Chapter 10 - The Price of Being the Honest Daughter|
The morning after meeting Mara Price, I woke to thirty-seven missed calls.
Some came from reporters.
Others came from people I hadn't spoken to in years.
Three were from my mother.
I ignored them while making coffee in my small apartment overlooking a narrow stretch of marshland.
For the first time since the promotion party, I had slept in my own bed.
I needed the quiet.
Instead, my phone rang again.
This time it was Nora Bennett.
"Megan, you're going to want to hear this."
I sat down.
"What happened?"
"Your office has confirmed publicly that your original submission was a conflict-of-interest recusal notice."
My heart lifted slightly.
"That's good."
"Yes, but they haven't finished the investigation into how the altered document was created."
"I understand."
"There's also another problem."
I closed my eyes.
"Of course there is."
Nora hesitated.
"The Whitlock Family Military Scholarship Foundation has been mentioned in a financial records request."
My stomach tightened.
"Mom's foundation?"
"Yes."
"What does it have to do with the personnel waiver?"
"That isn't clear yet."
She paused.
"But your father's consulting company and Bastion Dynamics appear in the same set of investigative requests."
After ending the call, I sat motionless for several minutes.
My mother had founded the scholarship organization after Emily graduated from college.
She claimed it was her way of honoring military families.
Every December, she hosted a glamorous fundraising dinner and photographed herself handing oversized checks to students.
I had attended exactly two of those dinners.
At the first, she introduced me as her daughter who worked in an office.
At the second, she forgot to introduce me at all.
Now I wondered whether the organization's largest donations had come with expectations nobody wanted written down.
At ten thirty, Emily arrived carrying two cups of coffee and a paper bag of breakfast sandwiches.
She looked tired but determined.
"Mom called me."
I groaned.
"What did she say?"
"She says you're trying to bankrupt the foundation."
I stared at her.
"By doing what?"
"Apparently, according to Mom, every question asked about Bastion is somehow your fault."
Despite everything, I laughed.
Emily sat beside me.
"She also said Dad has hired an attorney."
"That makes sense."
"You don't sound angry."
"People are entitled to legal representation, Emily."
I looked at her.
"But lawyers can't make the facts disappear."
She nodded.
Then she pulled out her phone.
"I've been thinking about Jonah's family."
"Me too."
"Do you think Mara will ever forgive me?"
I considered the question carefully.
"I don't know."
Emily looked disappointed.
"But forgiveness isn't something we can demand because we're finally doing the right thing."
She stared into her coffee.
"I used to think that being a good officer meant never admitting weakness."
"Who taught you that?"
She gave a small, bitter smile.
"Who do you think?"
Our father had always praised certainty.
He loved confident speeches, flawless uniforms, and impressive résumés.
He had never understood the courage it took to say, "I was wrong."
My phone vibrated with a message from Special Agent Ellis.
She confirmed receiving Mara's recording and the documents voluntarily provided by witnesses.
She also reminded me that my administrative leave remained in effect and that I should not access agency systems or attempt to conduct my own investigation.
I replied that I understood completely.
Emily glanced at the screen.
"Does being on leave make you feel helpless?"
"Sometimes."
I took a breath.
"But the investigation needs to be independent."
I looked at her.
"And if I start crossing professional boundaries to protect my sister, I'll become exactly what the person who forged my signature wants people to believe I am."
Emily nodded slowly.
"Then we'll do this properly."
That afternoon, our mother called again.
This time, I answered.
"Megan, your father and I need to speak with you immediately."
Her voice was strained.
"About what?"
"The foundation."
I agreed to meet at our parents' house with Emily present.
When we arrived, Mom had spread financial statements across the dining table.
Dad stood at the far end, looking grim.
"Adrian's company donated two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the foundation last year," Mom said.
I nodded.
"I remember the announcement."
"Now people are asking whether the donation was intended to influence decisions."
"Was it?"
She looked offended.
"Of course not!"
"Did Adrian ever ask the foundation to provide money to witnesses connected with Raven Bridge?"
She went silent.
Emily leaned forward.
"Mom?"
Our mother looked at Dad.
Then she whispered, "He said there were injured service members whose families needed support."
I felt my heart sink.
"Did he require them to sign anything?"
"I didn't handle the individual agreements."
"Who did?"
Dad spoke before she could answer.
"My office arranged the paperwork."
Emily stood abruptly.
"You used Mom's charity to offer Lena money in exchange for silence?"
Dad raised both hands.
"That's not how it was explained to me."
"Then how was it explained?"
He said nothing.
Mom began crying.
"I just wanted to help military families."
I stared at her.
"Then help them now."
She looked up.
"How?"
"Give investigators the financial records and tell them exactly what you knew."
For a long moment, she sat motionless.
Then she gathered the bank statements into a folder.
"I'll do it."
Dad turned sharply.
"Evelyn, don't make decisions before we've spoken to counsel."
My mother looked at him.
For the first time, she didn't immediately obey.
"I have spent my entire life trusting people who told me everything was under control."
Her voice trembled.
"And look where that has brought us."
I watched her carefully.
It wasn't an apology.
Not even close.
But it was the first time I had seen her question the version of reality she preferred.
As we prepared to leave, Emily received a message from an unfamiliar email address.
She showed it to me.
The subject line contained three words.
Raven Bridge Evidence.
The message read, "I helped test the Helios system, and I know why the original reports were changed."
A second sentence followed.
"I also know who arranged for your sister's signature to be forged."
May you like
At the bottom was a name.
Aisha Rahman.
