Chapter 15 - Behind the Locked Door
"Don't open it," I said into the phone.
Nora whispered something to Ellie. I heard footsteps, then the scrape of a chair being moved. Her voice came back low and urgent.
"They say they're from your security company. Two men. Neither has identification."
"Call your assigned officer. Now."
Brooks alerted the protective detail while I stayed on the line. The men knocked again, louder. One shouted that they had urgent information about a family emergency. Nora didn't move.
"Go away," she called. "The police are coming."
A crash sounded in the hall. Somebody had kicked the outer security door. Then came a sharp order from a uniformed officer, feet pounding, and a man's angry shout.
The connection stayed open. I heard Nora crying softly, then Ellie asking if they could have breakfast now.
"We're safe," Nora said at last. "They ran. The officer has one in custody."
I pressed a hand over my face. Whoever was leading this operation had no problem frightening a child to silence a mother.
Brooks identified the captured man as a private contractor with payments traced to Blake's department. The second escaped. Nora and Ellie were moved to another secure location under a different protective arrangement. For once, I didn't demand the address. Less information in my head meant less information someone could steal from me.
Nora sent the recording through her attorney. I sat alone in Dad's office to hear it.
"Daniel," my father's tired voice began, "if this reaches you, I failed to stop people who worked beside us for years. I kept thinking I could solve it quietly. That was pride, not courage. Aaron Bennett came to me with proof, and I waited too long to listen. He died while I was waiting. Don't make my mistake. Protect the witnesses before you protect the Vale name."
A chair creaked. Dad coughed.
"If Cole presents an amendment giving him access to the reserve, it is forged. I've never signed one. The original instructions are filed with the bank under Harbor Seven."
The recording ended. I played it again, then called Hannah Kim at the bank and sent the authenticated container inventory and Dad's message to her secure channel.
"This changes the review," she said. "We can hold the proposed transfer pending verification."
May you like
For the first time in thirty-six hours, I could breathe.
Then Hannah added, "But Blake has just submitted a second transfer request from a different account. And this one carries your authorization."
