Chapter 15 - THE MAN WHO KNEW HER FATHER
Michael Vale agreed to meet only once.
An abandoned railway station outside Boston.
No security.
No police.
No Vance.
Maya knew it was dangerous.
But she went anyway.
Daniel refused to let her go alone.
They arrived at sunset.
The station was empty.
Wind moved through broken windows.
A man stepped out of the shadows.
He was in his fifties.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
A scar across his cheek.
“You look like Alexander.”
Maya stared at him.
“You knew him?”
Michael nodded.
“I was twenty-seven when I met him.”
“What happened?”
“He saved my life.”
Maya stepped closer.
“Then tell me why he disappeared.”
Michael looked away.
“Because I failed him.”
He pulled a small cassette recorder from his pocket.
“Your father recorded this.”
Maya stared.
“Why didn't anyone give it to me?”
“Because the man who was supposed to deliver it was killed.”
Michael pressed play.
Alexander's voice filled the abandoned station.
“Maya, if you're hearing this, I need you to know that I may not survive what comes next.”
Maya covered her mouth.
“I have discovered that someone within our operation is feeding information to the corruption network.”
Alexander continued.
“He knows about my daughter.”
“He knows where she is.”
“He has access to military records.”
“He knows every move I make.”
Maya looked at Michael.
The recording continued.
“The person is someone I trust.”
A pause.
Then Alexander whispered:
“Richard Vale.”
Michael closed his eyes.
“My father.”
Maya stared.
“Your father betrayed mine?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Money.”
Michael looked ashamed.
“My father was deeply in debt. The network offered him enough money to disappear forever.”
“Did he order the attack?”
“No.”
Michael shook his head.
“He gave them the location. He thought they would arrest Alexander.”
“What happened?”
“They killed everyone.”
Maya felt sick.
“What about my father?”
“He survived.”
“Where?”
Michael hesitated.
“He was captured.”
Maya's breath stopped.
“By whom?”
Michael looked at her.
“Conrad Sterling.”
The name struck like lightning.
The businessman connected to the corruption network.
The same family that had been involved in Maya's public humiliation.
The same family whose merger had recently collapsed.
“Conrad had my father?”
“For months.”
“What did he want?”
“The location of the evidence.”
Maya whispered.
“And my mother?”
“She escaped.”
“What happened to my father?”
Michael looked down.
“I don't know.”
Maya stepped closer.
“You said he survived.”
“He did.”
“When did you last see him?”
Michael's eyes filled with tears.
“Twenty-three years ago.”
Maya's heart began racing.
“Then he could still be alive.”
Michael nodded.
“Possibly.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Where would Conrad keep him?”
Michael answered immediately.
“He owned a private facility in Montana.”
“Does it still exist?”
“Yes.”
Maya looked at Daniel.
Then at Michael.
“We're going.”
Michael grabbed her wrist.
“No.”
She pulled away.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand exactly.”
“He may not be alive.”
“Then I need to know.”
Michael looked at her.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
May you like
Finally he said:
“I'll take you there.”
