Chapter 5 - The Identity Used in Her Name
The false DNA request contained Emily’s service number, electronic signature and security verification code.
Only three people should have had access to all of them.
Emily.
Her commanding officer.
And the military personnel office.
Beck placed the records on the hotel desk.
“The request originated from a secure terminal at Fort Halston,” he said.
Emily stared at the timestamp.
She had been overseas when the request was submitted.
“Someone inside the military helped them.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“The terminal belongs to Colonel Adrian Ross.”
Emily knew Ross.
He had approved her deployment.
He had also recommended her for promotion.
“Ross would never do this.”
Beck leaned against the desk.
“You believed Peter would never throw you out.”
The words were cruel but true.
Emily looked toward the bedroom, where Maisie slept beside Nora.
“Why did Helen say you caused my father’s death?”
Beck’s expression became unreadable.
“She wants you to distrust me.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“No.”
“Did you know my father?”
“Yes.”
Emily waited.
Beck looked older than he had the day before.
“Daniel Carter contacted me fourteen years ago regarding unauthorized clinical trials connected to Orison Therapeutics.”
“My father was in real estate.”
“He was also financing biomedical research through Carter Vale.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother founded the research division.”
The photograph Lydia gave Emily lay inside her bag.
Beck continued.
“Elaine Carter developed a blood-storage compound designed for emergency trauma care. It could preserve donor blood far longer than existing methods.”
Emily sat slowly.
“My mother never mentioned any of this.”
“She wanted you protected.”
“From whom?”
“Investors who saw the compound as worth billions.”
“Helen?”
“Helen was one of them.”
Emily remembered Helen’s constant criticism of her mother when she was young.
Elaine is unstable.
Elaine is selfish.
Elaine destroyed Daniel’s career.
After Elaine’s supposed death, Helen became increasingly close to Emily’s grieving father. She advised him financially, introduced him to attorneys and encouraged him to restructure the family trust.
Peter entered Emily’s life two years later.
The pattern no longer looked accidental.
“Did Helen arrange my marriage?”
Beck did not answer immediately.
“That is possible.”
Emily’s stomach turned.
Seven years of memories rearranged themselves.
Peter meeting her at a charity gala hosted by Helen.
Peter’s immediate interest in her father’s business.
Helen insisting they marry at Ashford Manor.
Peter encouraging Emily to accept longer assignments because it would advance her career.
“How long have they been planning this?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened to my father?”
Beck walked to the window.
“Daniel agreed to provide evidence against Orison’s executives. Before he could testify, his car went off a mountain road.”
“The police said he fell asleep.”
“The brake line was cut.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“You knew?”
“I suspected. I could not prove it.”
“And my mother?”
“Her car entered the river twelve years ago. No body was recovered.”
Emily thought of the voice she believed she had heard near the cottage.
“I heard someone at the manor.”
Beck turned.
“A woman?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see her?”
“No.”
Beck picked up his phone.
“We need to go back.”
Emily blocked the door.
“Not until you tell me everything.”
“I am trying to.”
“You served on Orison’s oversight committee.”
“I joined it to investigate from inside.”
“Harrison’s letter says you know what happened.”
“He is right.”
“Then say it.”
Beck’s jaw tightened.
“Your father was supposed to meet me the night he died.”
Emily’s eyes filled, but she refused to look away.
“He called me from his car,” Beck continued. “He said someone was following him. I told him to continue to the meeting point.”
“You told him to keep driving?”
“Yes.”
“He died on that road.”
“Yes.”
“You could have warned him to stop.”
“I believed I could protect him.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
The honesty hurt more than denial.
Beck placed the sealed promotion folder on the table.
“I recommended your early return because we intercepted communications mentioning Monday’s transfer. I did not know Peter would use Maisie against you.”
Emily looked at the folder.
“My promotion was part of your investigation?”
“It was earned. But the timing allowed me to bring you home.”
“You used me as bait.”
“I brought you home because you were already in danger.”
A phone rang.
Not Emily’s.
Beck checked his screen.
His expression sharpened.
“What is it?” Emily asked.
“Colonel Ross was found unconscious in his office.”
“Alive?”
“For now.”
“Did he say who used his terminal?”
“He left something on his desk.”
Beck turned the phone toward her.
The image showed a handwritten note.
Two words.
Ask Maisie.
Emily stared at the screen.
“She’s one year old.”
“I know.”
Nora appeared in the doorway holding Maisie.
The child had awakened.
She clutched her stuffed fox in both hands.
As Emily reached for her, Maisie squeezed the toy.
Something hard crackled inside its stitched belly.
Emily froze.
She took the fox and examined the seam.
Someone had opened it and sewn it closed again.
Nora brought scissors.
Inside the stuffing was a small plastic capsule.
May you like
Emily opened it.
A microSD card fell into her palm.
