Lena read it twice.
Then a third time.
Her father had written:
If you are reading this, I failed to finish what I started.
Do not trust the people who tell you I died because of an accident.
The records are hidden where nobody would think to look.
The truth is connected to Meridian Shield.
And if Adrian Vale is still in uniform, be careful.
Lena stopped reading.
At the bottom was one final sentence.
The person you should fear most is not Vale.
She looked at the next line.
It is the person who helped him rise.
Lena's breathing became shallow.
There was a name.
Her mother's brother.
Uncle Daniel.
The man who had helped raise her after her father died.
The man who had paid her college tuition.
The man who had attended her military graduation.
The man she trusted completely.
Lena sat on the floor.
For several minutes, she couldn't move.
Then she heard footsteps.
Someone was coming down the stairs.
She quickly put the documents into her bag.
The basement door opened.
A man entered.
Lena recognized him.
Colonel Adrian Vale.
He looked at her.
Neither spoke.
Then he closed the door behind him.
"Your father always said you were stubborn."
Lena's hand moved toward her phone.
Vale shook his head.
"Don't."
"Did you kill him?"
"No."
"Did my uncle?"
Vale stared at her.
"Your father died because he trusted the wrong person."
"Who?"
Vale's eyes were tired.
"Your uncle."
Lena's heart sank.
"Why?"
"Because he sold the information."
"And you?"
"I helped."
The honesty shocked her.
"Why?"
"Because I thought it was the only way to protect my career."
"Did it work?"
Vale laughed bitterly.
"Look at me."
Lena did.
He looked exhausted.
Older than he had that morning.
"Do you know why I became a colonel?"
"Because you were good."
"No."
He shook his head.
"Because I knew how to survive."
He stepped closer.
"Your father didn't."
Lena hated him.
But she could hear something in his voice.
Regret.
"Where is my uncle now?"
Vale looked at her.
"At Fort Meridian."
"Why?"
"Because he is the civilian director of the entire Meridian Shield program."
Lena stared at him.
The pieces came together.
Her uncle.
The missing equipment.
The fake transfers.
The midnight vehicle entries.
The black case.
The threats.
The reassignment.
Everything.
"Why are you telling me?"
Vale looked toward the door.
"Because I don't want to die the way your father did."
They left the building separately.
Lena went straight to Major Reeves.
She showed him the evidence.
For the first time, Reeves looked genuinely shocked.
"Are you certain?"
"My father wrote it."
"That isn't enough."
"I know."
She placed the financial records on his desk.
"These are."
Reeves read them.
His face changed.
"This account belongs to your uncle."
"Yes."
"These transfers were made to a foreign defense contractor."
"Yes."
"These dates..."
He looked at Lena.
"They match the missing equipment."
Lena nodded.
Reeves picked up the phone.
Then stopped.
"If I call the normal chain of command, we're finished."
"Why?"
"Because your uncle sits above the people who would receive the report."
Lena understood.
"So what do we do?"
Reeves looked at her.
"We go around them."
At 2:00 a.m., a federal investigative team arrived at Fort Meridian.