Chương 12
Marissa swore softly.
Samuel went on.
“Julian believed she was cleaning up exposure before the government connected the old shell companies to the current defense subcontractors.”
“And he suddenly developed courage?”
I heard the bitterness in my own voice.
Samuel did too.
“Fear.”
That answer irritated me because it sounded more plausible.
“What was he afraid of?”
“Preston.”
I said nothing.
“Victoria had started involving their son in company events, charitable boards, educational foundations, all the family-brand nonsense rich people use to make succession look wholesome.”
Samuel coughed.
“Julian thought she was preparing Preston to inherit responsibilities he didn't understand.”
I looked out the window.
Preston sinking into his chair while his mother screamed about tutors.
Preston saying he wanted to leave.
Preston telling me congratulations.
“He wants to protect his son.”
“Yes.”
“Now he knows how.”
Samuel did not answer.
Marissa looked at me.
“That was cruel.”
“I know.”
“You don't have to stop being angry.”
“I know.”
“But cruelty makes you sloppy.”
“I know.”
“That's three knows.”
“I am aware.”
She almost smiled.
My phone chimed with a new encrypted meeting notification.
We were seven minutes out.
I addressed Samuel again.
“You used my sons as bait.”
“No.”
“That is exactly what you did.”
“I used the possibility that Julian would see them to force him to confront what thirteen years of avoidance had cost.”
“That is not better.”
“No.”
He sounded tired again.
“I've had thirteen years to become worse at this.”
“Did Julian know they were twins before today?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
My stomach clenched.
“Explain.”
“He knew there were twins from your father.”
“I mean did he know Leo and Ethan were his sons before the tournament?”
“No.”
“Then what did you tell him?”
“That Elena Holloway had two thirteen-year-old sons competing.”
“And he went because he suspected.”
“Yes.”
The rage that rose in me was cleaner than the confusion that had preceded it.
“So when he looked at me and said, ‘How dare you come here,’ he already suspected?”
Samuel hesitated.
“I don't know what he suspected in that exact moment.”
“I do.”
Marissa watched me.
“He thought I had come to confront him publicly.”
“Maybe.”
“He thought I had brought the boys.”
“Maybe.”
“He thought the day was about him.”
Samuel said nothing.
That silence confirmed enough.
I laughed once.
“Some things survive thirteen years perfectly.”
We reached the Pentagon security entrance.
Marissa ended the call.
“Samuel, we will contact you through official channels.”
“I expected that.”
“You should.”
“Elena.”
I took the phone.
“What?”
“Don't decide what Julian did before you hear what he brought.”
“Too late.”
“I mean tonight.”
I looked at the illuminated building ahead.
“That depends on him.”
“No.”
Samuel's voice sharpened.
“It depends on you.”
I ended the call.
Marissa tucked her phone away.
“You dislike being told that.”
“Profoundly.”
“He isn't wrong.”
“That worsens it.”
We passed security in near silence.
The uniform helped people move faster around me, though not always because of rank.
Some recognized me.
Others recognized the stars and became efficient out of instinct.
I had lived inside that reflex long enough to distrust it.
A young captain held an elevator and nearly walked into the wall while trying not to stare.
I thanked him.
He turned red.
Marissa waited until the doors closed.
“You terrify junior officers.”
“I inspire them.”
“You terrify them inspirationally.”
The elevator carried us downward.
Secure rooms rarely looked like the movies.
No glowing walls.
No theatrical darkness.
Mostly beige surfaces, reinforced doors, practical furniture, sealed electronics, bad coffee.
General Avery stood at the conference table with three civilian officials and two officers I knew by reputation.
He looked at me.
“You made it.”
“Sir.”
His gaze flicked toward Marissa.
“Family kidnapping resolved?”
Marissa stared straight ahead.
“Yes, sir.”
I gave her a look.
She ignored me.
General Avery pointed toward an empty seat.
“We start in two minutes.”
“Where is Mr. Mercer?”
Avery's expression changed slightly.
“So you've been briefed on his attendance.”
“I saw the update.”
“He's with counsel.”
“Government counsel?”
“His.”
That surprised me.
“He brought a lawyer.”
“He brought three.”
Of course he did.
“Is he under investigation?”
Avery did not answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
“He is currently a cooperating witness with potential exposure.”
Potential exposure.
The phrase could conceal anything from negligence to prison.
“What level?”
“Sit down, Elena.”
“I'd rather stand.”
“I wasn't asking for your comfort.”
There was the man I knew.
I sat.
A civilian woman across from me introduced herself as Dana Pierce from the Department of Justice.
She wore no jewelry except a wedding ring and had the expression of someone who billed arguments by the minute even though the government paid her salary.
“We'll keep this initial portion narrow,” she said.
“General Holloway, there are facts in this investigation that overlap with your personal history.”
“I gathered.”
“Some of those facts were not known to us until this afternoon.”
My spine stiffened.
“From Julian Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“What did he disclose?”
Pierce glanced toward Avery.
He nodded.
“Mr. Mercer provided archived corporate records linking Charles Vale and Victoria Mercer to a series of financial entities under review for procurement fraud and improper access to proprietary shipping data.”
I kept my face still.
“How did he obtain them?”
“He retained copies over several years.”
“Why?”
“That is one of the questions we're still examining.”
The door opened.
Julian entered with a woman in a gray suit and two men carrying document cases.
He stopped when he saw me.
No auditorium.
No children.
No Victoria.
No crowd.
Just consequences.
His lawyer murmured something.
He nodded and took the seat across from me.
I looked at his face.
He looked older than he had three hours earlier.
“General.”
“Mr. Mercer.”
That formality hurt him.
Good.
Dana Pierce continued.
“Mr. Mercer has agreed to answer questions concerning his role in Meridian Bridge and related entities.”
May you like
Julian's attorney spoke.
“My client has agreed to provide information under the terms already discussed.”
