The hooded figure's face was briefly visible.
Frank froze.
"Daniel."
"What?"
"I know this man."
"Who?"
Frank zoomed in.
"It's Tyler's uncle."
Daniel felt his stomach drop.
"Richard Hart?"
Frank nodded.
"The developer."
The man who wanted the land.
The man who stood beside Evelyn in the photograph.
Daniel looked toward the garage.
"They weren't looking for the Camaro."
Frank shook his head.
"They were looking for something your brother left behind."
Daniel had almost forgotten about the old military folder.
Thomas had kept it for years.
Inside were photographs from overseas.
Maps.
Engineering plans.
A medal.
And one photograph Daniel had never seen before.
It showed Thomas standing beside a group of military officers.
One of them was Richard Hart.
Daniel stared.
"Impossible."
Frank took the photograph.
"When was this?"
"1979."
Frank turned it over.
A date was written on the back.
Then Daniel noticed something else.
A small symbol in the corner.
Thomas had used it on classified engineering files.
Frank's face became serious.
"Your brother worked on something important."
Daniel shook his head.
"He was an engineer."
"Exactly."
They searched the remaining papers.
Eventually, they found a handwritten note.
If anyone comes looking for the blue car, check the spare tire compartment.
Daniel immediately went to the Camaro.
He opened the trunk.
Removed the spare tire.
Nothing.
Then he noticed a small metal plate.
He unscrewed it.
Behind it was a sealed envelope.
Inside was a key.
And a photograph of an old warehouse.
On the back were six words:
The truth is under Building 14.
Daniel stared at Frank.
"Building 14?"
Frank nodded.
"Fort Mercer."
Daniel remembered.
An abandoned military facility outside the city.
His brother had worked there.
But why hide something in the Camaro?
Daniel suddenly understood.
The car had been part of the plan.
Thomas had known that one day someone might come searching.
The Camaro wasn't simply a classic automobile.
It was a hiding place.
And someone had known that.
Daniel and Frank drove to the old military facility.
Building 14 was almost completely abandoned.
Inside, dust covered everything.
They found the room described in Thomas's notes.
Behind a concrete panel was a metal box.
Daniel opened it.
Inside were documents.
Financial records.
Property maps.
Names.
Dates.
And photographs.
Frank looked through them.
"This is bigger than the HOA."
Daniel nodded.
Richard Hart had been involved in a land acquisition scheme decades earlier.
The same pattern was happening again.
Buy cheap.
Pressure owners.
Forge documents.
Use associations and shell companies.
Then sell the assembled property to developers.
Daniel stared at one name.
His brother's name.
Thomas Mercer had discovered the scheme.
That's why he had kept evidence.
That's why he had trusted Daniel with the Camaro.
The car wasn't just sentimental.
It was a vault.
Daniel found a final envelope.
Inside was a letter from Thomas.
Daniel read it silently.
His brother had written that if anything happened to him, the evidence should remain hidden until the people involved were powerful enough to expose themselves.
Daniel folded the letter.
Frank looked at him.
"What does it say?"
Daniel answered quietly.
"He knew they'd come back."
Evelyn made one final mistake.
She filed another document.
This time, it claimed Daniel had agreed to transfer the garage property to the HOA.
The signature was almost perfect.
Almost.
But there was one problem.
Daniel's brother had taught him never to sign legal documents with his middle initial.
The forged document included it.
Michael immediately noticed.
"So they copied your signature from another source."
Daniel nodded.
"Military records."
That meant the people who had entered his garage had accessed his personal papers.