PART 3 — THE PERSON BEHIND THE FILE
Colonel Harrington finally answered.
“Colonel Harrington.”
He listened.
His face became harder with every second.
“Yes, sir.”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Another pause.
“I understand.”
He ended the call.
I waited.
“Who was that?”
He looked directly at me.
“Someone who shouldn’t know about this investigation.”
My mother suddenly sat down.
Ryan stopped struggling.
Even the investigators exchanged uneasy glances.
Harrington turned to the forensic examiner.
“Disconnect the system.”
She hesitated.
“Sir?”
“Now.”
The laptop went dark.
I looked at him.
“What happened?”
He lowered his voice.
“The file you found was never supposed to exist.”
“Why?”
“Because Operation Make Him Disappear wasn’t created by your family.”
My chest tightened.
“Then who created it?”
Harrington looked toward the officers.
“Everyone leaves the room except the investigators.”
My mother stood.
“I want my attorney.”
“You’ll have one.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
Harrington looked at her.
“You haven’t told us the truth either.”
She went silent.
Ryan was escorted away.
Emma remained beside me.
When the room was finally quiet, Harrington placed a photograph on the table.
It showed me.
Wearing my military uniform.
Standing beside a convoy overseas.
Behind me were several classified vehicles.
I recognized the location immediately.
I had never photographed that day.
Someone else had.
Harrington placed another photograph beside it.
This one showed my mother.
Meeting a man outside a federal building.
My stomach turned.
“Who is he?”
Harrington didn’t answer.
Instead, he showed me the third photograph.
Ryan.
Entering the same building.
Then the fourth.
A senior military officer.
The same man appeared in all three images.
I stared at the face.
I knew him.
Everyone in my unit knew him.
He had signed the orders that sent me overseas.
He had attended my promotion ceremony.
He had personally thanked me for my service.
“General Thomas Vale.”
Harrington nodded.
My hands went cold.
“Why would he be involved?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Then find out.”
“We are.”
He opened another folder.
Inside was a transcript of an encrypted conversation.
One line was highlighted.
WALKER MUST BE REMOVED BEFORE HE RETURNS.
My throat tightened.
“When was this?”
“Four days before your deployment ended.”
I looked at Emma.
She was staring at the document.
Then she suddenly spoke.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
She pointed toward the photograph of General Vale.
“I’ve seen him before.”
Harrington looked at her.
“Where?”
“At Grandma’s house.”
My mother had gone pale again.
Emma continued.
“He came there last month.”
I felt a chill.
“Did he talk to you?”
She nodded.
“He told me your father would never come home.”
The room went silent.
Harrington’s expression changed.
“Emma, did he say anything else?”
She thought for a moment.
Then whispered:
“He said the original plan failed.”
My blood ran cold.
“What original plan?”
Emma looked at me.
“I don’t know.”
Then she reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I found this in Grandma’s desk.”
I opened it.
Three names were written across the page.
Ethan Walker.
Ryan Walker.
And a third name.
A name I had never heard before.
Beside it was a date.
Tomorrow.
Harrington stared at the paper.
“Where did you find this?”
“In the drawer under her bedroom floor.”
He looked at me.
Then at the date.
“Tomorrow is not a meeting.”
“What is it?”
Harrington’s voice dropped.
“It’s an extraction window.”
I stared at him.
“For who?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned the paper over.
On the back was a single sentence.
IF ETHAN SURVIVES, TAKE EMMA.
My blood turned cold.
I looked toward the doorway.
Outside, an engine started.
Harrington immediately reached for his weapon.
“Everyone down.”
The lights suddenly went out.
Then came three sharp knocks against the front door.
Not police.
Not investigators.
A voice came from the darkness.
“Ethan Walker.”
I froze.
The voice continued.
“You found the file.”
A pause.
“Now we’re coming for the girl.”