Nobody touched the keyboard.
The filename sat on the screen.
AMANDA_FINAL.
It was not a name I wanted to see.
Mercer inserted the card into an isolated computer.
“No network,” he said. “Nothing leaves this machine.”
Reyes stood behind him.
Claire stayed with Lily.
Tyler watched me.
I could barely breathe.
Mercer opened the file.
A video appeared.
The image was dark.
Then a room came into focus.
The blue room.
Six years earlier.
I recognized the furniture.
The bookcase.
The window.
The blue walls.
A younger version of me appeared in the doorway.
I covered my mouth.
I had forgotten the camera.
Or perhaps I had never known it was there.
Daniel stood behind me.
And in his arms was Lily.
She was crying.
The video continued.
Daniel placed Lily on the bed.
“Listen to me,” he told me.
I heard my younger voice.
“What's happening?”
“You can't tell Tyler.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is watching him.”
I looked at Daniel on the screen.
He continued.
“You're going to forget this happened.”
My younger self shook her head.
“I won't.”
“You have to.”
Then another voice entered the room.
A man's voice.
“Daniel.”
The camera shifted.
The man stepped into view.
My blood turned cold.
I knew him.
Not because he was Tyler's uncle.
Not because he was Captain Lewis.
Because he was someone else.
Someone I had seen at the station.
Someone who had been standing behind Reyes in photographs.
Someone who had brought the birthday cake into the station that morning.
Grant.
I stared at the screen.
Tyler looked at me.
“No.”
Mercer stopped the video.
Nobody spoke.
Grant was standing outside the room.
His face had gone pale.
“I can explain.”
Reyes reached for his weapon.
“Don't.”
Grant raised his hands.
“I didn't hurt anyone.”
“You were in the house.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Lily.”
“Yes.”
“You knew the evidence.”
“Yes.”
Tyler stared at him.
“You lied to me.”
Grant looked at him.
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“Because your father asked me to protect you.”
Tyler shook his head.
“Then why did you let me go into the warehouse?”
Grant's face changed.
“I didn't.”
“You knew the warning message.”
“Yes.”
“You knew someone was inside.”
“Yes.”
“And you still went with us.”
“I tried to stop it.”
“By doing what?”
Grant looked at me.
“By making sure Lily was found before they could kill her.”
I remembered the warehouse.
Grant pulling Tyler from the wreckage.
Grant carrying Lily.
Grant taking the cake.
Grant being everywhere.
Mercer stepped toward him.
“Who ordered the warehouse fire?”
Grant swallowed.
“I don't know.”
“Who sent the warning?”
“Me.”
Everyone froze.
“You sent the message?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To keep Tyler away.”
“Then why did the fire happen?”
“Because someone else saw the message.”
Claire stepped forward.
“Who?”
Grant looked at her.
“The person who has been controlling the evidence.”
I stared at the screen.
“Why is my name on the file?”
Grant didn't answer.
Mercer restarted the video.
The final minute played.
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
“Amanda, if you're seeing this, then I failed.”
My eyes filled.
“You were never chosen because you were brave. You were chosen because you were overlooked.”
I stared at the screen.
“People tell the truth around people they don't fear.”
Daniel continued.
“They have underestimated you for years.”
The screen changed.
A list appeared.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Fire investigations.
Missing evidence.
Then one final line.
TRANSFER AUTHORIZED BY: TYLER MORGAN.
Tyler stared.
“What?”
Mercer zoomed in.
“Someone used your identity.”
Tyler shook his head.
“I wasn't even there.”
“I know.”
“But why my name?”
Grant answered.
“Because you were Daniel's son.”
The video continued.
Daniel's voice returned.
“If they ever use Tyler's name, don't believe the record.”
A pause.
Then:
“The person who can clear him is Amanda.”
I looked at Tyler.
He looked devastated.
“Why didn't my father tell me?”
“Because he thought you would try to fix it,” Grant said.
Tyler looked at him.
“And?”
“And he was right.”
Silence.
The video ended.
But the file contained another attachment.
A scanned document.
Mercer opened it.
It was a transfer authorization.
The signature looked like Tyler's.
But beneath it was a handwritten note.
Not Tyler's.
Amanda will be blamed if the evidence disappears.
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
Claire answered.
“It means Daniel knew someone would eventually use your name.”
Reyes looked at the document.
“Then the question is who had access to Tyler's signature.”
Tyler frowned.
“My uncle.”
“Who else?”
“Captain Lewis.”
“Anyone in the family?”
Tyler shook his head.
Then stopped.
“My mother.”
The room went quiet.
I looked at him.
“Your mother?”
“She died eight years ago.”
“But could someone have had access to her records?”
“I don't know.”
Mercer examined the document.
“This was signed after she died.”
Tyler's face went pale.
“Then someone forged it.”
“Exactly.”
A sound came from the hallway.
We all turned.
The hospital intercom crackled.
Then a man's voice came through.
“Amanda Morgan.”
I froze.
The voice continued.
“You have ten minutes.”
Reyes moved toward the door.
“Who is this?”
The voice ignored him.
“Bring the card to the roof.”
Claire grabbed my arm.
“No.”
The intercom continued.
“Come alone.”
Then the final sentence:
“If you don't, Tyler dies.”
The speaker went silent.
Tyler looked at me.
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I won't go alone.”
“I know.”
He reached for my hand.
“Whatever happens, don't give them the card.”
I looked at the memory card.
It contained six years of secrets.
But someone had just threatened Tyler.
The hardest part was knowing they expected me to choose between the evidence and my husband.
I squeezed Tyler's hand.
“I don't think that's the choice they're giving me.”
Reyes looked at me.
“What do you mean?”
I turned toward Mercer.
“Can you make a copy?”
He nodded.
“Already doing it.”
I smiled for the first time that night.
“Then we give them what they think they want.”
Claire understood.
“A decoy.”
“No.”
I looked toward the hospital roof access.
“We give them the card.”
Tyler stared.
“What?”
“The real card stays here.”
Mercer held up a second card.
“Already copied.”
I looked at Reyes.
“And the person waiting for me won't know which one I brought.”
Reyes nodded slowly.
“Then we finally turn the trap around.”
Before anyone could answer, the lights flickered.
The door handle moved.
Someone was outside.
A voice whispered through the door.
“Amanda.”
I knew that voice.
Uncle David.
I stared at Tyler.
He whispered, “He's dead.”
The voice laughed.
“No, Tyler.”
The door opened.
A man stood in the hallway.
He looked exactly like David.
But this time, I noticed the scar beneath his left eye.
The real David had never had one.
The man smiled.
“Now you remember me.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 24: The Man Who Wore David’s Face
I Arrived With Balloons and Cake, Expecting My Husband to Laugh—Instead His Entire Crew Went Silent When They Saw Me
Part 23 of 40
