\u201cEthan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere were you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the gym.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich gym?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWestside Fitness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time did you leave?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you interrogating me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police will.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harper pushed between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop it! Violet is in surgery and you two are doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel lifted both hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s upset.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he said the sentence that made every instinct in me wake up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand. If I\u2019d found Violet beside that backpack, I\u2019d be losing it too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
Harper stared at him.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I spoke slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never told you where I found her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
He blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarper must have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Harper whispered.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said she was in the hallway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said Ethan found her unconscious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Detective Mills stepped from behind us.<\/p>\n
He had heard everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel turned.<\/p>\n
Mills displayed his badge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to ask you a few questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel laughed nervously.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere were you between three and four this afternoon?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already told Ethan. Gym.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan anyone verify that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy membership scan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mills nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcellent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel smiled.<\/p>\n
Too quickly.<\/p>\n
Then Mills asked, \u201cDo you know the alarm code at the Cross residence?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harper looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave it to you in February. When Violet forgot her science project.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI forgot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I forgot it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mills wrote something down.<\/p>\n
Then a nurse appeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily of Violet Cross?\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything else vanished.<\/p>\n
Harper and I rushed forward.<\/p>\n
The doctor told us Violet had a concussion, facial injuries, and significant blood loss from a scalp wound.<\/p>\n
But she was alive.<\/p>\n
Stable.<\/p>\n
No catastrophic brain injury.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
For five seconds, I was not a soldier.<\/p>\n
I was just a father being handed his child back by inches.<\/p>\n
When we were finally allowed into her room, Violet looked impossibly small beneath the blankets.<\/p>\n
Harper sat on one side.<\/p>\n
I took the other.<\/p>\n
Daniel remained outside with Mills.<\/p>\n
Violet woke around 8:40.<\/p>\n
Her eyes found me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTried what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harper leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThem?\u201d<\/p>\n
Violet nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo boys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her breathing quickened.<\/p>\n
I squeezed her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Daniel here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harper froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Violet\u2019s monitor began beeping faster.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetheart?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let him in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harper went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Violet started shaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave them the code.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became silent.<\/p>\n
I leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Violet swallowed painfully.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said Daniel told them Dad wouldn\u2019t be home until Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harper covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
Violet continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were looking for something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour black case.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
For years, I had kept a locked black document case in my home office.<\/p>\n
It contained deployment records, financial documents, passports, and something far more dangerous to anyone desperate enough to steal it:<\/p>\n
Evidence.<\/p>\n
Three months earlier, Daniel had asked me about an investigation connected to a private security contractor I had worked with overseas.<\/p>\n
I had refused to discuss it.<\/p>\n
The contractor was under federal investigation for falsified invoices and stolen equipment.<\/p>\n
And Daniel had recently started working for one of its subcontractors.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n