Before Naomi could respond, the lights returned.
James was gone.
On the floor where he had stood was a photograph.
Naomi picked it up.
It showed her mother holding baby Naomi.
Behind them stood Samuel Cross.
And Victor Hale.
Both men were smiling.
On the back was a message:
YOUR MOTHER KNEW EXACTLY WHAT SHE WAS DOING.
THE LAST WITNESS
Samuel Cross invited Naomi to meet him alone.
The message arrived at 6:00 a.m.
No explanation.
No threat.
Only an address.
An abandoned mansion overlooking the Pacific.
Henry wanted to come.
Naomi refused.
“If he wanted me dead, he would have done it already.”
“That isn't reassuring.”
“It isn't supposed to be.”
Henry stared at her.
“You don't have to do this alone.”
“I know.”
“But you're going anyway.”
“Yes.”
He sighed.
“Then keep your phone on.”
Naomi smiled.
“I will.”
The mansion stood above the ocean.
Wind moved through broken windows.
The front door opened before Naomi touched it.
Inside, Samuel Cross sat beside a fireplace.
He looked older than before.
Almost fragile.
But his eyes were sharp.
“You came.”
“You asked me to.”
“Yes.”
Naomi remained standing.
“Tell me the truth.”
Samuel smiled.
“Which truth?”
“All of it.”
“That would take years.”
“I don't have years.”
Samuel looked at her.
“Your mother said the same thing.”
Naomi's heart tightened.
“You knew her.”
“Yes.”
“Did you love her?”
Samuel paused.
“Yes.”
Naomi stared.
“Like a daughter?”
“No.”
“Then how?”
“Like someone who understood me.”
“What did you do to her?”
“Nothing.”
“Did you order her death?”
“No.”
“Did you know she was going to die?”
Samuel's face hardened.
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you stop it?”
“Because she asked me not to.”
Naomi froze.
“She asked you not to save her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew that if I intervened, they would come after you.”
Naomi shook her head.
“This doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
Samuel walked toward a cabinet.
He removed a file.
Inside was her birth certificate.
Not the official one.
The original.
Naomi read it.
Mother:
Claire Carter.
Father:
Richard Calloway.
Then she saw another document.
A second birth record.
Different names.
Different hospital.
Different date.
Naomi looked up.
“What is this?”
“Your new identity.”
“My mother changed my birth records.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To hide you.”
“From Victor?”
“From everyone.”
Samuel sat down.
“Your mother believed Richard would eventually return.”
“Did he?”
Samuel's eyes lowered.
“No.”
“What happened?”
“He was betrayed.”
“By Victor?”
“Yes.”
“Then why is Victor still alive?”
“Because Richard made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“He trusted James.”
Naomi froze.
“My father?”
“James was ordered to kill Richard.”
Her face went pale.
“He didn't.”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“James helped Richard escape.”
“Then where did Richard go?”
Samuel looked toward the ocean.
“He disappeared.”
Naomi's voice trembled.
“Is he alive?”
Samuel said nothing.
Naomi stepped closer.
“Is my father alive?”
Samuel finally looked at her.
“No.”
She closed her eyes.
The answer hurt more than she expected.
Even though she had never known Richard, some part of her had spent the last few days imagining meeting him.
Asking him why.
Asking him whether he had loved her.
Now there would be no meeting.
No answers.
Samuel handed her another document.
Richard's final letter.
Naomi,
I don't know if you will ever read this.
If you do, I hope you understand one thing.
I never abandoned you.
I disappeared because I believed it was the only way to keep you alive.
I loved your mother.
I loved you.
And I failed to destroy the machine that was built around us.
If you ever find the ledger, don't destroy it.
Use it.
Expose the people who deserve exposure.
But remember something.
Power does not disappear.
It changes hands.
If you destroy Northstar without understanding why it was created, someone else will build it again.
Trust your instincts.
And trust the person who sat beside you when everyone else told you to leave.
Naomi lowered the letter.
“Who is that?”
Samuel smiled.
“You already know.”
“Henry?”
“Yes.”
Naomi frowned.
“But Henry lied to me.”
“So did everyone.”
“Why should I trust him?”
“Because he had the opportunity to betray you.”
Samuel walked toward the window.
“He didn't.”
Suddenly, a gunshot shattered the window.
Samuel fell.
Naomi screamed.
Another shot.
She dropped behind the sofa.
“Samuel!”
He was bleeding.
Henry rushed into the room.
“Naomi!”
She looked at him.
“How did you find me?”
“Your phone.”
He pulled Samuel behind cover.
A third shot struck the wall.
Henry shouted:
“Sniper!”
He dragged Naomi toward the basement.
They ran down the stairs.
Behind them, Samuel crawled toward the fireplace.
He reached beneath a stone.
Pulled out a small device.
Then pressed a button.
Across the city, dozens of computers activated simultaneously.
Northstar's files began transmitting.
Every document.
Every account.
Every name.
Samuel had built a dead-man's switch.
If he died, everything would become public.
But before the transfer completed, the system displayed one message:
TRANSFER INTERRUPTED.
Samuel looked at the screen.
“No.”
A voice came through the speaker.
Victor Hale.
“You always did underestimate me.”
Samuel smiled bitterly.
“You're too late.”
Victor laughed.
“No.”
A second voice joined the call.
A woman's voice.
Naomi froze.
She recognized it.
Her mother's voice.
A recording.
If you're hearing this, Victor, then Samuel has failed.
Naomi stared at the speaker.
The recording continued.
But you made one mistake.
You assumed I left everything with Richard.
A pause.
I didn't.
I left it with my daughter.
Naomi looked at Samuel.
He was smiling.
The basement door opened.