Chapter 15 - THE MESSAGE FROM MILES
Miles called at 4:13 that afternoon.
Not Graham's phone.
Mine.
The number was unknown, and I nearly let it go to voicemail. Then I remembered the blue envelope and answered.
“Hello?”
“Audrey?”
His voice was clearer this time.
“Yes.”
“Are you alone?”
“No.”
“Good. Don't go anywhere without Graham.”
I looked toward my husband. He was standing by the window, watching the security team move through the courtyard.
“Miles, why did you tell Graham not to trust me?”
“Because I didn't know who was listening.”
“You said I knew why you disappeared.”
“You do now.”
I swallowed. “I found my father's letter.”
“Then you know he saved my life.”
“He said you were injured.”
“I was. Badly.”
“Why didn't you come back?”
“Because Everett had a list of everyone who helped me. Your father was on it. Charlotte was on it. Graham was next.”
I looked at Graham. He had turned toward me.
“What happened at the site?” I asked.
Miles exhaled.
“The inspection platform was already unsafe. Your father's company reported it. Everett wanted the project approved because the waterfront contract was tied to a private financing deal. He ordered the report changed. When I found the original version, I confronted him.”
“And the collapse?”
“I went to the site to stop the workers. Someone had removed a brace. The platform gave way before I could reach the supervisor. I survived because a steel support trapped me beneath the lower deck. The emergency crew pulled me out, but one of the men on the response team was working for Everett.”
“You were declared dead.”
“Charlotte and your father got me out before Everett's people could reach the hospital.”
I closed my eyes.
“Why didn't you tell Graham?”
“Because Graham would have come looking for me. He would have walked straight into Everett's hands.”
Graham stepped closer and took the phone.
“Miles.”
A breath.
“Hey, big brother.”
Graham closed his eyes.
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you yet.”
“Four years, Miles.”
“I know.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I know.”
Graham's voice broke. “I stood beside an empty grave.”
There was silence.
Then Miles said, “I'm sorry.”
Graham looked away.
“Come home.”
“I can't. Not until Everett is exposed.”
“We have the records.”
“Do you have the original audio?”
I glanced at the flash drive.
“There's a recording?” I asked.
Miles answered, “Your father recorded a conversation between Everett and the site inspector. It proves the report was changed deliberately.”
Graham looked at me.
“Is it on the drive?”
“I haven't checked.”
“Don't open it on a connected computer,” Miles said quickly. “The drive may contain more than documents. Your father used an old system. Make a forensic copy with someone you trust.”
Graham nodded, though Miles couldn't see him.
“Where can we meet?”
“Not yet. Everett knows the box exists. He'll be watching every place connected to your father.”
“Then tell me what you need.”
“Audrey.”
I took the phone back.
“Yes?”
“There's something else in the box. A photograph. Look at the bottom corner.”
I pulled the photograph from the folder. It showed my father, Victor Vale, and Miles at the waterfront site.
I turned it over.
There was a faint handwritten number beneath the date.
“Do you see it?” Miles asked.
“Yes.”
“That's the number of the original site camera. Your father copied the footage before it was erased. The camera's archive was stored off-site.”
“Where?”
“An old municipal records facility in South Boston. The building is scheduled for demolition next month. If the archive is still there, it may be our only independent proof.”
The call ended.
Graham stood silently.
Then Matteo entered.
“Sir, the security team found a tracking device beneath the rear bumper of your car.”
Graham looked at the phone in my hand.
“Everett knows where we've been.”
Matteo nodded.
“And he just sent a message.”
He placed a printed photograph on the desk.
It showed my mother leaving her house.
May you like
On the back, someone had written:
BRING US THE DRIVE, OR SHE PAYS FOR YOUR FATHER'S SECRETS.
