Chapter 4 - The Locker
Locker 314 contained one box.
Nothing more.
Damian crouched beside it while I stood behind him.
Inside were documents.
Bank statements.
Photographs.
A handwritten ledger.
And an audio cassette.
I stared.
“Who uses cassette tapes anymore?”
“People who don’t want computers to keep records.”
That sounded exactly like something Damian would say.
We took everything to his office.
The ledger listed payments made to shell companies over a twenty-year period.
At the center of the transactions was one name.
Northstar Holdings.
My hands shook.
“It’s the same company.”
“Yes.”
“Who owns it?”
Damian looked at the final page.
His expression went blank.
I knew immediately that the answer was bad.
“Who?”
He turned the page toward me.
Richard Cole.
Damian’s father.
I stopped breathing.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“That can’t be right.”
“My father died twelve years ago.”
“Then someone was using his identity.”
Damian stared at the document.
“I thought my father was clean.”
Mom had said he was kind.
Now I wondered if kindness had simply hidden something darker.
We listened to the cassette.
Static.
Then my father’s voice.
Ava’s father.
I knew that voice.
“You recorded it?”
Damian nodded.
The voice continued.
“If this reaches anyone, it means I didn’t make it out.”
My hand flew to my mouth.
“My wife knows where the evidence is. Martin believes I have destroyed it. He is wrong.”
A pause.
Then:
“The betrayal did not come from outside the company.”
Damian’s eyes lifted.
The tape continued.
“It came from the family.”
Static swallowed the next sentence.
Then another voice appeared.
Evan.
Young.
Terrified.
“Dad, you promised you’d fix this.”
The tape ended.
Neither of us spoke.
Damian leaned back.
“My brother knew.”
“But Mom said he was innocent.”
“He may have been.”
“Then why was he on the tape?”
“I don’t know.”
The door opened.
Evan walked in.
He stopped when he saw the box.
“What is that?”
Damian’s voice was cold.
“Leave.”
Evan stared at him.
“What did you find?”
“Leave.”
“I have a right to know.”
“You gave up that right when you started stealing from this company.”
Evan’s face went pale.
I looked between them.
“You know?”
Damian said nothing.
Evan laughed bitterly.
“You really think I did it?”
“I think someone using your credentials did.”
“That isn’t me.”
“Then help me prove it.”
Evan looked at me.
Then the box.
Finally he whispered:
“Martin Hale.”
Damian stiffened.
“Martin died two years ago.”
“No.”
Evan stepped forward.
“He isn’t dead.”
Silence.
“What?”
Evan pulled out his phone.
“I saw him three weeks ago.”
Damian’s face hardened.
“Where?”
“Detroit.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was scared.”
“For what?”
“For what he knows.”
Evan looked at me.
“He knows about your father.”
Then he turned and left.
I followed Damian into the hallway.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
At least he was honest.
We drove to a private warehouse outside Chicago where Damian kept archived records.
Inside, he pulled out an old company file.
Martin Hale’s supposed death certificate.
Then he placed it beside a recent photograph Evan had secretly taken.
The face matched.
My skin went cold.
“How?”
Damian shook his head.
“We have been chasing the wrong ghost.”
I remembered the note on my apartment door.
“Do you think Martin sent it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Martin doesn’t threaten people he can control.”
“What does that mean?”
“He destroys them.”
I looked at Damian.
“And what are you?”
He stared at me.
“Trying to stop him.”
The silence between us deepened.
Then he said quietly:
“Ava, there is something you need to know.”
“What?”
“I didn’t notice you because you were useful.”
My heart stumbled.
“I noticed you because you never asked for anything.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“You came in early. Took extra work. Never complained about your situation. When other people were trying to impress me, you were trying to survive.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“You made me curious.”
His voice lowered.
“And then I realized I cared whether you got home safely.”
I looked down.
“Damian…”
He stepped closer.
“If that scares you, tell me.”
“It does.”
He stopped.
“But not the way you think.”
Our eyes met.
The distance between us disappeared.
For one second, I thought he would kiss me.
Instead, he touched my cheek gently.
Then he pulled away.
“We have bigger problems.”
I nodded.
“Right.”
My heart disagreed.
The next morning, the biggest problem arrived.
Damian received a message from an unknown number.
One photograph.
Me.
Walking into my apartment.
May you like
Underneath it were six words:
She is where you are weakest.
