
Katherine opened her laptop.
She searched several documents, then turned the screen toward Daniel.
“Malcolm Voss is now an adviser to Whitmore Development Holdings.”
Nobody spoke.
Finally, I whispered, “So this is revenge?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I wouldn't assume that. The Whitmores appear to have a financial motive to target Emily. But Voss may be using my connection to her for his own reasons.”
“Why would they bring up Silver Ridge now?” Emily asked.
“Because they want me frightened enough to back away.”
Katherine folded her hands.
“If Linda intends to make allegations about your past conduct, we should have counsel evaluate them. But the existence of an old investigation doesn't change what happened to Emily.”
Daniel nodded.
“Agreed.”
Emily looked at her father.
“Did you do anything wrong?”
He met her eyes.
“I made mistakes as a husband and father. But I didn't falsify evidence or frame anyone in that investigation.”
She studied him.
Then nodded slowly.
“I believe you.”
Those three words seemed to affect him more than anything else she had said.
He looked down.
“Thank you.”
At seven-thirty that evening, Detective Carter called with an update about the flash drive.
The forensic team had created a working copy and begun examining its contents.
It was encrypted.
But some unencrypted material was accessible.
Including a video file.
The detective would not share evidence indiscriminately or discuss information that could compromise the investigation.
However, she confirmed something important.
The files appeared to contain financial records associated with Whitmore Development Holdings.
And there was evidence suggesting an effort to manipulate the disposition of assets before creditors could intervene.
Katherine listened carefully.
“Has the drive's origin been established?”
“Not yet,” Carter answered. “We're still documenting the chain of custody and checking the metadata.”
“Do you have a lead on Rosa?”
“We do.”
I leaned forward.
“Is she safe?”
The detective hesitated.
“We're arranging to speak with her. That's all I can say at this stage.”
My relief was immediate.
At least they had found her.
Emily pressed her face into her pillow.
“Thank God.”
But the night's surprises weren't finished.
At eight-fifteen, a nurse informed us that a visitor had arrived.
The man waiting in the hallway was tall, thin, and carried himself like someone who hadn't slept properly in years.
He wore jeans, a navy-blue sweater, and a wedding ring.
His dark hair had begun to gray.
When he saw Emily, he stopped.
“Nathan?” she whispered.
Jason's older brother.
The man who had supposedly moved overseas.
The man whose girlfriend had died seven years earlier.
He looked at Daniel.
“I need to speak with your daughter.”
Daniel stepped between them.
“About what?”
Nathan raised both hands.
“I'm not here to hurt anyone.”
“Then tell us why you're here.”
Nathan swallowed.
“Because my brother called me this morning.”
Emily stiffened.
“What did he say?”
Nathan looked ashamed.
“He said his wedding had gone wrong.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“Gone wrong?”
Nathan lowered his eyes.
“He claimed Emily got drunk and attacked our mother.”
Daniel took one step forward.
“Choose your next words carefully.”
Nathan didn't argue.
“Then I saw photographs of Emily's injuries.”
His voice cracked.
“And I knew exactly what had happened.”
Emily stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
Nathan looked at her for several seconds.
Then he whispered, “The same thing happened to Hannah.”
Nobody moved.
Nathan's hands trembled.
“For seven years, I've been telling myself I didn't know enough to stop it.”
He looked at Emily.
“But that's a lie.”
My heart began pounding.
Daniel motioned toward the chair.
“Sit down.”
Nathan shook his head.
“I don't deserve to sit.”
“Then stand.”
Nathan swallowed.
“On the night Hannah died, we argued. She wanted to report financial irregularities she'd found in our development projects.”
Katherine opened her notebook.
“Did your family know?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“My father. My mother. Malcolm Voss.”
I felt sick.
“What did Jason know?” Emily asked.
Nathan hesitated.
“Not everything. But he knew Hannah had discovered something the family wanted hidden.”
“And the night she died?”
Nathan covered his face with one hand.
“My mother invited Hannah to dinner. She said we could work everything out.”
He paused.
“I believed her.”
Emily stared at him.
“When I arrived, Hannah was crying. My mother was screaming at her.”
“What about you?” Daniel asked.
Nathan's eyes filled with tears.
“I told Hannah she should stop making trouble.”
I saw Emily flinch.
The words sounded horribly familiar.
Nathan continued.
“She tried to leave. My mother blocked the staircase.”
His breathing became uneven.
“I went outside because I couldn't stand the fighting.”
I felt anger rising inside me.
“You left her alone?”
Nathan nodded.
“Yes.”
“What happened next?”
He closed his eyes.
“I heard a scream.”
Nobody spoke.
“When I came back, Hannah was lying at the bottom of the stairs.”
Emily began trembling.
“Was she alive?”
“Yes.”
I gasped.
Nathan stared at the floor.
“She was breathing. She was trying to say something.”
“Did you call an ambulance?” Daniel demanded.
Nathan shook his head.
“Not immediately.”
The room turned cold.
“My father told me to wait. He said calling the police would destroy everything. He called Malcolm instead.”
I pressed both hands against my mouth.
“How long did you wait?”
Nathan began crying.
“Twenty-three minutes.”
Emily shut her eyes.
Daniel's expression hardened.
Nathan continued.
“By the time we called for help, Hannah had stopped responding.”
A terrible silence followed.
Then Nathan looked directly at Emily.
“I've hated myself every day since.”
She didn't answer.
“And when Jason told me you were hurt, I knew I couldn't stay silent again.”
Daniel looked at Katherine.
“We need to call Detective Carter.”
Nathan nodded.
“I already spoke with an attorney. I'll give the police a formal statement.”
Emily stared at him.
“Why now?”
His face twisted.
“Because Hannah died while I worried about my family's reputation.”
He looked down at his wedding ring.
“I have a daughter now.”
His voice broke.
“She's four years old.”
Nobody spoke.
“Yesterday, she asked why I looked sad. I couldn't tell her.”
He wiped his face.
“But one day she'll grow up. And if someone hurts her, I want to believe a person standing nearby will help.”
Emily looked away.
Nathan took a step backward.
“I know you don't owe me forgiveness.”
“No,” she whispered. “I don't.”
He nodded.
“You're right.”
Before leaving, he stopped at the door.
“There's something else you need to know.”
Daniel turned.
“What?”
“My mother has a safe in her office.”
Katherine looked up.
Nathan continued.
“After Hannah died, she started keeping certain things in it. Things she said could protect the family if anyone betrayed her.”
“What kind of things?” Daniel asked.
Nathan swallowed.
“Documents. Jewelry. Phones.”
My heart raced.
“Hannah's necklace?”
Nathan nodded.
“And maybe more.”
Emily stared at him.
“Do you know the combination?”
Nathan hesitated.
Then he said, “I know who does.”
“Who?” Katherine asked.
Nathan looked at Daniel.
“Jason.”
May you like
He lowered his voice.
“And Jason called me because he's planning to leave the country tonight.”
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