Chapter 9 - The Family Inside the Lie)
The statement seemed impossible.
Julian Cross.
The man behind Crest River Capital.
The man connected to the attempt on Claire's life.
The man who had apparently controlled part of Whitmore's criminal network.
Was Lauren's father.
Evan stared at her inside the flashing emergency lights of the warehouse.
"No."
"I didn't know his real name until Mom was dying."
"Why would she tell you and not me?"
"Because she thought Thomas was dead."
"You mean Dad."
Lauren's face crumpled.
"He was your dad."
"He raised you."
"I know."
"Then Julian Cross is nothing."
"Evan."
"No."
He could not absorb another rewritten piece of his childhood.
Federal agents rushed them from the warehouse.
Dana escaped.
Two armed men were arrested.
One was a former Whitmore security employee.
The other refused to identify himself.
Lauren was taken to a secure location.
There, she told the story she had kept for six years.
Their mother, Margaret, had met Julian Cross before marrying Thomas Carter.
She had been twenty one.
Julian was older, wealthy, charming, and already involved in financial crime.
When Margaret learned she was pregnant, Julian wanted control.
Marriage.
Silence.
Obedience.
She ran.
Thomas Carter helped her.
He married Margaret after Lauren was born and raised Lauren as his own child.
Two years later, Evan was born.
For years, Julian stayed away.
Then Thomas became involved in the financial network that Julian controlled.
"Why would Dad work for him?" Evan asked.
Lauren shook her head.
"Mom said he didn't know at first."
Claire sat beside Evan.
"That matches the letter."
Lauren continued.
"Once Thomas understood who was behind the operation, he tried to leave."
"And Mom paid the price."
Lauren began crying.
"She got sick."
"She had cancer."
"That's what doctors said."
Evan felt anger rise.
"Do not tell me Julian gave her cancer."
"No."
"Then what?"
"Mom believed someone delayed her diagnosis."
Evan went still.
"What?"
"Her early scans disappeared."
Claire whispered, "Medical records manipulation."
Lauren nodded.
"She had symptoms for almost a year. Tests were repeatedly lost or misfiled. By the time another doctor found the tumor, it had spread."
Evan stood and walked away.
He remembered taking his mother to appointments.
Remembered her apologizing for becoming tired.
Remembered believing the system had simply failed.
Maybe it had.
Maybe someone had helped it fail.
Ruiz entered the room.
"We found Mara Vance."
Everyone turned.
"Alive?"
"Yes."
Evan exhaled.
"Where?"
"She walked into a federal field office forty minutes ago."
"Why?"
"She says she's been undercover."
Ruiz looked uncomfortable.
"She claims she recognized Dana Whitmore at the hospital and followed her rather than alerting the team."
Evan stared.
"She abandoned her car?"
"To convince Dana she had switched sides."
"Without telling you?"
"Mara says there was a leak."
Claire leaned forward.
"Was she right?"
Ruiz did not answer.
That was answer enough.
"We found evidence that someone inside the city police department accessed Lauren's address immediately after Sophie was moved there."
Evan crossed his arms.
"Who?"
"Captain Gregory Shaw."
Claire frowned.
"Shaw."
Ruiz nodded.
"Any relation to Evelyn Shaw?"
"We don't know yet."
Evan remembered his father's letter.
There is one person who can explain the beginning.
Her name is Evelyn Shaw.
"You found her?"
"No."
"Then find Gregory."
"We tried."
"He's missing?"
Ruiz nodded.
"Since yesterday."
Another ghost.
Another person who vanished when questions appeared.
The next morning, Mara Vance entered the safe residence.
A bruise covered one side of her face.
Evan did not greet her.
"You could have told us."
"No."
"Because?"
"I didn't know who the leak was."
"You photographed Sophie?"
Mara looked offended.
"No."
"You knew where she was."
"So did dispatch, three officers, Ruiz, hospital security, and the transport team."
Ruiz said nothing.
Mara looked at Claire.
"I saw Dana Whitmore outside your hospital room."
Claire stiffened.
"Did she shoot at me?"
"No."
"How do you know?"
"Because I followed her."
"Then who fired?"
"Someone positioned on the west stairwell."
"Did you see them?"
"No."
Evan stepped closer.
"Convenient."
Mara met his eyes.
"I deserve that."
She placed a phone on the table.
"But I got this."
Video played.
Dana Whitmore sat inside a vehicle.
A man beside her spoke angrily.
The angle made his face difficult to see.
Mara enhanced the image.
Robert Whitmore.
His voice was clear.
"You were told to retrieve the backup."
Dana replied, "Claire nearly died."
"That isn't your concern."
"You said nobody would be hurt."
Robert laughed.
"Your weakness is becoming expensive."
Dana turned toward him.
"And Julian?"
Robert's expression changed.
"What about him?"
"Does he know Thomas Carter is alive?"
Robert paused.
"No."
Dana whispered, "Then we have a bigger problem."
The video ended.
Evan stared.
"Julian doesn't know my father is alive."
"Apparently not," Mara said.
"Then Dad isn't working with him."
"Not necessarily."
Claire looked at Evan.
"It means there are factions."
Ruiz nodded.
"Robert Whitmore. Dana. Julian Cross. Thomas Carter. They may all want different things."
Evan's phone vibrated.
A text appeared.
UNKNOWN NUMBER.
The message contained coordinates.
Then four words.
COME WITHOUT FEDERAL AGENTS.
A second message appeared.
A photograph.
Thomas Carter.
Sitting beside a lake.
Holding that day's newspaper.
Alive.
May you like
Below it:
SON, WE NEED TO TALK.
