Chapter 9 - The Missing Drive File
Rachel underwent emergency surgery.
Doctors stopped the internal bleeding and stabilized her ribs.
When she woke, Marcus sat beside her.
“The drive was altered.”
Rachel turned her head.
“What’s missing?”
“Operation Glass Harbor.”
That file identified Meridian’s highest-level government contact.
Rachel had copied it onto the drive three days earlier.
Someone removed it between the estate basement and the hospital.
Only four people came close enough to access her vest.
Jessica.
Evan.
The paramedic.
And the police officer who searched her.
Marcus had already cleared the paramedic.
Evan was under federal supervision.
The police officer disappeared after leaving the hospital.
His patrol car was found near the state line.
Inside was Jessica’s missing silver wedding shoe.
Rachel understood immediately.
The officer had not stolen the file.
Jessica had hidden something inside her shoe before the parking-lot attack.
The officer recovered it.
Marcus asked whether Jessica knew about Glass Harbor.
“She may have heard the name in the basement.”
Jessica entered the room.
Her eyes were swollen.
She held no makeup, jewelry, or bridal confidence now.
“Evan said Glass Harbor was insurance.”
Rachel asked:
“Where is your shoe?”
Jessica began trembling.
“Before we escaped, I found a memory card on the floor. I put it under the lining.”
“Why didn’t you give it to me?”
“I didn’t know who to trust.”
The vanished officer had seen her hide it.
Meridian now possessed Glass Harbor.
Unless Jessica had taken precautions.
She reached into her hair.
From beneath a decorative wedding pin, she removed a tiny storage chip.
“I switched them.”
The shoe contained an empty card.
The real Glass Harbor file was still with her.
For the first time, Rachel saw the sister she remembered from childhood.
Clever.
May you like
Brave.
And finally awake.
