CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET
The drive to my father's secret office was long. We drove for hours, through the city, past the suburbs, into the countryside. Finally, we stopped at a small farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"Safe," my father said. "This place belongs to an old friend. Someone I trust."
He led me inside. The farmhouse was plain. Simple. Faded furniture. Worn carpets.
My father walked to a bookshelf, pressed a hidden latch, and the shelf swung open.
Behind it was a vault door.
"You have a vault?" I asked.
"Yes."
He entered a code, pressed his thumb to the scanner, and the door swung open.
Inside was an office. Expensive computers. Filing cabinets. A massive safe.
"This is where I've been working," he said. "For the past thirty years."
"Working on what?"
He opened the safe. Inside were stacks of documents. Photographs. Evidence.
"On taking down Charles Blackwell."
I stared at the evidence.
"Dad, this is incredible."
"Thirty years of evidence. Fraud. Embezzlement. Corruption. Murder."
"Murder?"
"Your mother's murder. I have proof. Witnesses. Documents. Everything."
"Then why haven't you gone to the police?"
"Because the police are compromised. Charles has people everywhere. Judges. Politicians. Detectives. If I went to the police, the evidence would disappear. And I would disappear."
"So what do we do?"
He looked at me.
"We build a case. In secret. And then we present it to the only person in the world who can stop him."
"Who?"
"Your grandmother."
I stared at him.
"My grandmother? I thought she was dead."
"She's not dead. She's been in hiding for thirty years. She's the only person who has the power to stop Charles."
"But why would she help us?"
"Because she's the one who gave me the evidence. Before your mother died. She saw what Charles was doing. And she wanted to stop him."
I felt the tears coming.
"So my grandmother's alive?"
"Yes. And she's been waiting for you to grow up. To be ready."
"Ready for what?"
"Ready to help us take him down."
I looked at my father.
"Where is she?"
"Not far. But we can't go to her yet. We need to find proof that Charles was involved in the murder."
"How do we do that?"
"I have a lead. A witness. Someone who was there."
"Where are they?"
"Prison."
"Prison?"
"Twenty years ago, one of Charles's men was arrested for another crime. He's been in prison ever since. And he's been waiting for someone to come and ask him the right questions."
"Can we talk to him?"
"Not directly. He's in maximum security. But I have a contact. A lawyer who represents him."
"Then let's go."
He shook his head.
"It's not that easy. The lawyer is loyal to Charles. He's been paid off to keep the witness quiet."
"So how do we get to him?"
"Through you."
"Me?"
"You're going to visit the witness. As a journalist. Or a law student. Someone he might talk to."
I stared at him.
"You want me to go to a maximum-security prison and interview a convicted criminal?"
"Yes."
"And what am I supposed to say?"
"The truth. That you're Charles Blackwell's niece. And that you want to destroy him."
I took a deep breath.
"Okay."
"Are you sure?"
May you like
"I've never been more sure of anything."
END OF CHAPTER 2
