Chapter 8 - THE MESSAGE FROM MY PHONE
My phone was recovered from the estate fountain.
The exterior was damaged, but the encrypted memory survived.
I did not remember going near the fountain.
Victoria had taken the phone after slapping me.
She said I was too emotional to hold it.
The device contained a message sent to Dad forty-six seconds before I fell:
ALPHA IS NOT THE COMPANY. IT IS INSIDE THE HOUSE.
I had not typed it.
At least, I did not remember typing it.
The message included a photograph.
Rows of numbers filled a screen in Richard’s study. Beside them were container codes, airport identifiers, and dates.
A heading read ALPHA ROUTING TABLE.
The image was blurred as though taken quickly.
My reflection appeared faintly in the screen.
I began remembering fragments.
Before dinner, I entered Richard’s study searching for my purse. His computer displayed the table. The shattered vase stood beside the monitor with a thin cable running into its base.
I photographed the screen.
Victoria entered.
She took my phone and told me I had misunderstood confidential shipping data.
Richard arrived and persuaded me to return downstairs.
He promised to explain after the documents were signed.
“Did I send the message?” I asked Agent Mercer.
“The typing rhythm resembles yours.”
“Could it have been scheduled?”
“Yes.”
“Could Victoria have used my face to unlock the phone?”
“Yes.”
The message might have been my warning.
It might have been bait intended to trigger Dad.
The device also contained a deleted recording beginning in Richard’s study.
My voice said:
“Why are these medical shipments using hotel event codes?”
Richard answered:
“You are looking at a test environment.”
Victoria said:
“Take the phone.”
Then the recording ended.
The evidence linked the estate to Alpha.
It still did not explain Alpha’s purpose.
Owen instructed the agency laboratory to classify the phone under national-security privilege. That would prevent Maya from receiving a complete forensic copy.
Agent Mercer objected.
Owen overruled her.
Maya filed an emergency motion seeking independent preservation.
Before the court ruled, the phone was transferred from the agency laboratory to a secure evidence facility.
The transport authorization carried Owen’s signature.
The vehicle arrived empty.
The two agents assigned to the transfer were found unconscious inside a parking structure. Both had been exposed to a fast-acting aerosol sedative.
The evidence container was gone.
Owen called it an external attack.
Dad called me from a secured number.
“Do not contact Owen again.”
“Why?”
“Because only four people knew the route.”
“You were one?”
“No.”
“Owen?”
“Yes.”
Agent Mercer checked traffic cameras.
The vehicle carrying my phone had been followed by the same black sedan that entered the Carrington estate before Code Black.
A partial plate led to a leasing company.
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The lessee was Meridian Risk Advisory.
Its hidden beneficial owner was Owen Shaw’s wife.
