It showed William Reed standing beside Elijah Carter.
The photograph was dated October 20, 2019.
Three days after the shooting.
Marcus turned it over.
There was another handwritten note.
ELIJAH IS ALIVE. THE ORIGINAL PHONE IS NOT THE ONLY COPY.
Laura opened a second envelope.
Inside was a list of names.
At the top was Richard Coleman.
Below him was Robert Sullivan.
Then Daniel Hayes.
But the final name was different.
JAMES WHITMORE.
The commissioner.
Next to his name was a handwritten note:
AUTHORIZED THE OPERATION. APPROVED THE PAYMENT. ORDERED THE COVER-UP.
Laura looked at Marcus.
"We have him."
But Marcus wasn't looking at the list.
He was examining a small photograph at the bottom of the box.
It showed a hospital corridor.
His father stood beside a young man sitting in a wheelchair.
Elijah.
And behind them was another person.
A woman wearing a nurse's uniform.
Marcus recognized her.
Sarah Carter.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
YOU FOUND WHAT YOUR FATHER LEFT BEHIND. NOW FIND WHAT HE COULDN'T SAVE.
A second message followed.
It contained a photograph of Elijah Carter.
He was sitting inside a room with his hands tied.
Underneath the photograph were four words.
WE HAVE YOUR WITNESS.
Marcus immediately called Sarah.
No answer.
He called the federal investigators.
Then he looked at Laura.
"Where is Elijah?"
Laura shook her head.
"I thought he was with the investigators."
Marcus stared at the photograph.
The truth was finally within reach.
But the man whose survival could destroy the entire conspiracy had disappeared.
And this time, Marcus wasn't going to let history repeat itself.
The rain started just before midnight.
Marcus stood outside the abandoned warehouse, staring at the photograph on his phone.
Elijah Carter was alive.
But someone had taken him.
Laura was beside him, trying to trace the number that had sent the message.
"Give me a minute," she said.
"We don't have a minute."
"I know, Marcus. But if you rush into this without knowing where they are, you're going to get yourself killed."
He turned toward her.
"They took Sarah. They took Elijah. How much longer do you expect me to wait?"
Laura closed her laptop.
"Listen to me. Your father spent years collecting this evidence. If we lose it now, everything he did will be meaningless."
Marcus looked back at the warehouse.
"My father is dead. Elijah is missing. Sarah is missing. And the people responsible are still walking around with badges."
His voice broke slightly.
"I'm tired of waiting."
Laura placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Then let's make sure we don't waste the chance he gave us."
They returned to the warehouse and examined the remaining documents.
One of the files contained a series of financial transactions between Blackridge Security Solutions and several individuals connected to the police department.
Another contained a handwritten map.
Marcus spread it across the table.
It showed an industrial property outside the city.
The address was familiar.
The old training facility.
The building had been closed after a fire in 2021.
According to official reports, the fire had destroyed several rooms containing archived police equipment.
But William Reed had written something beside the address.
THE LAST MEETING PLACE.
Marcus stared at the words.
"That's where they held the meetings."
Laura examined the map.
"How do you know?"
"My father marked the location. Look at the dates."
There were three dates written beneath the address.
October 17, 2019.
November 4, 2020.
March 12, 2021.
The final date was the day Thomas Walker had supposedly died.
Marcus felt a chill.
"They never stopped meeting there."
Laura called the federal investigators and explained what they had found.
They promised to send a team.
But Marcus knew that every minute mattered.
He decided to go ahead.
Laura refused to let him go alone.
The old training facility stood beyond a row of abandoned factories.
Its exterior walls were blackened from the fire.
The windows were covered with metal sheets, and the main entrance was secured with a heavy chain.
Marcus and Laura entered through a damaged service door.
Inside, the building was strangely clean.
Someone had been using it.
There were fresh tire marks on the concrete floor, new electrical cables, and several empty water bottles.
Laura whispered.
"Someone's been here recently."
Marcus nodded.
They moved toward the main hall.
A light was visible beneath one of the doors.
Then they heard a voice.
"You're sure he's coming?"
Marcus recognized it.
Daniel Hayes.
Another voice responded.
"Reed always comes when someone threatens the people he cares about."
It was Commissioner Whitmore.
Marcus looked at Laura.
She raised her phone and began recording.
They moved closer.
Through a narrow opening, Marcus saw a large room containing several chairs and a metal table.
Sarah was sitting against the wall.
Her hands were tied.
Elijah sat beside her.
He looked exhausted, but alive.
Across from them stood Hayes and Sullivan.
Whitmore was speaking into his phone.
"Everything needs to be finished tonight."
A voice came from the telephone.
"Are you sure about the evidence?"
Whitmore replied.
"All of it. Including the original archive."
Marcus felt his jaw tighten.
They were planning to destroy everything.
Then Whitmore said something that made him stop breathing.
"And if Reed shows up, we deal with him the same way we dealt with his father."
Marcus stepped backward.
His father hadn't simply died.
Someone might have killed him.
A floorboard creaked beneath Laura's foot.
Inside the room, Hayes immediately turned.
"Who's there?"
Marcus drew his weapon.
"Police! Drop your weapons!"
The room erupted into chaos.
Hayes reached for his gun.
Sullivan shouted.
Whitmore ran toward the rear exit.