“Information.”
Thomas explained.
Northstar collected information on politicians, developers, judges, investors and their families.
Who they owed money to.
Who they loved.
What they feared.
What they had done.
What they were willing to hide.
Then Northstar used that information.
It could stop a law.
Force a property sale.
Destroy a competitor.
Change an election.
Make a person disappear.
Naomi felt sick.
“And Victor?”
“Victor was one of the people who understood how to use it.”
“Was he in charge?”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Thomas looked directly at her.
“Your mother believed it was Edward.”
“But you said Edward wasn't the architect.”
“He wasn't.”
“Then who was?”
Thomas leaned forward.
“Your mother never found out.”
Naomi frowned.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“You came here because you know.”
Thomas sighed.
“I know who she suspected.”
“Who?”
Thomas looked at Henry.
Then back at Naomi.
“Someone in your family.”
Naomi's heart stopped.
“My family?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Thomas reached into his coat.
He removed a photograph.
Naomi looked at it.
Her father.
Her mother.
Victor Hale.
And a fourth man.
Naomi recognized him.
She had seen him once before.
In a photograph on Victor's desk.
She whispered:
“Richard Calloway.”
Thomas nodded.
“Edward's younger brother.”
Naomi stared.
“I thought Edward was an only child.”
“That is what the public believed.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard disappeared.”
“When?”
“1998.”
The same year Project Twelve appeared.
Naomi looked at Henry.
“Did he die?”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
“Then where is he?”
Thomas looked toward the window.
“He is still alive.”
Naomi felt a chill.
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“But you know something.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Thomas reached into his pocket again.
This time, he removed a small brass key.
He placed it on the table.
“This belonged to your mother.”
Naomi picked it up.
“What does it open?”
“Locker 412.”
“Where?”
Thomas stood.
“Old Ferry Building.”
Naomi looked at him.
“What is inside?”
Thomas hesitated.
“The evidence your mother was trying to protect.”
The next morning, Naomi, Henry and Thomas went to the old Ferry Building.
Locker 412 was hidden behind a wall that had been sealed decades earlier.
Thomas unlocked it.
Inside was a metal case.
Naomi opened it.
Documents.
Photographs.
Bank records.
And a handwritten journal.
Her mother's journal.
Naomi opened the first page.
If I am dead, they found me.
She swallowed.
The next page contained names.
Victor Hale.
Edward Calloway.
Richard Calloway.
James Carter.
Mei Lin.
Then another name.
A name Naomi had never heard.
Samuel Cross.
Thomas saw it.
His expression changed.
“That's impossible.”
“Who is Samuel Cross?”
Thomas stepped backward.
“He was the founder.”
“Of Northstar?”
Thomas nodded.
“Then why have I never heard his name?”
“Because he died in 1989.”
Naomi looked at the journal.
“But my mother wrote his name.”
Thomas took the journal.
He flipped through the pages.
Near the end, her mother had written:
Samuel Cross did not die.
He changed his name.
He became—
The sentence ended.
The rest of the page had been torn out.
Naomi looked at Thomas.
“Who became Samuel Cross?”
Thomas didn't answer.
Henry noticed something else.
A small envelope had been taped beneath the metal case.
He removed it.
There was only one sentence.
THE WOMAN AT TABLE TWELVE IS THE KEY.
Naomi stared.
“What does that mean?”
Thomas looked at her.
Then at the empty hallway.
His face changed.
“Someone followed us.”
They heard footsteps.
Slow.
Approaching.
Thomas whispered:
“Turn off the light.”
The room went dark.
The footsteps stopped outside.
Naomi held her breath.
Then a man's voice came through the door.
“Naomi.”
She recognized it.
Victor Hale.
“Come outside.”
Thomas looked terrified.
Naomi whispered:
“How did he find us?”
Thomas shook his head.
Then he leaned close to her ear.
“Because someone in this room is working for him.”
Naomi looked at Henry.
Henry looked at Thomas.
Nobody moved.
Outside, Victor knocked once.
Then again.
“Naomi.”
His voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
Silence.
“The question isn't who is trying to kill your mother.”
Naomi's blood ran cold.
Victor continued:
“The question is why your mother was willing to die to keep you from learning who your father really was.”
The footsteps moved away.
Naomi stared at Thomas.
“My father?”
Thomas looked at her with tears in his eyes.
“Your mother never told you.”
“Told me what?”
Thomas swallowed.
“James Carter raised you.”
Naomi's breathing stopped.
“But he isn't your biological father.”
She felt the world disappear.
And somewhere outside the Ferry Building, Victor Hale smiled.
Because the first secret had finally been opened.
And the truth was only beginning.
THE MAN WHO RAISED HER
For several seconds after Thomas spoke, Naomi could not move.
The old Ferry Building seemed to disappear around her.
The walls.
The locked room.
The metal case.
The journal.
Even Henry's presence beside her became distant.
There was only one sentence.
James Carter raised you.
Not:
James Carter is your father.
Not:
Your father left.
He had chosen his words carefully.
Raised you.
Naomi looked at Thomas.
“You said my father isn't my biological father.”
Thomas lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Then who is?”
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“I know what your mother told me.”
“Then tell me.”
Thomas hesitated.
Henry stepped closer.
“Thomas.”
The old man shook his head.
“Some truths destroy people when they're told too early.”
Naomi's voice became cold.
“My mother is dead. My father lied to me. Someone has been following me. Victor Hale knows things about my family that I don't know.”
She stepped closer.
“I think I've waited long enough.”
Thomas looked at her.
For the first time, Naomi saw fear in his eyes.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for her.
“Your mother loved you,” he said.