A door opening.
Marcus whispered:
"They know."
The recording ended.
Daniel looked at Elena.
"That's it?"
She nodded.
"That's all we have."
Daniel thought for a moment.
"Where did your father disappear?"
"We don't know."
"Could he be alive?"
Elena hesitated.
"I've spent twelve years hoping."
Daniel looked at the recording.
"Maybe this isn't a story about a dead investigator."
Elena's eyes lifted.
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe it's a story about someone who disappeared because he knew too much."
Neither spoke.
Then Daniel noticed the timestamp on the recording.
It had been created twelve years ago.
But the file had been accessed recently.
Someone had opened it.
Someone had copied it.
Someone knew Elena still had it.
And suddenly, the traffic stop made sense.
Someone had been trying to find out what Daniel knew.
Daniel and Elena decided not to tell anyone else.
Not yet.
They needed evidence.
Real evidence.
They contacted an independent federal investigator.
For the next several days, they watched Reed.
Nothing unusual happened.
He went to work.
He went home.
He bought groceries.
He followed normal routines.
Then, one evening, Reed met a man in a parking garage.
Daniel watched from a distance.
The man handed Reed an envelope.
Reed looked inside.
Then handed him a phone.
Daniel photographed everything.
The federal investigator reviewed the images.
"That's enough for a warrant."
But they needed more.
They needed to know what Reed was planning.
Two days later, Reed received another call.
This time, he sounded nervous.
Daniel listened to a recording captured through legal surveillance.
"We need the files."
A man's voice answered.
"What files?"
"The old ones."
"The Vale files?"
"Yes."
Daniel froze.
Reed continued:
"Someone found them."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Then find out."
The call ended.
Daniel looked at Elena.
"They know."
She nodded.
"About you?"
"About both of us."
The next morning, Daniel returned to headquarters.
Reed was waiting outside his office.
"You've been asking questions."
Daniel looked at him.