Chapter 9 - THE VIDEO
The video spread within minutes.
It showed me inside a secure briefing room.
My face was clear.
My voice was clear.
But the footage had been edited.
It made it look like I was discussing classified information with Daniel Mercer.
The caption read:
DECORATED CAPTAIN EXPOSED AS MILITARY LEAK.
My stomach turned.
Tiffany stared at the screen.
“They're destroying you.”
“No.”
I looked at Whitmore.
“They're trying.”
He nodded.
“That's why we don't react emotionally.”
The commander smiled.
“You're finished.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
His smile faded.
“Why?”
“Because you made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You left the original audio.”
His face changed.
I pointed at the screen.
“Listen carefully.”
We replayed it.
The edited version had removed several seconds.
But there was background audio.
A door.
Footsteps.
A second voice.
Someone giving an order.
Whitmore recognized it.
“So do I.”
He turned toward the commander.
“You were in the room.”
The commander said nothing.
The audio continued.
Then came Daniel Mercer's voice.
“He doesn't know what you're planning.”
The commander replied:
“He doesn't need to.”
My blood ran cold.
The room went silent.
Whitmore's team immediately secured the building.
The commander tried to run.
He didn't get far.
As he was taken away, he looked at me.
“You think this changes anything?”
“Yes.”
He laughed.
“You're still the daughter of a traitor.”
I looked at my father.
He stood in the doorway.
Broken.
But no longer hiding.
“I am,” he said.
The commander looked surprised.
My father continued.
“I lied.”
He walked toward us.
“I lied to my daughter. I lied to my wife. I lied to everyone.”
He looked at me.
“But I never ordered that mission.”
Then he turned toward the commander.
“You did.”
The commander said nothing.
My father reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small recording device.
“I kept this for five years.”
Whitmore stared.
“Why?”
My father looked at me.
“Because I was afraid.”
I stepped closer.
“You should have trusted me.”
“I know.”
He handed the recorder to Whitmore.
The commander suddenly stopped smiling.
The recording contained the original conversation.
The order.
The payments.
The cover-up.
Everything.
The case that had been closed for five years was suddenly wide open.
But there was one final piece.
The commander had one question.
“Where is the ledger?”
I held it up.
“Right here.”
He looked at it.
May you like
Then at me.
And for the first time, he looked afraid.
