Chapter 12 - MY FATHER'S SECRET
My father had died twenty-three years earlier.
At least that was what I had believed.
The photograph suggested a history I knew nothing about.
“What is this?” I demanded.
Victor smiled.
“Ask Nathan.”
Briggs looked defeated.
“Your father worked federal organized crime.”
I stared at him.
“My father sold insurance.”
“That was his cover.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Every childhood memory rearranged itself.
Late-night calls.
Unexpected trips.
The locked drawer in his office.
Strangers at his funeral.
“He investigated Victor’s father,” Briggs continued.
Victor’s smile vanished.
“And he destroyed my family.”
“No,” Briggs said. “Your father destroyed your family.”
Victor stepped forward.
“My father died in prison.”
“Because he belonged there.”
Victor’s two men shifted uneasily.
Sirens sounded faintly outside.
Victor heard them.
“So this is your solution?” he asked me. “Police?”
“Evidence.”
I lifted the hard drive.
“Same thing criminals always underestimate.”
Victor laughed.
“You think that contains evidence?”
Briggs suddenly smiled.
“No.”
Victor frowned.
Briggs pointed toward the ceiling.
“The evidence is already gone.”
Silence.
“What did you do?”
“The moment Frank opened the case, the drive connected to his home network.”
I looked at Briggs.
He nodded slightly.
“Automatic upload.”
Victor’s face changed.
For the first time, the powerful man looked frightened.
“To whom?” he demanded.
Briggs looked at me.
“Three federal offices, two attorneys, and a journalist.”
Victor lunged for the case.
His men moved.
Then the front windows filled with flashing lights.
“Federal agents!” someone shouted outside. “Hands where we can see them!”
Victor stood completely still.
His empire was collapsing around him.
But then he smiled again.
“You’re forgetting something.”
“What?”
“Your daughter’s drive.”
I said nothing.
Victor continued.
“It contains more than my accounts.”
His eyes moved toward Briggs.
“Nathan never told you what else we recorded.”
Briggs went pale.
“What?”
Victor looked directly at me.
“A confession.”
“Whose?”
He smiled.
“Dustin’s.”
I didn’t understand.
Victor leaned closer.
“Your daughter’s boyfriend didn’t lose control that night, Frank.”
May you like
My stomach dropped.
“He was ordered to hurt her.”
