I was wrong about some of them.
There is a storage unit at the old railway depot. Unit 117. The key is enclosed.
Inside, you will find the original records I couldn't submit through official channels. Do not trust anyone who claims they can make this disappear.
Evelyn will understand what to do.
Tyler deserves the chance to understand why.
Take care of each other.
Dad.
I read the letter twice.
My father had known.
For months before his death, he had been investigating a security vulnerability in a military emergency communication system developed partly by Northstar Dynamics.
The system was designed to protect communication between military command centers during cyberattacks.
But my father had discovered that Northstar had secretly installed an unauthorized access mechanism.
Someone could potentially use it to intercept, manipulate, or disable critical communications.
He had reported the discovery.
The report disappeared.
Then his professional credentials were suspended.
He was accused of mishandling classified information.
Six months later, he died from what the official report described as a sudden cardiac event.
I had never believed the timing was innocent.
But I had never found proof of anything else.
“Mom,” I whispered, “you knew about the storage unit?”
She nodded.
“I went there once. Your father asked me to check whether it was still locked.”
“Did you open it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
She looked down.
“Because I was afraid.”
For the first time, I understood that my mother had been carrying this fear alone.
My father had protected us by keeping the investigation secret. But in doing so, he had left her with a burden she couldn't share.
I took her hand.
“You should never have had to handle this alone.”
“I didn't want either of you to get hurt.”
Behind us, Tyler spoke.
“It's too late for that.”
I turned.
He was staring at the letter.
“What do you mean?”
He swallowed.
“Chief Harris didn't come here because of a warrant.”
Reyes stepped closer.
“Explain.”
Tyler rubbed his forehead.
“Three weeks ago, a man contacted me. He said he worked with a company that had done business with Dad. He offered me money to find some old documents.”
“How much?” I asked.
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
My mother covered her mouth.
I stared at my brother.
“You sold information about Dad?”
“I didn't know what was in the documents!”
“You knew someone was looking for them.”
“I thought it was business!”
I felt anger rising, but something in his expression stopped me.
He wasn't simply ashamed.
He was terrified.
“Who contacted you?” Reyes asked.
Tyler hesitated.
Then he said a name.
“Richard Cole.”
Reyes's expression became unreadable.
He turned toward one of his agents.
“Find everything we have on Richard Cole and Northstar Dynamics.”
Then he looked at me.
“General, I think we need to move your family somewhere secure.”
I glanced at the letter.
At the brass key.
At my father's final words.
“Not yet.”
“Ma'am?”
“We're going to the storage unit.”
Reyes shook his head.
“That's precisely what they expect.”
“Then we shouldn't disappoint them.”
He studied me for several seconds.
Finally, he nodded.
“Understood.”
But before anyone could leave, Tyler said something that made the room go cold.
“There's another thing.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
“What now?”
He looked directly at me.
“The man who paid me knew your name before I ever mentioned you.”
He paused.
“He knew you were coming home.”
CHAPTER 4 – What My Brother Was Hiding
We moved my mother to a secure vehicle while the agents conducted a preliminary inspection of the house.
Tyler and I were placed in separate vehicles.
I didn't ask for it.
Reyes insisted.
He explained that everyone involved would need to provide independent statements, and that separating us would prevent accidental contamination of the investigation.
I understood the procedure.
I also understood that my brother might be involved in something much bigger than he realized.
At the temporary command post, I sat across from him in a small conference room.
Without the phone in his hand and the audience he had imagined, Tyler looked younger than twenty-eight.
He had always been the charming one in our family. The one who could turn a mistake into a joke and make Mom forgive him before he finished apologizing.
I had been the opposite.
I studied. I worked. I left.
And somewhere along the way, we had become strangers.
“Start from the beginning,” I said.
He stared at the table.
“After Dad died, things got difficult.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
His voice cracked.
“You were overseas. Mom was dealing with everything here. The bills, the funeral, the house. I was the one who stayed.”
I said nothing.
“I had debts. I made some bad decisions. Richard Cole contacted me and offered money for information about Dad's old work.”
“What information?”
“Anything I could find. Old computers, documents, photographs, even his military contacts.”
“And you agreed.”
“I thought Dad had stolen something. Cole told me the company was trying to recover its property.”
I leaned back.
“Did you believe him?”
Tyler looked at me.
“I wanted to.”
That was more honest than I expected.
He explained that Cole had paid him in installments. At first, Tyler searched through old boxes and storage cabinets.
Then Cole began asking specific questions.
Had Dad mentioned a railway storage unit?
Had he kept an old portable drive?
Had he ever spoken about a system called Sentinel?
Tyler said he hadn't known anything about Sentinel until Cole mentioned it.
Then, two days ago, Chief Harris contacted him.