“Then don't treat her like she's guilty.”
Victoria looked at him.
“You still believe people deserve the benefit of the doubt.”
“Usually.”
“That's how people get hurt.”
David shook his head.
“And assuming everyone is guilty is how people become the thing they're fighting.”
Victoria had no immediate answer.
Sophia entered holding her phone.
“Dad?”
“What is it?”
“Someone sent me a message.”
David stood.
“From who?”
“Unknown number.”
She showed him the screen.
YOUR FATHER ISN'T THE MAN YOU THINK HE IS. ASK HIM WHAT HAPPENED IN VIRGINIA.
David's face went pale.
Victoria took the phone.
“When did this arrive?”
“Just now.”
“Don't reply.”
Sophia looked at her father.
“What happened in Virginia?”
David looked away.
Victoria watched him carefully.
“David?”
He didn't answer.
Sophia's voice trembled.
“Dad, what happened?”
David finally spoke.
“Before you were born, I worked at a military airfield in Virginia. There was an accident during a restricted transport operation.”
Victoria stared at him.
“What accident?”
David looked at his sister.
“I was the last person to see one of the witnesses alive.”
“Who?”
“Major Robert Ellis.”
Victoria went still.
David continued.
“He told me that someone had falsified the flight records. I promised him I'd deliver the evidence.”
“Did you?”
David nodded.
“But the evidence disappeared before I could turn it over.”
Victoria lowered her voice.
“Where did you hide the original?”
David looked toward Sophia.
Then he said something that made Victoria's expression collapse.
“I didn't hide it.”
“Then where is it?”
David looked directly at her.
“I gave it to Mom.”
CHAPTER 6 — THE BOX BENEATH THE HOUSE
The Carter family returned to their old neighborhood under federal protection the following morning.
David insisted on going back.
He said there was something in the house that Victoria needed to see.
The house had belonged to their mother.
It was a modest two-story building with white shutters and a small garden in front. The paint was beginning to peel near the porch, but David still remembered every detail.
The old wooden swing.
The cracked flowerpot.
The narrow hallway where he and Victoria used to race each other.
He hadn't been back inside in years.
Sophia followed him through the front door.
“Is this where Grandma lived?”
“Yes.”
“Why haven't we visited?”
David paused.
“Because I couldn't.”
Victoria entered behind them.
“Let's focus.”
David gave her a tired look.
“You always were good at that.”
He walked toward the kitchen.
Then he stopped beside an old cabinet.
He pulled it away from the wall.
Behind it was a narrow wooden panel.
He pressed the lower corner.
A small latch clicked.
Victoria stared.
“You knew about this?”
“Dad showed me when I was twenty.”
David removed the panel.
Inside was a metal box.
It was old, scratched, and covered in dust.
He carefully lifted it out.
The lock had three number wheels.
Victoria watched him.
“What is the combination?”
David turned the wheels.
“Mom's birthday.”
The lock opened.