"What does that mean?"
"It means someone knows what you've discovered."
Daniel showed him the photograph.
Hayes stared at it.
For the first time, he seemed genuinely surprised.
"Where did you get this?"
"My brother sent it."
"Michael?"
Daniel nodded.
Hayes stepped backward.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"Because Michael Reed has been missing for five years."
Daniel looked at him.
"Apparently, not anymore."
Claire entered the room.
"What's happening?"
Daniel hesitated.
Then he showed her the photograph.
She studied it.
"Your brother is alive?"
"That's what I believe."
Claire looked at Hayes.
"Did you know?"
The captain didn't answer.
Daniel became angry.
"Why does everyone in this department know something about my family except me?"
Hayes approached him.
"Because your brother was involved in something extremely dangerous."
"What?"
"He helped Emily Morgan escape."
The room went silent.
Daniel slowly lowered his phone.
"My brother knew Emily?"
Hayes nodded.
"Five years ago, he discovered evidence that she might still be alive. He tried to contact her, but the operation was compromised."
"Who compromised it?"
Hayes looked toward Claire.
"Someone working for Evelyn Blackwood."
Daniel sat down.
His entire understanding of his brother's disappearance had just collapsed.
Michael had not abandoned him.
He had been trying to protect someone.
And now someone wanted Daniel to bring an original file to East Bridge.
Claire stepped closer.
"You're not going alone."
Daniel looked at her.
"That's exactly what the message says."
"And you think following instructions from an unknown person is a good idea?"
He shook his head.
"No."
"Then we do this properly."
Hayes immediately objected.
"Nobody is going anywhere until we understand what this is."
Claire looked at him.
"Then perhaps you should finally tell us everything."
Hayes said nothing.
And that silence was becoming more dangerous than any threat they had received.
At seven the following morning, Daniel received permission to examine the original evidence inventory.
Captain Hayes accompanied him.
Claire followed closely behind.
They entered the evidence room through a secured door.
Rows of metal shelves stretched across the basement, each containing boxes from old investigations.
The air was cold, and the fluorescent lights flickered occasionally.
Daniel checked the inventory number from the courthouse documents.
"Evidence Vault Nine."
Hayes approached a cabinet.
He entered a security code.
The lock clicked.
Inside were several boxes.
One bore Emily Morgan's case number.
Claire immediately reached for it.
"Careful," Daniel warned.
She nodded.
They opened the container.
Inside were photographs, witness statements, an old mobile phone, and a small notebook.
Claire recognized the notebook immediately.
It belonged to Emily.
She turned the pages carefully.
At first, they contained ordinary notes about meetings, phone numbers, and appointments.
Then the handwriting became hurried.
Someone inside the department is helping Evelyn.
Father knows who it is.
Marcus told me not to trust the captain.
Claire stopped.
"Marcus warned her about Hayes."
Daniel looked at the captain.
Hayes appeared uncomfortable.
"Keep reading," he said.
The next page contained a list of dates.
Several matched the dates of suspicious financial transfers.
One name appeared repeatedly.
ARTHUR BENNETT.
Daniel looked up.
"Chief Bennett?"
Hayes nodded slowly.
"Yes."
The current chief of police had been connected to the investigation from the beginning.
Claire turned another page.
A small photograph fell from the notebook.
It showed Emily standing beside a man outside a restaurant.
Daniel recognized him.
"That's Marcus Cole."
Claire picked up the photograph.
On the back was a handwritten message.
If anything happens to me, find the man who carries the second key.
"What does that mean?" Daniel asked.
Hayes shook his head.
"I don't know."
Claire examined the photograph again.
Then she noticed something.
Marcus was wearing a watch.
The same watch appeared in another photograph inside the box.
But in the second photograph, he was standing beside Chief Bennett.
The images had been taken on the same day.
"Look at the dates," Claire said.
Daniel compared them.
The photographs were taken less than two hours apart.
"Marcus was meeting both of them."
Hayes looked toward the door.
"We need to leave."
Claire frowned.
"Why?"
"Because this room is no longer secure."
Before she could respond, Daniel noticed a small cassette tape beneath the notebook.
He inserted it into a portable player.
A woman's voice emerged.
It was Emily.
"If you're listening to this, the investigation has reached the wrong people. Thomas was killed because he discovered the payment records."
Claire closed her eyes.
She knew that voice.
It was the same voice she had heard in the earlier recording.
Emily continued.
"I know who ordered it. But I cannot reveal the name until the original ledger is recovered."
There was a pause.
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
"The person who killed our father is not Evelyn Blackwood."
The recording ended.
Daniel looked at Hayes.
"Who is it?"
Hayes didn't answer.
Claire turned toward him.
"You know."
The captain slowly sat down.
"I know who helped conceal the murder."
"Then tell us."
Hayes looked at the evidence box.
"You're not going to like the answer."
Claire stepped closer.
"I stopped expecting answers to be pleasant a long time ago."
Hayes raised his eyes.
"The person who ordered your father's death was someone inside this department."
Daniel waited.
Hayes finally whispered:
"Chief Arthur Bennett."
Before anyone could respond, the evidence room alarm sounded.
A red light flashed above the entrance.
Daniel checked the security panel.
Someone had attempted to open the vault remotely.
Then the system displayed a warning.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED.
The captain reached for his radio.
But another message appeared on the screen.
EVIDENCE VAULT NINE WILL BE PURGED IN SIXTY SECONDS.
Daniel stared at the countdown.
Someone was trying to destroy everything.
And they were doing it from inside the police network.
The alarm continued to sound as Daniel tried to stop the remote purge.
"Get the evidence out!" he shouted.
Claire grabbed Emily's notebook while Hayes collected the photographs.
Daniel worked rapidly on the security panel.
Thirty seconds remained.
The system refused his authorization.
"Captain, I need your access code!"
Hayes entered it.
The screen turned green for a moment.
Then the countdown stopped.
The three of them stood silently.
Whoever had attempted to destroy the evidence had failed.
But the message was clear.
They were being watched.
Later that evening, Claire returned to her apartment.