Chapter 2 - The Name They Buried
The convoy left the house at 6:14 a.m.
I sat in the back of the SUV with my hand resting protectively over my stomach.
General Mitchell sat across from me.
He didn't speak for several minutes.
Finally, he said, "How are you holding up?"
I looked out the window.
"I'm pregnant."
"I know."
"My husband is dead."
"I know."
"My family thinks I'm weak."
He smiled faintly.
"I know."
I looked at him.
"You know everything."
"Not everything."
He handed me another folder.
"Marcus left something for you."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"We found it during the final debrief."
I opened the folder.
Inside was a photograph.
Marcus stood beside me in uniform.
On the back, in his handwriting, were six words.
If you're reading this, trust yourself.
My eyes filled with tears.
General Mitchell looked away, giving me privacy.
After a moment, I asked:
"Why wasn't I told?"
"Because the mission isn't over."
I looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
He lowered his voice.
"Marcus wasn't killed in the way the official report states."
My entire body went cold.
"What?"
"We're not certain he died."
I stared at him.
"You're telling me my husband might be alive?"
"We believe he survived the initial attack."
My hands began shaking.
"Then why did you tell us he was dead?"
"Because someone inside the operation leaked information."
I couldn't breathe.
"Who?"
"We don't know."
"Then why send me away from my family?"
"Because your family may be compromised."
I stared at him.
"You're saying my parents are involved?"
"No."
"Victoria?"
"Possibly."
I remembered Raymond.
The way he'd looked at the sealed envelope.
The way he'd demanded my bedroom.
The way he'd always asked too many questions about Marcus.
General Mitchell continued.
"Your husband's final mission involved recovering evidence from a network operating inside the government."
"Evidence of what?"
"Human trafficking, weapons transfers, financial crimes."
My stomach turned.
"Marcus found something."
"Yes."
"What?"
"A list."
"Names?"
"Names and transactions."
"And he sent it to me?"
"No."
The general's expression changed.
"He sent it to someone he trusted."
I knew the answer before he said it.
"Me."
He nodded.
"But I never received anything."
"You did."
I stared.
"When?"
"Three weeks before Marcus died."
I thought about it.
Then remembered.
A package had arrived.
A small wooden box.
I had assumed it contained his medals.
I had given it to Taylor's father for safekeeping after the funeral.
My blood froze.
"The box."
General Mitchell leaned forward.
"What box?"
I told him.
His expression became serious.
"Colonel, where is it now?"
"My father's house."
He immediately picked up his radio.
"Turn the convoy around."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"We're going back."
"For the box?"
"For what may be inside it."
The convoy turned.
Twenty minutes later, we were back on my parents' street.
But something had changed.
Raymond's Audi was gone.
So was Victoria.
My father's truck remained.
The house was locked.
I called my father.
No answer.
General Mitchell looked at me.
"Where's the box?"
"In my father's study."
We entered.
The house was empty.
I ran upstairs.
The study door was open.
The box was gone.
I stared at the empty shelf.
Someone had taken it.
Then my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
You should have stayed in the garage.
My blood ran cold.
May you like
A second message arrived.
Marcus isn't the only one who disappeared.
