Chapter 12 - THE SECRET HIDDEN IN A CHILD'S TOY
The stuffed bear was small, faded, and missing one plastic eye.
Ethan held it carefully.
“I used to sleep with this every night.”
He smiled sadly.
“Dad tried to replace it once. I cried for three hours.”
Nathan managed a faint smile.
“I remember.”
Ethan looked at me.
“Do you remember it?”
I shook my head.
“No. You were taken when you were a baby.”
His smile disappeared.
For a moment, grief settled between us.
Then I touched the bear's worn fabric.
“My mother might have held this.”
Ethan nodded.
“Maybe.”
We handed it to Investigator Brooks, who arranged for the item to be examined by a forensic specialist.
Inside the bear's lining, technicians discovered a small waterproof capsule.
The capsule contained a memory card.
And a folded photograph.
The photograph showed Samuel Carter standing beside Nathan Drake.
Nathan stared at it.
“I remember this day.”
I looked at him.
“When?”
“Twenty-four years ago. Samuel came to my office with evidence about illegal cargo shipments.”
My heart raced.
“What happened?”
“I told him to go to the authorities.”
“Did he?”
Nathan's expression darkened.
“He disappeared before he could.”
Investigator Brooks connected the memory card to a secure computer.
A video appeared.
Samuel Carter stood inside a warehouse.
He looked frightened.
But determined.
“My name is Samuel Carter. If this recording is found, I want the truth known.”
My eyes filled with tears.
My father.
Speaking.
Alive on a screen after all these years.
He described a network of fraudulent shipping contracts, stolen cargo, and money laundering.
Julian Mercer.
Victoria Drake.
Several corrupt executives.
And one final name.
Nathan Drake.
I looked toward him.
His expression was unreadable.
Samuel continued.
“Nathan Drake discovered what was happening and tried to stop it.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“He wasn't part of the conspiracy.”
I exhaled shakily.
“But his company was being used without his knowledge.”
Samuel held up a folder.
“I've hidden the original financial records where no one will think to search.”
The video cut to another scene.
A small white house.
A blue front door.
A wooden porch.
I recognized it immediately.
“My childhood home.”
Samuel smiled sadly at the camera.
“Bella, if you're old enough to understand this someday, remember something.”
My tears fell freely.
“Your mother and I loved you.”
He paused.
“And Ethan too.”
Then he looked directly into the camera.
“The evidence is under the third step.”
The recording ended.
Investigator Brooks immediately ordered a team to locate the house.
But Marcus received an alert.
The property had been sold years earlier.
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Its current owner was listed as:
VICTORIA DRAKE.
