Michael stood.
"Do you still have the address?"
Thomas walked toward a small cabinet.
He searched through several old folders before finding a business card.
"Here."
Michael examined it.
The address belonged to a storage facility on the outskirts of Manhattan.
"Why didn't you go there before?"
Thomas looked tired.
"Because I thought Richard would eventually tell me everything. But he died before I could ask him."
Michael placed the card in his pocket.
"We're going tomorrow."
Thomas nodded.
But before they could discuss anything else, the doorbell rang.
Michael opened the door.
A young woman stood outside.
She appeared to be in her late twenties. Her clothes were simple, and she carried a folder against her chest.
"Good evening. Is this Mr. Thomas Bennett's home?"
Thomas approached the entrance.
"Yes. Can I help you?"
The woman looked at him carefully.
"My name is Sarah Cole."
Thomas froze.
"Sarah?"
She nodded.
"I'm Richard Cole's daughter."
Michael stepped forward.
"Why are you here?"
Sarah looked at the two men.
"Because my father left something for you."
She opened the folder.
Inside was a small flash drive and a handwritten note.
"My father gave me these documents shortly before he died. He told me that if Thomas Bennett ever returned to Sterling Global, I should deliver them personally."
Thomas took the note with trembling hands.
Sarah continued.
"He also told me something else."
"What?" Michael asked.
She looked directly at him.
"He said that the person who destroyed the original safety records was still working at Sterling Global."
Michael felt his stomach tighten.
"Do you know who?"
Sarah shook her head.
"No. But my father left evidence."
She handed him the flash drive.
"Please be careful. Whoever hid those documents may still be powerful enough to make them disappear again."
Michael looked at his father.
Thomas's eyes were filled with fear.
For the first time, Michael understood that the past was not finished haunting their family.
It had simply been waiting for someone to uncover it.
The next morning, Michael, Thomas, and Sarah met in a private conference room.
James Whitmore joined them with a secure laptop.
Michael placed the flash drive on the table.
"Can we access it safely?"
James nodded.
"We'll examine it without connecting it to the company's internal network."
He inserted the device.
Several folders appeared.
The first contained old photographs of trucks, maintenance reports, and handwritten notes.
The second contained financial documents.
The third was labeled:
PROJECT NORTHSTAR β CONFIDENTIAL.
James opened it.
A scanned maintenance report appeared.
He read the first page carefully.
Then he stopped.
"Mr. Bennett, you need to see this."
Michael leaned forward.
The report showed that the truck involved in Daniel's accident had failed two separate safety inspections.
Both reports recommended that the vehicle be removed from service immediately.
But the final authorization had been changed.
The vehicle had been cleared for operation.
Michael examined the signature.
It belonged to a senior operations manager named Victor Hale.
"Who was Victor Hale?"
Thomas answered.
"He worked for the company that managed Richard's transportation contracts."
James opened another document.
"There's more."
A payment record showed that Victor Hale had received money from a private consulting company shortly after the accident.
Michael frowned.
"Who owned the consulting company?"
James searched the registration records.
His expression changed.
"It was registered under a company controlled by Daniel Reeves."
Michael looked up.
"Victoria's consultant?"
James nodded.
Sarah became pale.
"That can't be right."
Michael examined the date.
The payments had continued for several months after Daniel's death.
Then he found another document.
It was a letter addressed to Richard Cole.
The issue has been handled. No further investigation is necessary. The original reports have been removed from the archive.
At the bottom was a signature.
Victor Hale.
But beneath it was a second name.
Victoria Harrington.
Michael stared at the screen.
"Victoria?"
James nodded slowly.
"She wasn't an executive at the time, but she worked as a junior financial analyst for one of the companies involved."
Thomas closed his eyes.
"She knew."
Michael turned toward him.
"She knew about Daniel?"
Thomas nodded sadly.
"Perhaps not everything. But she knew the reports existed."
Sarah began crying.
"My father spent the last years of his life trying to correct this."
Michael looked at her.
"He left us the evidence."
James continued examining the files.
"There is another document. It appears to be a list of people involved in concealing the reports."
He opened it.
Three names appeared.
Victor Hale.
Daniel Reeves.
Victoria Harrington.
Michael leaned back.
For several seconds, he could not speak.
He thought about the way Victoria had treated his father.
The humiliation in the lobby.
The anonymous complaint.
The suspicious transfers.