"I'm sure."
"Who?"
"I don't know yet."
"Then be careful."
"I am."
"No," Daniel said. "You're curious. That's different."
Thomas smiled.
"You're still my older brother."
"And you're still terrible at listening."
Thomas laughed.
Then his expression became serious.
"If something happens to me..."
Daniel immediately shook his head.
"Don't say that."
"I'm serious."
"Thomas."
"Listen."
Thomas removed his badge.
He placed it on the table.
Daniel looked at it.
"If I don't come back, keep this."
Daniel frowned.
"Why?"
"Because one day someone will ask about it."
"Who?"
Thomas didn't answer.
Instead, he pushed the badge toward Daniel.
"Promise me."
Daniel stared at his brother.
Then he nodded.
"I promise."
Three days later, Thomas disappeared.
And the official report said he had abandoned his duty.
Daniel never believed it.
For thirty-eight years, Daniel lived with one question.
What happened to Thomas?
The police said Thomas had become involved with dangerous people.
Some claimed he had taken money.
Others said he had run away.
One report suggested he might have been working undercover.
Every explanation contradicted the next.
But one fact remained.
Thomas was gone.
Daniel spent years searching.
He contacted newspapers.
He contacted retired officers.
He requested old records.
Most people stopped answering him.
Some told him to let it go.
One retired detective even told him:
"Your brother made his choices."
Daniel never forgot those words.
Because he knew Thomas.
Thomas would never have abandoned their mother.
He would never have abandoned his badge.
He would never have disappeared without saying goodbye.
For decades, Daniel kept the badge hidden.
Until one week earlier.
He received a letter.
No return address.
Only his name.
Inside was a single sentence.
HE DIDN'T RUN.
Daniel stared at the words for a long time.
There was no signature.
No explanation.
Only a second line.
ASK ABOUT THE LEDGER.