Chapter 6 - THE NAME IN THE OLD WATCH
The name was hidden inside the watch.
My mother had known that someday I would need it.
I held the tiny piece of paper beneath the light.
Three letters.
R.C.
Ryan frowned.
“Who is R.C.?”
Dad didn't answer.
Commander Hayes looked at him.
“You know.”
Dad stared at the floor.
“I was afraid.”
“You've said that a lot,” I whispered.
He looked at me.
“I thought if I protected you both from the truth, the family would survive.”
“It didn't.”
He nodded.
“No.”
Admiral Brooks leaned over the table.
“R.C. could refer to a person or a company.”
I looked at the old photograph again.
My mother.
Daniel.
Dad.
Then I noticed the date.
Twenty-five years ago.
The same year my father's company received its largest government contract.
“R.C. isn't a person.”
“What is it?”
“Riverside Contracting.”
Dad's eyes widened.
“That company was dissolved.”
“No.”
I pointed to the photograph.
“It's still active.”
Hayes checked.
Within minutes, he found the registry.
Riverside Contracting was registered through a holding company.
The controlling interest belonged to a trust.
A trust named after my grandfather.
I stared.
“That means our family owns it.”
Dad shook his head.
“Not anymore.”
“Who does?”
Hayes looked up.
“Daniel Mercer.”
The room went silent.
Daniel had taken control of my grandfather's old trust.
He had been using the family structure to move money.
My father had known.
My mother had discovered it.
I had found the records as a teenager.
And now Ryan's Navy career had somehow placed me back in the middle.
“Why target Ryan?”
Brooks answered.
“Because his ceremony gave them public access to you.”
“They wanted the watch.”
“Yes.”
“What was on it?”
“The original payment ledger.”
I stared at the watch.
My mother had carried the proof for years.
Then passed it to Hayes before she died.
But why hide it in my life?
Because she knew I would keep it.
The object she had worn every day.
The thing no one would suspect.
Ryan stepped closer.
“You protected me.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“When the committee reviewed my incident, you argued for me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you were good enough to continue.”
He looked down.
“I've spent years thinking you didn't care.”
I swallowed.
“I cared too much.”
Mom entered the room.
She had been listening from the doorway.
“I should have told you both.”
Ryan looked at her.
“Why didn't you?”
“Because your father was afraid Daniel would come after us.”
Dad whispered:
“He did.”
Mom nodded.
“Daniel caused the financial collapse.”
“Then why didn't we report him?”
“Because your father owed him.”
My chest tightened.
“Owed him what?”
“Everything.”
Dad looked at me.
“Daniel saved the company once.”
“And then?”
“He expected control.”
I understood.
Their rivalry wasn't simple.
Daniel had helped save the family business.
Then believed he deserved ownership.
My father refused.
The fight became personal.
My mother became trapped between them.
And I became the child who accidentally found the evidence.
Then Ryan spoke.
“So what happens now?”
Hayes answered.
“We find Daniel before he moves again.”
A senior chief entered.
“Sir.”
Everyone turned.
“We found Madison.”
“Where?”
“She left the base fifteen minutes ago.”
“Did you stop her?”
“No.”
He handed Hayes a phone.
“There was a message scheduled before she left.”
Hayes read it.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“It's for you.”
I took the phone.
The message said:
Your brother was never the prize. The watch is. Bring it to the old Carter factory before midnight. Come alone, Emily.
Ryan shook his head.
“You're not going.”
I looked at him.
“I wasn't planning to.”
Hayes pointed at the message.
“They expect you to obey.”
“Then we'll surprise them.”
Admiral Brooks nodded.
“We can use the location.”
I looked at the watch.
For twenty-five years, my mother had carried it.
For one morning, it had turned me from the family embarrassment into the person everyone suddenly needed.
But I no longer wanted to be important because of what I carried.
I wanted to be important because of what I could choose.
Then Dad said something quietly.
“The factory has another entrance.”
I turned.
“How do you know?”
His face was pale.
May you like
“Because Daniel built it.”
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