Chapter Six — The Flash Drive
The interview room fell silent.
Vanessa Brooks stared at the flash drive lying on the metal table as though it were a live grenade.
Detective Marcus Bennett didn't touch it.
Instead, he studied her face.
"You understand that stealing evidence from Nathan Carter could make you a target."
Vanessa gave a hollow laugh.
"I've been a target ever since Olivia survived."
Gabriel Hayes remained standing near the window.
His instincts told him she wasn't lying.
But after months of helping Nathan deceive his wife, trust would have to be earned.
Bennett slid a legal form across the table.
"If you cooperate fully, the district attorney may consider it."
Vanessa nodded.
"I'll tell you everything."
An hour later, forensic technicians copied the contents of the flash drive.
A folder appeared on the screen.
PROJECT PHOENIX
Another folder.
WHITMORE TRUST
Then another.
PRIVATE
Lisa Moreno frowned.
"This wasn't hidden."
Gabriel looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"It wasn't encrypted."
"It was organized."
"Almost like..."
She hesitated.
"...Nathan expected someone to find it one day."
She opened the first folder.
Hundreds of financial records appeared.
Wire transfers.
Offshore accounts.
Fake construction invoices.
Payments routed through shell corporations in three different countries.
Detective Bennett whistled softly.
"This alone could send him to prison."
Gabriel shook his head.
"Keep looking."
Inside the PRIVATE folder was a collection of audio recordings.
Each file carried only a date.
Lisa clicked the newest one.
Nathan's voice filled the room.
"She still refuses to sign."
Another voice answered.
Vanessa's.
"What if she never does?"
Nathan laughed quietly.
"Everyone signs eventually."
"And if she doesn't?"
A pause.
Then six words that froze everyone in the room.
"Then she'll never leave that courthouse."
No one spoke.
Lisa stopped the recording.
Vanessa covered her face.
"I didn't think..."
"I thought he meant..."
Her voice broke.
"I didn't think he meant murder."
Gabriel looked directly at her.
"What did you think he meant?"
"A custody fight."
"A scandal."
"Anything except..."
She couldn't finish the sentence.
At the hospital, Olivia slowly began physical therapy.
Every step hurt.
Every movement reminded her of the marble staircase.
A therapist supported her elbow.
"One more."
Olivia forced herself forward.
Another step.
Then another.
Halfway across the rehabilitation room, applause erupted.
She looked up.
The nurses were smiling.
Even Dr. Amelia Brooks clapped quietly.
"You just walked twenty feet."
Olivia laughed through tears.
"It felt like twenty miles."
As she sat down to rest, Dr. Brooks handed her an envelope.
"It arrived this morning."
"There wasn't a return address."
Olivia opened it carefully.
Inside was a single photograph.
She frowned.
It showed Nathan.
Standing beside another woman.
Not Vanessa.
The picture had been taken nearly eight years earlier.
On the back, someone had written three words.
Ask about Rachel.
Across town, Nathan's attorney entered the county jail interview room.
Nathan had been brought in for questioning after the search warrants were executed.
He looked exhausted.
The attorney sat down.
"We've got another problem."
Nathan smiled bitterly.
"Only one?"
He slid the photograph across the table.
"Recognize her?"
Nathan's expression changed instantly.
"...Where did you get this?"
"It was mailed anonymously to Olivia."
Nathan leaned back.
"No..."
The attorney lowered his voice.
"Who is Rachel Monroe?"
Nathan remained silent.
"You need to answer me."
Still nothing.
The attorney stared at him.
"Nathan..."
"Did she disappear?"
Nathan slowly closed his eyes.
The silence itself became the answer.
Gabriel received the same photograph an hour later.
He immediately searched Rachel Monroe's name.
One result caught his attention.
Missing Person Report
Seven years old.
Status:
Never Solved.
Rachel Monroe.
Age twenty-nine.
Former accountant for Carter Development.
Last seen leaving company headquarters on a Friday evening.
Never seen again.
Gabriel looked toward Detective Bennett.
"Who handled the investigation?"
Bennett checked the old case file.
His face tightened.
"The lead detective retired."
"But that's not the interesting part."
"What is?"
"The case was closed..."
"...three weeks after Nathan testified."
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
"Reopen it."
That evening, news spread that federal prosecutors had expanded their investigation.
Not just into financial crimes.
But into a cold case disappearance connected to Carter Development.
Nathan watched the headlines from the holding room.
For the first time since his arrest, genuine fear replaced arrogance.
He whispered to himself,
"No..."
"They weren't supposed to find Rachel."
Meanwhile, Olivia sat alone in her hospital room.
She couldn't stop staring at the photograph.
Rachel looked happy.
Young.
Full of life.
She wondered why someone wanted her to see this woman.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
Gabriel entered carrying coffee.
"You've seen it."
Olivia nodded.
"Who is she?"
Gabriel sat beside her.
"I think..."
"...she may have discovered something about Nathan years before you did."
Olivia looked at the smiling face in the photograph.
"You think she's dead."
Gabriel answered honestly.
"I don't know."
"But if she's alive..."
"...she may be the witness who finally destroys him."
Late that night...
A woman sat alone inside a small cabin deep in the mountains nearly two hundred miles away.
The television flickered with coverage of Nathan Carter's arrest.
She reached up and touched the long scar running across the side of her face.
On the coffee table lay an old driver's license.
The name read:
Rachel Monroe.
She whispered to herself,
"It's finally time."
May you like
Then she reached for her phone...
...and dialed the number of Special Prosecutor Gabriel Hayes.
