Chapter 6 - A Twisted Conspiracy
With Frank gone, the house felt strangely empty, despite the presence of the tactical operators. My mother sat in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water that her hands could barely hold. Kyle was sitting on the stairs, staring at the floor, completely broken. His arrogant demeanor had vanished.
"I'm sorry, Evelyn," my mother whispered, looking up at me. "I had no idea. He was always so controlling, but I never thought... I never thought he was a criminal."
"I know, Mom," I said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Frank was a master manipulator. He kept you isolated for a reason. He didn't want anyone looking too closely at his life."
Agent Vance walked into the kitchen, his expression grim. "General, we have a problem. We searched Frank’s vehicle and his personal locker at the Ashford Police station. The encrypted drive containing the coordinates for the final, largest weapons shipment is missing."
I frowned. "Missing? Frank was panicked when I arrived. He wouldn't leave it far away. It has to be nearby."
Suddenly, my secure phone buzzed. It was an alert from the regional monitoring team. A high-frequency transmitter had just been activated less than two miles from our location.
"Someone is accessing the shipment coordinates right now," I said, looking at the digital map on the screen. The signal was originating from a warehouse district near the old railway station.
"But Frank is in custody," Vance said. "Who else has the encryption keys?"
I looked over at Kyle, who was sitting on the stairs. He looked up, his face turning pale as he noticed my gaze.
"Kyle," I said, my voice calm but sharp as a knife. "Where is the drive?"
"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Kyle stammered, his eyes darting toward the front door.
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"Kyle, your father just yelled at you to shut up when you mentioned the crates in the garage," I said, walking toward him. "You weren't just recording me earlier because you wanted to mock me. You were recording me to see if I was looking at the files. You're part of this, aren't you?"
Kyle burst into tears, shaking his head violently. "He made me do it! He told me we were just moving surplus gear! He said it was legal! But then a guy named Marcus called yesterday and said if the final shipment didn't go through tonight, they would kill us both! I gave the drive to Marcus ten minutes before you arrived!"
