“The choice still matters to them.”
“Only because they want to know whether I obey.”
I carried the drive to my office and connected it to my old desktop computer. A password prompt appeared. Ava tried her father’s birthday, Brooke’s birthday, their childhood address, and three numbers from the old company records.
All failed.
The timer reached twenty-four minutes.
I stared at the initials on the file.
RJM.
My initials.
I typed the date I had submitted my first compliance report.
The drive unlocked.
Ava stared at me.
“How did you know?”
“They didn’t build this for you.”
Four folders appeared.
AVA.
BROOKE.
JULIAN.
RYAN.
I opened mine.
Inside was video from earlier that evening.
It showed me finding the hidden compartment in Ava’s suitcase.
The camera angle came from the smoke detector above the hallway.
They had been watching live.
I opened Ava’s folder.
There were photographs, messages, hotel receipts, recordings of her conversations with Julian. Some proved the affair. Others showed her resisting instructions. One video showed her alone in a hotel bathroom, crying while a message on her phone ordered her to complete the transfer.
Brooke turned away.
Ava looked at the floor.
Julian’s folder contained financial records and voice messages from an older man. One ordered him to gain Ava’s trust. Another warned him that refusing would expose his younger brother’s involvement in a pharmacy theft case.
Julian listened without expression.
“You never told me about a brother,” Ava said.
“He died in prison last year.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So am I.”
Brooke’s folder contained almost nothing.
Only one audio file.
Her voice played from the speakers.
“I’ll bring the folder to Ryan’s house Friday night,” she said.
Brooke froze.
“That happened this morning.”
I looked at her.
“You knew you were coming before I called?”
“No.”
The recording continued.
A man asked, “Will Ava suspect you?”
Brooke’s voice answered, “She always suspects me.”
Ava stood slowly.
“Brooke.”
“That is not what I said.”
Her own voice continued.
“When Ryan sees the photograph, he’ll believe Ava is the danger.”
Julian paused the recording.
Everyone looked at Brooke.
She backed toward the wall.
“It’s fake.”
Ava stepped closer.
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“You arrived with the exact folder they needed him to see.”
“Because you left copies at Mom’s house.”
“I never left anything at Mom’s.”
Brooke’s face changed.
Barely.
But enough.
Ava whispered, “Where did you really get the folder?”
Brooke’s eyes filled.
“I found it.”
“Where?”
“In Dad’s storage unit.”
Ava stared at her.
“Dad didn’t have a storage unit.”
“He did.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he called me.”
The room became silent.
Ava’s lips parted.
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“You knew Dad might be alive?”
“I didn’t know. I thought it was a scam.”
“But you went.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because the man on the phone said you were responsible for Dad’s disappearance.”