But none of that mattered anymore.
Marianne Voss had just threatened Julian's daughter.
And she had done it with the confidence of someone who knew exactly where Sophie was.
"Where is she?" Julian demanded.
Mara raised one hand, signaling him to wait.
"Director Voss," she said carefully, "this call is being documented. If you have information regarding a threat against a minor, you need to disclose it immediately."
Marianne gave a soft laugh.
"Always so procedural, Mara. It's one of your most endearing qualities."
"Where is Sophie?"
"Safe, I hope."
Julian reached for the phone.
Mara hesitated for half a second before handing it to him.
"Marianne," he said, forcing himself to speak calmly. "If you've touched my daughter, there will be nowhere in this country you can hide."
"My goodness, Julian. Such anger."
"Answer the question."
"Your daughter is with people you trust. For now."
The words sent a chill through him.
He immediately called the state protection officer responsible for Sophie.
No answer.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
His heart began pounding.
"Put me in contact with her," he said into Marianne's phone.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you want something from me."
"Very perceptive."
"What do you want?"
"The original recording."
"You know I don't have it."
"Then find it."
Marianne's voice became quieter.
"Your father was a very careful man. He understood that evidence has value only when it survives. If he left something behind, you should be able to locate it."
Julian stared at the courthouse floor.
"You know what happened to my father."
"I knew Thomas Bennett better than you think."
"Then you know he was innocent."
A pause followed.
When Marianne spoke again, the warmth had vanished from her voice.
"Innocence is a complicated word, Julian. Especially when people discover things they were never supposed to know."
"You framed him."
"We made a decision."
"You destroyed his life."
"We protected the department."
Julian felt something inside him settle into a cold, unwavering determination.
"No. You protected yourselves."
Marianne sighed.
"Perhaps. But the past is not what you should be worrying about tonight."
"Then what should I worry about?"
"Your daughter."
The call ended.
For a moment, Julian remained motionless.
Then he turned toward Mara.
"Find Sophie."
Mara was already dialing.
"State protection headquarters, this is Special Investigator Mara Vega. I need an immediate status check on the protective detail assigned to Sophie Reed."
She listened.
Her face slowly changed.
"What do you mean, the team was reassigned?"
Julian stepped closer.
"When?"
Mara raised a finger, asking him to wait.
"Who authorized the reassignment?"
Another pause.
"Put your supervisor on the line. Now."
She ended the call and immediately contacted the attorney general's emergency office.
Julian watched her.
"What's happening?"
"The protection detail was redirected forty minutes ago. The official explanation was a security incident at another location."
"And Sophie?"
"They say she's still at the safe facility."
"Do you believe them?"
Mara looked at him.
"No."
Julian turned away, struggling to control the panic rising inside his chest.
He had spent years telling himself that professional discipline meant keeping emotions separate from evidence.
But Sophie was not a case file.
She was not a witness.
She was his daughter.
The only part of his life that still felt untouched by the corruption he had spent years fighting.
He took out his phone and called Claire, Elena's sister.
She answered immediately.
"Julian?"
"Is Sophie with you?"
A pause.
"What? No. I thought she was with the state officers."
His blood ran cold.
"Claire, listen carefully. Do not leave your house. Lock every door. I'm sending someone to you."
"What happened?"
"I'll explain later. Is there anyone else in the house?"
"No."
"Stay on the phone with me."
Mara moved away to speak with the state investigators.
Julian heard Claire's breathing quicken.
"Julian, you're frightening me."
"I'm sorry."
"Is Sophie in danger?"
He closed his eyes.
"I don't know yet."
For several seconds, Claire said nothing.
Then she whispered, "Find her."
"I will."
He ended the call and turned toward the nearest investigator.
"I need every available unit searching for my daughter."
The investigator nodded and began issuing orders.
Across the hallway, Gideon Shaw stopped walking.
"You should listen to Marianne," he said.
Julian turned sharply.
"Don't speak to me."
"You're making a mistake."
"You threatened my family."
"That wasn't me."
Julian stepped closer.
"You were standing in that courthouse with a gun pointed at me while your men tried to seize evidence."
Shaw's face tightened.
"I was following orders."
"Whose orders?"
Shaw said nothing.
Julian leaned forward.
"You just told me Marianne built the system. If you want to protect yourself, start telling the truth."
Shaw looked toward the investigators surrounding him.
For a moment, Julian thought he might finally confess.
Then Shaw smiled faintly.
"You're still thinking like a police investigator."
"And you're still thinking like a criminal."
Shaw's smile disappeared.
"Ask yourself one question, Reed. Why would Marianne threaten your daughter when she could simply destroy the evidence?"
Julian stared at him.
Shaw continued.
"Because the evidence is not what she wants."
"What does she want?"
"The person who knows where your father hid the rest."
Julian felt the room grow silent around him.
"What person?"
Shaw looked directly into his eyes.
"Your mother."
The words struck Julian with unexpected force.
His mother, Margaret Bennett, had died eleven years earlier. For most of his adult life, he had believed she had taken the truth about his father to her grave.
He remembered her final months in the hospital, when she had struggled to speak and had spent long periods staring through the window.
He remembered asking whether she still believed Thomas was innocent.
She had squeezed his hand.
Then she had whispered, "Your father left you more than his name."
At the time, Julian had assumed she was speaking about family honor.
Now he wondered whether she had been trying to tell him something else.
"Where is my mother's information?" he demanded.
Shaw shook his head.