Chapter 4 - LOCKER 514
The bank refused to open the locker at first.
Then Detective Kim arrived with a warrant.
The manager changed his mind quickly.
Elena held Mateo’s hand as they entered a secure room downstairs.
Daniel walked behind them.
“You don’t have to be here.”
Elena didn’t look back.
“Yes, I do.”
Mateo swung their joined hands.
“Is there treasure?”
Elena almost smiled.
“Maybe.”
Daniel whispered:
“God, I hope not.”
Locker 514 slid out with a metallic scrape.
The manager left them alone with Kim.
Elena used the key.
Inside was a thick envelope.
A flash drive.
A stack of photographs.
And an old phone.
Elena’s heart pounded.
Kim put on gloves.
The first photograph showed Matthew.
The second showed Vanessa.
The third showed Dr. Pierce.
Then another man.
Then another woman.
All connected by handwritten notes.
Payments.
Dates.
Hospital departments.
Adoption agencies.
Insurance companies.
Daniel stared.
“What is this?”
Elena’s mouth went dry.
“Matthew was investigating them.”
Kim picked up a document.
“Not just them.”
She held it toward Elena.
It was a list.
Children’s names.
Dozens.
Some crossed out.
Others marked TRANSFERRED.
Daniel whispered:
“No.”
Kim’s face changed.
“This might be bigger than your son.”
Mateo tugged Elena’s sleeve.
“Mommy?”
She immediately covered the page.
“Hey.”
He looked nervous.
“Are we leaving?”
“In a minute.”
“Can we get pancakes?”
Elena crouched.
“You want pancakes?”
“With strawberries.”
“I think we can do that.”
Mateo smiled.
A normal request.
A normal child.
Elena nearly cried.
Behind her, Kim inserted the flash drive into an evidence laptop.
Several encrypted folders appeared.
One folder was labeled M.R.
Another:
E.R. DEATH.
Elena’s legs weakened.
Kim opened it.
Inside was a scanned death certificate.
Her name.
Her date of birth.
Her Social Security number.
Cause of death:
Cardiac arrest.
Daniel whispered:
“This is insane.”
Kim opened another file.
A recorded video appeared.
Matthew’s face filled the screen.
Elena stopped breathing.
He was alive in the recording.
Tired.
Unshaven.
Scared.
“Elena,” he said.
Her knees buckled.
Daniel grabbed her elbow.
She pulled away immediately.
Matthew continued.
“If you’re seeing this, something happened to me.”
Elena covered her mouth.
“I found evidence that babies and young children are being moved through falsified guardianship cases.”
Kim stared at the screen.
Matthew swallowed.
“They target widows, immigrants, people without large families, women dealing with postpartum depression.”
Elena’s eyes filled.
“They manipulate medical files.”
Matthew continued.
“They create instability.”
His jaw tightened.
“Then they make parents disappear legally.”
Daniel looked sick.
Matthew leaned closer to the camera.
“Vanessa Cole is involved.”
Elena whispered:
“Oh, Matthew.”
“She tried to recruit me.”
Elena’s eyes widened.
“She said Reyes Biomedical’s identification technology could make the process easier.”
Matthew looked directly into the camera.
“I refused.”
Then he paused.
“If I die, it wasn’t an accident.”
Elena froze.
Kim immediately stopped the video.
Daniel stood.
“What are you doing?”
Kim looked at him.
“This just became potential homicide evidence.”
Elena stared at the frozen image of her dead husband.
Mateo walked toward her.
“Who’s that?”
Elena couldn’t speak.
Mateo looked at Matthew’s face.
Then back at her.
“He looks like me.”
Elena dropped to her knees and hugged him.
“Yes.”
Her voice cracked.
“He does.”
Her phone buzzed.
Another unknown message.
A photograph loaded.
Vanessa.
Sitting in a dark room.
Her face bruised.
A man’s hand held a gun behind her head.
Below it:
SHE FAILED.
YOU’RE NEXT.
May you like
Then one final line appeared.
BRING THE DRIVE TO PIER 17 BY MIDNIGHT OR DANIEL LOSES HIS WIFE.
