Chapter 7 - THE SECRET HER FATHER KEPT|
For a moment, Claire forgot about the armed men outside.
“My father?”
Daniel nodded.
“Colonel Thomas Morgan.”
Claire felt as though the floor had shifted beneath her.
Her father had retired from military service five years earlier.
He lived in a small house outside Richmond, Virginia, and spent his mornings repairing old motorcycles.
At least that was what Claire believed.
“What does he have to do with this?”
Daniel's expression was strained.
“He contacted me after I discovered the unauthorized shipments.”
Claire shook her head.
“That's impossible.”
“Claire—”
“My father has nothing to do with military intelligence anymore.”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“That's what he wanted you to believe.”
A sharp knock sounded against the front door.
“Last warning,” Marcus Vale called.
Colonel Bennett stepped between Claire and the entrance.
“We'll discuss this later.”
She looked at Daniel.
“Cellar exit, now.”
They moved through the kitchen.
Daniel lifted a narrow hatch beneath an old rug.
Cold air rose from the darkness.
Claire climbed down first.
A narrow passage led beneath the cabin toward an old maintenance shed.
Bennett followed Daniel.
Behind them, someone struck the front door.
Wood splintered.
Claire's heart pounded.
They hurried through the passage.
At the far end, Claire pushed open a wooden panel.
The shed stood thirty yards behind the cabin.
Rain poured through gaps in the roof.
Bennett checked her phone.
“No service.”
Daniel pointed toward the woods.
“There's a service trail leading to the highway.”
Claire looked back.
Dark figures were entering the cabin.
“We need to move.”
They ran.
Branches scraped Claire's face as she followed Daniel through the trees.
The ground was slick with mud.
Bennett stayed behind them, listening for pursuit.
After several minutes, they reached a narrow creek.
Daniel stopped suddenly.
Claire turned.
“What's wrong?”
He pressed one hand against his side.
Blood darkened his shirt.
Claire's stomach dropped.
“Daniel!”
“Old wound,” he gasped.
“It's reopened.”
Bennett helped him sit against a tree.
Claire knelt beside him.
“Let me see.”
Daniel shook his head.
“We don't have time.”
Claire opened the small medical pouch Bennett carried.
“We're not leaving you.”
Daniel grabbed her wrist.
“Listen to me.”
“Daniel—”
“Your father knows where the original evidence is stored.”
Claire stared at him.
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“Because he was trying to keep you out of it.”
“That worked beautifully,” she whispered.
Daniel gave a weak smile.
Then his expression became serious.
“There's something else.”
Claire waited.
“Your father didn't retire voluntarily.”
The words struck her.
“What?”
“He was forced out after questioning several classified procurement contracts.”
Claire remembered the day her father had announced his retirement.
He had come home early.
He had avoided her eyes.
When she asked why he was leaving, he simply said he wanted more time with his family.
Claire had believed him.
Daniel continued.
“He kept investigating after he left.”
Bennett pressed fresh gauze against his wound.
“We need medical help.”
Daniel winced.
“I know.”
Then Claire heard an engine.
She looked toward the trail.
Headlights appeared between the trees.
Bennett stepped forward protectively.
An older pickup truck stopped beside the creek.
The driver's door opened.
A gray-haired man stepped out.
Claire knew his face before the headlights fully illuminated it.
“Dad?”
Thomas Morgan stood in the rain wearing an old Army field jacket.
His expression was grim.
“Get in the truck.”
Claire stared.
“How did you find us?”
Thomas looked at Daniel.
“He activated the emergency signal.”
Bennett narrowed her eyes.
“Colonel Morgan?”
“Retired.”
“I'm Colonel Sarah Bennett, assigned to General Whitmore.”
Thomas studied her.
“I know who you are.”
Bennett stiffened.
“Then you know we require assistance.”
Thomas nodded toward Daniel.
“Get him inside.”
Claire helped Daniel climb into the back seat.
Then she faced her father.
“Is any of this true?”
Thomas's eyes softened.
“Claire.”
“Did you know what Daniel was investigating?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know someone was trying to kill him?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know someone was trying to frame me?”
His silence answered.
Claire stepped backward.
“Dad.”
Thomas looked devastated.
“I was trying to keep you safe.”
Claire's voice rose.
“By lying to me?”
“By keeping you away from people who have destroyed everyone who challenged them.”
Claire fought back tears.
“I am already involved.”
“I know.”
“Then stop treating me like a child.”
Thomas looked at her for a long moment.
Finally, he nodded.
“You're right.”
He opened the truck door.
“Get in.”
They drove through the mountains without speaking.
After twenty minutes, Thomas turned off the main road toward an abandoned roadside diner.
A second vehicle waited behind the building.
An older woman stepped out.
Claire recognized her immediately.
Dr. Evelyn Voss.
The general's daughter.
Claire's hand moved instinctively toward the door handle.
Thomas stopped the truck.
“Before you say anything, Evelyn helped save Daniel's life.”
Evelyn approached slowly.
“Sergeant Morgan.”
Claire stared at her.
“You lied about who you were.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.”
“Your father is trying to destroy my career.”
“I know.”
“Then why should I trust you?”
Evelyn's expression hardened.
“Because my father had my husband killed.”
The silence inside the truck became suffocating.
Evelyn reached into her coat and removed a small silver wedding ring.
“He discovered the Northstar transfers two years ago.”
Her fingers trembled.
“He tried to report them.”
Claire looked at the ring.
“What happened?”
Evelyn swallowed.
“They told me his death was an accident.”
Then she looked directly at Claire.
“But I found the orders.”
Thomas stepped out of the truck.
“Evelyn has the final piece of the evidence.”
Claire followed him.
“What evidence?”
Evelyn opened a weatherproof case.
Inside lay a small black recording device.
She pressed play.
A man's voice filled the cold night.
“Remove Sergeant Morgan from the investigation.”
Claire recognized it immediately.
Lieutenant General Nathaniel Voss.
Another man answered.
“Permanently?”
Voss paused.
May you like
Then spoke five words that changed everything.
“Make it look like suicide.”
