Chapter 3 - The Message on the Photograph

Andrew knew the handwriting as well as he knew his own. Victor wrote thank-you notes in dark blue ink and signed every birthday card with the same aggressive slant. The words on the back of the photograph said: Destroy originals. Keep Reed quiet. —V.H.

“Where did you get this?” Andrew asked.

“Marcus mailed it to me three days before the ambush,” Elena replied. “It was hidden inside our little girl's birthday card.”

Victor lunged toward the photograph. Andrew pulled it away.

“Son, hand that to me. It concerns national security.”

“No,” Andrew said, surprising himself with the force of the word.

For thirty years he'd been the obedient heir. He'd studied business because Victor chose his school, taken a job because Victor chose his title, and smiled beside him because the company needed a friendly face. Andrew had defended his father when reporters accused Hale Defense of cutting corners. He'd never once asked whether the accusations were true.

Now Daniel watched him as if weighing a possible ally.

“The cargo was a set of unauthorized guidance modules,” Daniel explained. “My team discovered them on a supply route to a remote outpost. Somebody had substituted counterfeit electronics for the approved equipment. When we reported it, our satellite link was shut down.”

Victor shook his head. “Delusions. Trauma can distort memory.”

“Elena's husband kept copies,” Daniel said.

“Where?” Victor snapped.

Daniel didn't answer. The mistake was already made. More phones lifted. A reporter from the Richmond Ledger pushed through the guests and asked Victor why the company had quietly paid to seal multiple wrongful-death claims.

Victor turned to his event manager. “Cut the livestream.”

A second later the giant screens behind the stage went black. Andrew's phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number: DON'T LET THEM TAKE REED OUTSIDE.

He looked toward the glass doors. Three men in matching gray coats had appeared beside the exits. They weren't part of the venue security team.

Daniel noticed them too. “Elena, get behind me.”

She gave a humorless laugh. “With those crutches?”

“With whatever I've got.”

Andrew reached into his jacket for his phone. A man in gray caught his wrist.

“Mr. Hale,” the stranger murmured, “your father asked us to escort you.”

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Andrew saw a black van pull up beyond the doors.

Its sliding door opened before anyone inside got out.