Victoria's voice became harder.
“He didn't abandon his post, Admiral. Someone made sure he never came home.”
Eleanor looked at her husband.
“Charles?”
He remained silent.
Victoria reached into her jacket and removed a photograph.
She held it out.
It showed a smiling man in a naval uniform standing beside a little girl.
The photograph was old.
The little girl looked about eight years old.
Victoria stared at it for a moment before placing it on the table.
“That was my father.”
The room seemed to shrink around her words.
Agent Collins watched her carefully.
Victoria continued.
“My father served in the United States Navy for twenty-six years. He taught me discipline, integrity, and the importance of keeping your word.”
She looked at Charles.
“He disappeared because he refused to participate in something illegal.”
Charles finally spoke.
“Your father was a troubled man.”
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
“Careful.”
“He was under investigation for misconduct.”
“According to a report written by the same people who were investigated for stealing the files he discovered.”
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“I know he called me the night he disappeared.”
Charles went quiet.
Victoria's fingers tightened around the photograph.
“He told me to stay with my aunt. He said someone would come looking for him, and that I should never believe anyone who said he had run away.”
She looked directly at Charles.
“He was right.”
Eleanor stared at her.
“Your father was James Parker?”
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.”
Eleanor slowly turned toward her husband.
“You told me that case had been closed.”
Charles's expression darkened.
“It was.”
Victoria answered:
“Because you closed it.”
A low murmur spread through the room.
Charles stepped toward her.
“You have no idea what you're accusing me of.”
Victoria remained perfectly still.
“Then you should have no trouble answering questions.”
The Message
Agent Collins received another notification.
He read it.
Then his expression changed.
Victoria noticed.
“What is it?”
Collins turned his phone toward her.
A photograph had arrived.
It showed a small office with a desk, a computer, and a wall covered in naval documents.
Someone had written a message across the photograph:
SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER FATHER.
Victoria stared at the screen.
“Where did this come from?”
“An encrypted source.”
“Can you trace it?”
“We're working on that.”
Another notification appeared.
This time, it contained a short sentence.
ASK CHARLES ABOUT THE SECOND FILE.
Victoria looked at the admiral.
“What's the second file?”
Charles didn't answer.
Collins stepped closer.
“Admiral, I suggest you cooperate.”
Charles looked toward the ballroom doors.
Then toward the stage.
Then toward Eleanor.
Finally, he spoke.
“There is no second file.”
Victoria watched him.
“You answered too quickly.”
“Because the answer is simple.”
“No. Because you knew the question was coming.”
Charles's face hardened.
“You think this is some kind of victory?”
Victoria didn't answer.
He stepped closer.
“You have spent years building a case against me. You have convinced yourself that every unexplained event is part of some grand conspiracy.”
Victoria's expression remained cold.
“Then explain why my father's name was removed from the personnel database.”
“He resigned.”
“His signature was forged.”
“He submitted the paperwork.”
“The handwriting analysis says otherwise.”
Charles looked away.
Victoria continued.
“Explain why his retirement benefits were redirected to an account in another state.”
“I don't know.”
“Explain why the surveillance footage outside his apartment was deleted.”
“I don't know.”
“Explain why three officers who interviewed him were transferred within forty-eight hours.”
Charles said nothing.
Victoria stepped closer.
“And explain why you personally signed the order that classified his disappearance as voluntary.”