Chapter 5 - The Threat at Midnight.
Federal agents moved me to a secure hotel that night.
I hated leaving the mansion.
Not because I loved the house.
Because it was the last place where Lily had been alive.
But Agent Hale refused to compromise.
“Thomas Mercer is missing.”
“You received a direct threat.”
“Until we determine who sent it, you’re protected.”
Two agents remained outside my hotel room.
I sat on the bed staring at the threatening message.
YOU ALREADY LOST ONE MEMBER OF YOUR FAMILY.
DON’T MAKE IT TWO.
My mother lived thirty minutes away.
I called her immediately.
Agents were already stationed outside her house.
She tried to sound calm.
“Maya, I’m fine.”
“I should come get you.”
“No.”
“Mom.”
“You stay where the federal agents can protect you.”
Her voice broke.
“Lily would want you safe.”
Hearing Lily’s name destroyed me.
I ended the call before I began sobbing.
At 1:18 a.m., someone knocked.
Agent Hale entered.
He carried a plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a small black notebook.
“What is that?”
“We searched Mercer’s office.”
He placed the bag on the table.
“This was hidden inside a false bottom in his desk drawer.”
Several pages contained dates.
Numbers.
Initials.
Payments.
Hospital systems.
Contract values.
Then I saw something that made me stop breathing.
LAV.
The initials appeared beside several transfers.
Lily Anne Vance.
One entry read:
LAV IDENTITY PACKAGE - APPROVED BY D.V.
Another:
LAV CONTINUITY PLAN IF STATUS CHANGES.
“What does status changes mean?”
Agent Hale’s jaw tightened.
“We think it means death.”
I looked away.
David had prepared a financial contingency for our daughter’s death.
Years before she died.
Agent Hale turned another page.
There was a reference to something called PROJECT ORCHID.
“What is Project Orchid?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“David?”
“His attorneys say he won’t answer questions without a negotiated agreement.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Agent Hale studied me.
“There’s another possibility.”
“What?”
“Mercer may not be threatening you because of the money.”
“Then why?”
“Because Lily’s account may connect to something bigger.”
He showed me a list of hospitals.
Six of them used David’s company software.
Each had suffered cybersecurity incidents over the previous four years.
Patient information had been stolen.
Federal health records had been compromised.
“What does David’s company have to do with that?”
“We’re investigating.”
I felt sick.
Then someone knocked again.
One of the agents opened the door.
A woman stood in the hallway.
Julianne.
Her face was pale.
Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail.
No designer clothes.
No makeup.
She looked nothing like the woman who had walked into my mansion with shopping bags.
Agent Hale stepped between us.
“Why are you here?”
“I need protection.”
“From whom?”
Julianne looked over her shoulder.
“Thomas Mercer.”
My stomach tightened.
“How do you know Mercer?”
She looked ashamed.
“Because David introduced us six months ago.”
Agent Hale’s expression changed.
“For what purpose?”
Julianne began crying.
“He wanted me to move something through customs.”
“What?”
“A hard drive.”
My pulse accelerated.
“Where is it now?”
Julianne looked directly at me.
“In the lining of one of the shopping bags I brought into your house.”
And suddenly I understood why Mercer might be willing to kill.
May you like
The evidence had been sitting on my marble floor.
---
