Chapter 8: The Drive My Mother Left Behind
The red light on the tiny metal drive blinked once.
Then twice.
My phone was still pressed against my ear.
The call had ended, but I could hear the man's voice in my head.
The man your mother trusted before she trusted your father.
I looked at General Grant.
“Sir…”
He took the drive from my hand.
“Don't connect this to anything yet.””
Brooke stepped closer.
“What is it?””
“A storage device,” Grant said.
My father stared at it.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“You recognize it.””
He shook his head too quickly.
“No.””
“Dad.””
“I don't.””
General Grant studied his face.
“Richard, you've seen this before.””
My father closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
The admission hit me harder than anything else.
“Where?””
He looked at me.
“Your mother had one.””
“How long have you known?””
“I saw it once.””
“When?””
“The night she died.””
The room seemed to narrow around us.
“You said you never knew where the ledger was.””
“I didn't.””
“You knew she had this.””
“I didn't know what was on it.””
“Then why were you afraid when you saw it?””
My father looked at the blinking light.
“Because your mother told me that if someone ever found the drive, it meant they had found us.””
A chill moved through me.
“Us?””
He swallowed.
“Everyone involved.””
General Grant stepped closer.
“Cadet, give me the device.””
I handed it over.
He studied the casing.
“This predates modern academy encryption.””
“What does that mean?””
“It means whatever is on here was created a long time ago.””
Brooke looked frightened.
“Can you open it?””
Grant nodded.
“Eventually.””
“Not here,” Colonel Mercer said.
Everyone turned.
He was looking toward the corridor.
“We've got movement.””
Harris appeared behind him.
“Sir, security found two more disabled cameras.””
Grant's face tightened.
“Where?””
“Near the command archives.””
Dad whispered, “They're still searching.””
“For the drive,” I said.
“Probably.””
I looked at Brooke.
“Then Sandra knows about it.””
Brooke's face went pale.
“She told me never to touch the blue box.””
My heart stopped.
“When?””
“Years ago.””
“How many?””
“I don't know. Maybe three.””
“What exactly did she say?””
Brooke hugged herself.
“She said it belonged to someone who was dead, and some things should stay buried.””
I stared at her.
“Did you know it belonged to Mom?””
“No.””
“Did Dad?””
Brooke looked at him.
“No.””
My father looked away.
Grant stepped toward the door.
“We need a secure location.””
He turned to Harris.
“Take the drive to forensic analysis.””
“Yes, sir.””
“Use an isolated system.””
“Yes.””
“And nobody accesses the archive again without my authorization.””
Harris nodded.
Then he noticed the photograph in my hand.
“What is that?””
I gave it to him.
His eyes widened.
“That's Vance.””
“That's what Dad said.””
Harris turned the photograph over.
His expression changed.
“This handwriting…”
“What?””
“I've seen it before.””
Grant took the photograph.
“Where?””
“In the old investigation notes.””
He looked at me.
“There's a possibility your mother wasn't merely a witness.””
I frowned.
“What else could she have been?””
Grant's eyes moved to the photograph.
“A source.””
“A source for who?””
He didn't answer.
Before I could ask, the building lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went dark.
Brooke gasped.
A second later, emergency lights came on.
Red.
Dim.
The corridor looked completely different.
“Stay behind me,” Mercer ordered.
We heard footsteps.
Not one person.
Several.
Coming from the west corridor.
Grant raised a hand.
Everyone stopped.
The footsteps slowed.
Then a voice called through the darkness.
“Emma.””
My entire body froze.
I knew that voice.
Sandra.
“Emma, sweetheart, don't trust them.””
My father stepped toward the corridor.
“Sandra?””
Grant stopped him.
“Stay back.””
Sandra appeared beneath the emergency light.
She wasn't wearing the coat from the security footage.
She was in the same clothes she had worn during graduation.
Her hair was wet.
Her face was pale.
And there was blood on her sleeve.
Brooke cried out.
“Mom!””
Sandra's eyes found her.
“Brooke, come here.””
Brooke didn't move.
“What happened to you?””
Sandra looked down at her arm.
“It's not mine.””
My father stared at her.
“Where have you been?””
She ignored him.
Her eyes stayed on me.
“Emma, you have to listen to me.””
I tightened my grip on the photograph.
“You were in the archive.””
“No.””
“We saw you.””
“You saw someone who looked like me.””
“Security identified you.””
Sandra shook her head.
“They don't know what they're looking at.””
General Grant stepped forward.
“Then explain.””
Sandra looked at him.
“You're Michael Grant.””
“Yes.””
“I've been waiting for you.””
Grant's expression hardened.
“For what?””
“For someone to finally believe me.””
I stared at her.
“You know my mother.””
“Yes.””
