Chapter 3 - THE SECRET MY FATHER KEPT
The paramedics wanted me transported to the hospital immediately.
I refused until my father explained Port Langston.
Nathan was escorted into another room for questioning.
Celeste sat under guard near the fireplace.
The broken champagne glass remained on the floor between us.
“Dad.”
He looked at me.
“What is Port Langston?”
He glanced toward the investigators.
Then he sat beside me.
“Twenty-two years ago, Vale Dominion helped uncover an international smuggling operation using commercial shipping lanes.”
I listened carefully.
“Port Langston was one of the transfer points.”
“What happened?”
“The network disappeared before we could identify the people controlling it.”
“And now Nathan is using it?”
“That’s what we need to determine.”
I thought about Ashford Global.
Thousands of containers crossed oceans every week under Nathan’s authority.
His company moved pharmaceuticals, electronics, agricultural equipment, luxury cars, industrial machinery, and military-grade components for licensed contractors.
There were endless places to hide illegal transactions.
“How long have you suspected him?”
Dad did not answer immediately.
That silence hurt more than the truth.
“How long?”
“Eleven months.”
I stared at him.
“You knew?”
“I knew something was wrong.”
“You let me stay with him.”
“No.”
His voice sharpened.
“You chose to stay.”
I looked away.
He was right.
Dad had begged me to leave after the staircase incident.
I had refused because I wanted evidence strong enough to destroy Nathan’s protection network.
“I should have pulled you out anyway,” Dad said.
“You couldn’t.”
“I am your father.”
“And I’m not twelve.”
His jaw tightened.
I reached for his hand.
“You taught me to finish what I start.”
“I did not teach you to sacrifice yourself.”
Before I could answer, shouting erupted from the corridor.
A federal agent rushed into the room.
“Sir, we have a problem.”
My father stood.
“What?”
“Port Langston Warehouse Nine is burning.”
My stomach dropped.
“When did it start?”
“Seven minutes ago.”
Celeste stood so fast that her chair moved backward.
“No.”
Everyone turned toward her.
“No, no, no.”
“What is in Warehouse Nine?” Dad demanded.
Celeste looked terrified.
“The manifests.”
Nathan appeared in the corridor between two agents.
He was handcuffed.
Yet he was smiling.
“You people really thought I came this far without contingencies?”
Dad walked toward him.
Nathan leaned closer.
“You froze accounts.”
His smile widened.
“I burn evidence.”
“You called someone before we entered?”
“No.”
Nathan looked toward Celeste.
“I didn’t have to.”
Celeste suddenly covered her mouth.
My father noticed.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“What did he mean?”
Celeste looked at Nathan.
“You gave Martin the contingency code.”
Nathan said nothing.
“Who is Martin?” I asked.
She whispered the answer.
“Martin Crane.”
I knew the name immediately.
Chief Financial Officer of Ashford Global.
Nathan’s closest friend.
The man who had attended our wedding.
The man who had hugged me after the staircase fall and told me Nathan was devastated.
“He knows everything,” Celeste said.
My father pulled out his phone.
“Find Crane.”
One of his security officers was already moving.
Celeste looked toward me.
“If Martin is following the full protocol, the warehouse is only the first target.”
“What is the second?”
She closed her eyes.
“Ashford Global’s backup archive.”
Dad’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face hardened.
May you like
Then he looked at me.
“The archive servers just went offline.”
