Chapter 3: The Betrayal Behind The Call
Officer Holloway stared at his phone like it had become something dangerous.
The screen continued glowing in his hand.
The ringtone echoed through the rainy highway.
Nobody spoke.
Not Officer Reed.
Not Agent Morgan.
Not me.
Because we were all waiting to see who was calling.
Finally, Derek answered.
"Hello?""
His voice was different.
The confidence was gone.
A few seconds passed as he listened.
Then his face tightened.
"No, I didn't know she was already involved.""
My heart sank.
He wasn't denying it.
He was explaining himself.
Agent Morgan immediately stepped forward.
"Put it on speaker.""
Holloway looked at her.
"I don't think that's necessary.""
"Officer Holloway," she said calmly, "you are already under investigation. You can either cooperate now or make this worse.""
His hand trembled.
Then, slowly, he pressed the button.
The voice that came through the phone was familiar.
Too familiar.
"Did you finish it?""
My chest tightened.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it at family dinners.
I had trusted it during some of the hardest moments of my life.
My own brother.
Nathan Bennett.
For a moment, I couldn't move.
The person who had hugged me after my father's funeral.
The person who told me he would always protect our family name.
The person who had spent the last year asking questions about my investigation.
He was the person behind this.
"No..."" I whispered.
Agent Morgan looked at me.
"Olivia?""
I stared at the phone.
"That's my brother.""
The silence afterward felt heavier than the rain.
On the other end, Nathan continued speaking.
"Why aren't you answering? Did she discover something?""
Officer Holloway looked terrified.
"Nathan...""
A pause.
Then Nathan's voice changed.
"What happened?""
Holloway swallowed.
"She knows.""
The line went quiet.
And somehow, that silence hurt more than the confession.
Because I knew my brother.
I knew every version of his voice.
The angry one.
The joking one.
The disappointed one.
But this was the voice of someone calculating his next move.
"Give me the phone," I said.
Officer Holloway looked at Agent Morgan.
She nodded.
He handed it over.
I lifted it to my ear.
"Nathan.""
A long pause.
Then:
"Olivia.""
Not surprise.
Not fear.
Just my name.
Like he had expected this moment eventually.
"Why?""
That was all I could say.
Why?
Why frame me?
Why risk everything?
Why betray your own family?
Nathan sighed.
"You were never supposed to find out this way.""
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"Find out what?""
He didn't answer immediately.
That scared me.
Because hesitation meant there was more.
"There are things you don't understand.""
I almost laughed.
"Things I don't understand? You tried to destroy my career.""
"You don't know what you are doing.""
The anger in his voice surprised me.
"I am trying to clean up the corruption in the department.""
"No.""
His response came instantly.
"You are trying to destroy people who kept this family alive.""
I looked at Agent Morgan.
She was watching me carefully.
"What does that mean?""
Nathan lowered his voice.
"You think our family built everything because we were lucky?""
I said nothing.
He continued.
"Our foundation. Our companies. Our reputation. You think all of that happened because Dad worked hard?""
My stomach tightened.
Because I suddenly remembered something.
The night before my father died.
The argument between him and Nathan.
The words I never understood.
"You promised me you would fix this," my father had said.
At the time, I thought they were talking about business.
Now I wasn't sure.
"Nathan," I said slowly, "what did you do?""
His breathing changed.
Then he answered.
"Ask Agent Morgan what your father was really investigating before he died.""
The call ended.
I lowered the phone.
Nobody spoke.
Agent Morgan looked away.
That scared me more than anything.
"Claire?""
She remained silent.
"What was my father investigating?""
She finally looked at me.
"Your father discovered that someone inside the Bennett Foundation had been moving money through hidden accounts.""
I felt the ground shift beneath me.
"My family?""
"We don't know everyone involved.""
"But you know Nathan is involved.""
She didn't answer.
And that was enough.
Officer Reed looked at Holloway.
"So you were helping him cover it up?""
Holloway's face hardened.
"I didn't know about the money.""
Agent Morgan stepped closer.
"Then why did you plant evidence in Olivia Bennett's vehicle?""
His silence returned.
Because the truth was finally catching up.
I had spent months believing my biggest battle was against strangers inside a corrupt system.
But I was wrong.
The person closest to me had been watching my every move.
Waiting for the perfect moment to stop me.
Agent Morgan took a slow breath.
"There is something else.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
She reached into her coat and pulled out a small envelope.
Not opening it.
Not showing me anything inside.
Just holding it.
"Your father left this for you.""
My heart stopped.
"My father?""
"He knew someone might try to silence the investigation.""
I stared at the envelope.
"Why didn't you give it to me before?""
"Because he instructed me not to.""
"Why?""
Agent Morgan looked directly into my eyes.
"Because he wrote one condition.""
The rain fell harder.
"What condition?""
Her voice became quiet.
"He said you should only receive it after someone tried to frame you.""
My blood ran cold.
Because my father had predicted this.
He knew.
He knew someone would come after me.
But before I could take the envelope, Agent Morgan's phone buzzed.
She checked the screen.
Her expression changed.
"What?""
I stepped closer.
"What happened?""
She looked at me.
"Someone just accessed the investigation files.""
"Who?""
She turned the phone toward herself.
May you like
Then whispered:
"The access code belongs to your father.""