“Were you with her the night she died?””
Sandra's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.””
My father closed his eyes.
I felt like the floor had disappeared.
“You were there?””
“I tried to help her.””
“Then why did you marry my father?””
Sandra looked at him.
“Because he was the only person who knew where you were.””
My heart stopped.
“What does that mean?””
She stepped toward me.
“Your mother knew they were watching you.””
“Who?””
“The same people who are looking for that drive.””
“Vance?””
Sandra shook her head.
“Vance was only one piece.””
Grant exchanged a glance with Mercer.
“Who was above him?””
Sandra looked toward the security cameras.
“The people who controlled the contracts.””
“Names.””
She swallowed.
“There were three.””
“Who?””
“An academy procurement chief. A defense contractor. And someone in federal oversight.””
My father spoke.
“You never told me this.””
Sandra looked at him.
“You never asked.””
“I asked you every day.””
“You asked whether you were safe.””
His face fell.
“And I was?””
“No.””
The silence was brutal.
I stepped forward.
“Why did you let me believe you hated me?””
Sandra's face crumpled.
“Because I needed you to hate me.””
I stared.
“What?””
“If you loved me, you would trust me.””
“And?””
“They were watching you.””
“Who?””
She looked directly at General Grant.
“Someone inside this building.””
Grant's expression became cold.
“Are you saying there is a traitor in my command?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Sandra shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Then why should I believe you?””
She reached into her purse.
My whole body tensed.
Mercer moved instantly.
“Slowly.””
Sandra pulled out a folded document.
She held it toward me.
“Your mother wrote this.””
I took it.
The handwriting was hers.
My hands trembled as I unfolded it.
There were only a few lines.
*Emma,*
*If Sandra ever gives you this, it means Richard failed to keep you away from the people who wanted the ledger.*
*Do not blame her.*
*She saved you once.*
My eyes moved to the final line.
*The person you call Father is not the man who raised you.*
I stopped breathing.
I read it again.
Then again.
The words didn't change.
I looked at Dad.
He was staring at the floor.
“Dad?””
He didn't answer.
My voice cracked.
“What does this mean?””
He whispered,
“Your mother didn't tell me everything.””
“That isn't an answer.””
“I know.””
“Then tell me!””
He looked at me.
Tears were running down his face.
“I am your father.””
Sandra shook her head.
“Biologically?””
He said nothing.
I felt sick.
“Am I your daughter?””
“Yes.””
Sandra interrupted.
“Biologically, no.””
The room went silent.
I looked at her.
Then at Dad.
Then back at her.
“What did you say?””
Sandra took a breath.
“Your mother was pregnant when she met Richard.””
Dad closed his eyes.
“You were born while we were married,” he said.
My knees almost gave out.
“But that doesn't mean…”
My voice failed.
Grant caught my arm.
Sandra continued.
“Your biological father was an officer.””
“Who?””
She looked toward the drive in Grant's hand.
“The man whose name is on those records.””
My heart pounded.
“Thomas Vance?””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“Not Vance.””
Then she looked at me with an expression that made my blood run cold.
“Your biological father was the man who recruited Vance.””
Dad whispered, “Sandra, stop.””
She turned on him.
“You've lied for eleven years.””
“I was protecting her.””
“You were protecting yourself.””
I stared at them.
“What's his name?””
Neither answered.
“Tell me.””
Sandra's eyes filled with tears.
Finally, she said,
“General Michael Grant knows.””
I turned toward him.
He had gone completely still.
“Sir?””
He looked at me.
His face held something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for me.
“Emma,” he said quietly, “there are things your mother deliberately kept from you.””
I could barely breathe.
“Did you know my father?””
He didn't answer.
“Did you know him?””
Grant's jaw tightened.
Then he whispered,
“Yes.””
Dad stepped forward.
“General, don't.””
Grant ignored him.
I stared at the commandant.
“Who is he?””
The emergency lights flickered again.
Grant looked toward the corridor.
Then back at me.
And before he could speak, the isolated computer room door burst open.
Harris stumbled out.
His face was white.
“General!””
Grant turned.
“What happened?””
Harris held up a secure tablet.
“The drive just decrypted itself.””
Everyone froze.
“That's impossible,” Mercer said.
Harris shook his head.
“It opened with biometric recognition.””
“Whose?”” Grant demanded.
Harris looked at me.
“Cadet Lawson's.””
My blood turned cold.
The screen displayed a single video file.
A date appeared.
*August 14 — Eleven Years Ago.*
Then my mother's face appeared.
She looked directly into the camera.
And she said,
“Emma, if you're watching this, your father has finally told you the first lie.””
The screen went black.
May you like
Then one final sentence appeared.
*Ask General Grant why he was at our house the night I died.*
