The laptop went silent.
The lights returned.
Julian removed the lid.
The screen displayed a live video feed.
A man sat behind a desk in a room I did not recognize. His face was hidden in shadow. Behind him, an American flag stood beside a window, and a silver ring flashed on his hand when he folded his fingers together.
“Good evening, Ryan,” he said.
My skin turned cold.
The voice was not distorted.
It was calm, educated, older.
“You have spent the last several hours learning that your marriage was built beside secrets neither you nor your wife understood.”
Ava moved toward the laptop.
“Who are you?”
The man ignored her.
“You were presented with evidence of infidelity, fraud, coercion, surveillance, and possible violence.”
Julian leaned closer.
“Where is the original laptop?”
The man smiled faintly.
“You still believe there is an original.”
The image shifted.
A file directory appeared.
Hundreds of folders covered the screen.
Each carried a name.
Some I recognized immediately.
Executives from my company.
A county commissioner.
A local judge.
Two police officers.
Julian’s employer.
Ava’s father.
My own name.
The folder bearing my name opened.
Inside were photographs taken throughout my life.
College graduation.
My first job.
My wedding.
The day Ava and I bought the house.
Images no stranger should have possessed.
The man spoke again.
“You were not selected because of what you did.”
A document appeared.
It was the compliance report I had submitted six weeks earlier about the suspicious consulting companies.
“You were selected because of what you noticed.”
I stared at the screen.
“You could have contacted me directly.”
“We did.”
“When?”
“The first warning appeared in your wife’s suitcase.”
Ava shook her head.
“That was not a warning. I was told to put those things there.”
The man finally looked at her.
“No, Mrs. Marshall. A man claiming to represent us told you.”
Her face tightened.
“What?”
“You never verified his identity.”
“He knew about my father.”
“Many people knew about your father.”
Brooke leaned closer.
“Is our father alive?”
The man paused.
“Yes.”
Both sisters froze.
Ava whispered, “Where?”
“That depends on what you call alive.”
Brooke began to cry again.
Julian struck the counter with his palm.
“Enough. What do you want?”
The man looked at him.
“You already gave us what we wanted.”
“What?”
“Proof that you would abandon the hotel after discovering the signatures were forged.”
Julian went silent.
Ava looked at him.
“You were tested too.”
“All of you were.”
I looked at the names on the screen.
“What happens now?”
The man folded his hands again.
“Now Ryan decides whether to expose the network or protect the people who deceived him.”
A red icon appeared.
UPLOAD READY.
“Upload what?” I asked.
“Everything.”
“To whom?”