Chapter 6 - DIANE’S DEALDiane sat handcuffed in an interrogation room wearing the same navy dress from my ceremony.
A dark bruise marked her cheek.
Her hair had fallen loose.
One pearl earring was missing.
She looked smaller without the performance.
Not harmless.
Never harmless.
Just smaller.
Patel watched through the one-way glass.
“She claims Victor abducted her after the ceremony.”
“Do you believe her?”
“No.”
“Good.”
My father stood behind us.
Diane couldn’t see him.
“She’ll lie,” he said.
I looked at him.
He almost laughed.
“I realize how ridiculous that sounds coming from me.”
At least he was learning.
Patel entered first.
I followed.
Diane smiled when she saw me.
“There’s my war hero.”
I sat opposite her.
“How’s your arm?”
“You’re worried now?”
“Emily, I was upset.”
“You hit me with a chair.”
“I lost control.”
“Interesting. Because you’ve spent twenty years telling everyone I’m the unstable one.”
Her smile faded.
Patel placed a photograph of Victor Shaw on the table.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“You spoke to Captain Mercer less than an hour before arriving here.”
“Victor forced me.”
“Why?”
“He wanted money.”
“What money?”
“My accounts.”
“Which accounts?”
Silence.
Patel placed copies of transactions from my mother’s laptop on the table.
Diane’s face changed for less than a second.
Enough.
“You recognize those.”
“No.”
“Sarah Mercer did.”
Diane looked at me.
For the first time, I saw genuine emotion.
Jealousy.
After all these years.
“You always worshipped her.”
“She was my mother.”
“She was sanctimonious.”
“You stole from military families.”
“I moved money.”
“To yourself.”
“To places it was needed.”
“Like Victor’s companies?”
Diane leaned back.
“You’re out of your depth.”
I almost laughed.
“I’ve been shot at on three continents.”
“And you think that makes you intelligent?”
“No. Surviving you did.”
She hated that.
Patel intervened.
“Victor Shaw appears to have been selling sensitive information.”
Diane said nothing.
“Your emails helped him.”
“No.”
“Your financial accounts say otherwise.”
“No.”
“Your phone transmitted information before the Al-Rahim attack.”
“I didn’t know what Victor would do with it.”
There.
The first crack.
Patel stayed silent.
Diane realized too late.
“I mean—”
“You admit sending information.”
“I sent gossip.”
“Operational locations are not gossip.”
“Robert told me.”
My father flinched behind the glass.
Patel asked, “Did Colonel Mercer know you were sending it?”
“No.”
“Did he profit?”
“No.”
“Did Kyle?”
“No.”
“Did Emily’s mother?”
Diane stared at her.
“What?”
“Sarah Mercer. Did she profit from anything you and Victor did?”
“No.”
“What happened to Sarah?”
Diane’s eyes shifted toward me.
“I told Emily.”
“You blamed Victor.”
“I didn’t blame him.”
“You said he touched her.”
“No. I said ask him.”
Patel leaned forward.
“What happened?”
Diane’s composure cracked.
“Nothing happened.”
I knew instantly.
Something had.
“You know,” I said.
She looked at me.
“You’ve always had this little tell.”
Her eyebrows moved.
“What?”
“When you lied to Dad, you cried. When you lied to Kyle, you got angry. But when you were scared…”
I leaned closer.
“You got precise.”
She stopped moving.
“You didn’t say Victor didn’t kill her. You said nothing happened.”
Her face drained.
Patel saw it too.
“Mrs. Mercer, what are you afraid of?”
Diane whispered, “You don’t understand Victor.”
“Then explain him.”
“He keeps insurance.”
“On whom?”
“Everyone.”
“Meaning?”
“Recordings. Documents. Videos. If anyone turns on him, everything gets released.”
Patel’s eyes narrowed.
“Released where?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not good enough.”
Diane laughed suddenly.
“You think I’m the villain?”
I stared at her.
“You abused me for most of my life.”
“That was personal.”
The coldness of the statement startled even Patel.
Diane continued.
“Victor is different.”
“What did you give him?”
“Things Robert said.”
“What things?”
“Names. Meetings. Travel.”
“Why?”
“At first? Money.”
My father shut his eyes behind the glass.
“Later,” Diane continued, “because I couldn’t stop.”
“How much did Victor pay you?”
“Enough.”
“And my mother?”
Diane’s mouth tightened.
“Sarah found us.”
“Us?”
“Me and Victor.”
“Stealing?”
“Everything.”
My heartbeat increased.
“What happened?”
“She threatened police. Federal investigators. Your father.”
“And?”
“I told Victor.”
“And?”
Diane stared at the table.
“I thought he would scare her.”
My voice became quiet.
“What did he do?”
“She died.”
No one moved.
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“Liar.”
“I swear.”
“Did you know before the funeral?”
“Yes.”
The word destroyed something in me.
Diane had attended my mother’s funeral.
She had stood beside my father.
She had hugged me.
I remembered her perfume.
I remembered her whispering, “You’re not alone.”
“You came to our funeral.”
Her eyes filled.
Not remorse.
Fear.
“I had to know what Sarah left behind.”
“The laptop.”
“Yes.”
“You couldn’t find it.”
“No.”
“So you married my father.”
Her head snapped up.
“No.”
“Did you love him?”
Silence.
Behind the glass, my father stepped backward.
I almost wished he hadn’t heard.
Almost.
“Did you?”
Diane whispered, “Eventually.”
That answer was crueler than no.
Patel’s phone buzzed.
She read the message.
Her expression hardened.
“Victor contacted us.”
Diane’s head jerked up.
“What?”
“He wants a trade.”
“What kind?”
Patel looked at me.
“He has Kyle.”
My stomach dropped.
“No. Kyle was with security.”
“His wife says he left two hours ago.”
“Why?”
“He received a video.”
Patel handed me the phone.
The image showed Rachel and baby Noah outside a grocery store.
Crosshairs drawn digitally over both of them.
Message:
BRING SARAH’S LAPTOP OR THEY DIE.
Kyle had gone alone.
My father stormed into the interrogation room.
“Where would Victor take him?”
Diane stared.
“Robert—”
He slammed both hands on the table.
“WHERE?”
She flinched.
It was probably the first time he had ever frightened her.
“I don’t know!”
“You know him.”
“Not anymore.”
“You know how he thinks.”
Diane began breathing faster.
Then she whispered one word.
“Falcon.”
Patel frowned.
“What’s Falcon?”
My father went still.
“I know.”
He turned toward us.
“Falcon Ridge.”
“What’s there?”
“An abandoned communications facility west of the city. We trained there years ago.”
Patel was already calling tactical units.
Diane suddenly stood as far as the cuffs allowed.
“No!”
Everyone looked at her.
“If Victor is there, you can’t storm it.”
“Why?”
“He wired places.”
“How do you know?”
“Because that’s what he does.”
Patel stared.
“You’ve seen him do that?”
Diane looked at me.
“There’s something else you need to know.”
I wanted to scream.
There was always something else.
“What?”
“The attack overseas.”
“What about it?”
Diane swallowed.
“Victor wasn’t trying to kill General Caldwell.”
Caldwell, who had just entered the observation area, heard her through the speaker.
I leaned closer.
“Then who was the target?”
May you like
Diane’s eyes met mine.
“You.”
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