CHAPTER 4: The Cash Was Not the Secret

For one long second, everyone thought the money was the proof.
Ms. Carter knew better.
Daniel Reed would never send his son into a bank with stolen cash unless the cash was meant to point somewhere else.
She looked closer without moving the bundles. Beneath the top row, half hidden between two stacks, was a small black drive sealed inside a clear plastic sleeve.
Noah saw her notice it.
“He told me not to touch that,” he said.
Officer Brooks turned slightly, blocking the crowd’s view with his shoulder.
“We need to clear the lobby,” he said.
Ms. Carter shook her head once. “Not yet.”
If she moved too quickly, whoever was watching would know they had found more than cash.
She remembered Daniel’s last warning in the parking garage months ago.
If anything happens to me, Alicia, do not trust internal security.
Back then she thought fear had made him dramatic.
Now his son stood before her proving Daniel had been calm all along.
The danger had been real.
Ms. Carter lowered the zipper halfway again, not enough to hide the truth, only enough to keep careless eyes from taking inventory. Her hand shook once, then steadied.
“Noah,” she said, “did your dad tell you who might come looking for this?”