Chapter 9 - THE WELL IN THE FOREST
Federal agents accompanied Clara and Victoria to the Hale River Preserve three days later.
Clara’s doctor objected to the trip.
Clara promised to remain inside the vehicle unless necessary.
The old stone well stood beneath a canopy of wet pine trees.
It had been sealed for decades.
A carved metal plate covered the opening.
Clara ran her fingers across the surface.
Her father had engraved three words into it:
TRUTH RUNS DEEP.
Victoria had seen the phrase many times but never understood its meaning.
Clara remembered Thomas teaching her to count the stones around the well.
“Twenty-seven,” she said.
The twenty-seventh stone shifted when an agent applied pressure.
Behind it was a waterproof metal box.
Inside were photographs, soil reports, police payment records, and a handwritten letter from Thomas.
The documents proved Dominic’s father had illegally buried chemical waste near the underground reservoir.
Thomas had planned to deliver the evidence to state investigators.
The final page contained an appointment note.
Meeting with Officer Pike—8:30 p.m.
Thomas died at 9:10.
Pike had been a young patrolman at the time.
One photograph showed Pike standing beside Thomas’s damaged car before emergency services arrived.
Another showed a black Mercer Construction truck parked near the guardrail.
The official accident report mentioned neither man nor truck.
Clara read her father’s letter.
If anything happens to me, the Mercer family will call it an accident. Do not let Clara carry this burden until she is old enough to choose what to do with the truth.
Victoria turned away, crying silently.
Thomas had known he was in danger.
He had trusted Victoria to protect Clara.
She had spent nine years trying to honor that promise without having the evidence hidden twenty-seven stones away.
An agent photographed every document.
Then a radio message came through.
Chief Pike had been located.
He had entered Dominic’s private airfield carrying two suitcases and several police evidence boxes.
A jet was being prepared for departure.
Dominic, released pending formal charges, was traveling toward the same airfield.
Victoria looked at the task-force commander.
“They’re running.”
The commander shook his head.
“Pike may be running. Dominic is not.”
“Why?”
“He just contacted Clara’s attorney and requested a private meeting.”
Clara’s phone rang.
Dominic’s name appeared through an unblocked number.
She answered on speaker.
“I know what you found at the well,” he said.
Clara looked toward the trees.
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No one outside the task force should have known where they were.
👉 Dominic’s call proved the federal team had a leak—and someone close enough to Victoria was feeding him every move.
