Chapter 2 - The Boys Who Laughed
The next afternoon, Ethan Cole was laughing.
So were Brandon Hale and Tyler Whitmore.
They sat in a private room at the Hawthorne Athletic Club, surrounded by polished wood, leather chairs and the confidence of young men who had never experienced consequences.
Brandon raised his glass.
“To broken cameras.”
Tyler laughed.
“And generous universities.”
Ethan leaned back.
“You should've seen that detective.”
“What did he say?”
“Unfortunate incident.”
All three laughed.
Then the door opened.
A gray-haired man in an ordinary brown coat walked inside.
Their laughter stopped.
“Private room,” Ethan said.
“I know.”
“Who are you?”
The man placed an envelope on the table.
“Someone delivering a message.”
Tyler smirked.
“From who?”
“Daniel Walker.”
Ethan’s smile disappeared for half a second.
Then returned.
“The girl's father?”
“Yes.”
Brandon laughed.
“Tell Mr. Walker his daughter should learn when to mind her own business.”
The old man looked at him.
“What did she see?”
Silence.
Ethan stood.
“Get out.”
The old man nodded.
“Certainly.”
He turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Mr. Walker wanted me to ask one question.”
“What?”
“Why did Westbridge University transfer $180,000 to a consulting company owned by Detective Harris’s brother twelve hours after Lily Walker entered the hospital?”
Nobody laughed.
The old man smiled faintly.
“Have a pleasant afternoon.”
Across town, Daniel sat beside Lily.
Her surgery had lasted four hours.
When she woke, she couldn’t speak.
So Daniel handed her a tablet.
Do you remember what happened?
Lily typed slowly.
yes
Can you tell me?
Her hands trembled.
Daniel immediately lowered the tablet.
“You don't have to.”
Lily grabbed his wrist.
Then typed.
I saw them cheating
Daniel frowned.
On an exam?
She shook her head.
More typing.
research grant
Daniel waited.
Professor Kim found fake data. Ethan's father paid for the lab. Brandon threatened her. Tyler deleted files.
Daniel read it twice.
“Professor Kim?”
Lily nodded.
She typed again.
I recorded them talking
Daniel’s pulse changed.
“Where?”
Lily touched her damaged sweatshirt.
Daniel searched it again.
Nothing.
Then she typed:
phone
Her phone had been returned by campus security.
Daniel switched it on.
The recording was gone.
“So they deleted it.”
Lily shook her head.
She typed two words.
cloud backup
Daniel looked at her.
For the first time since entering the hospital, he smiled.
“That’s my girl.”
That evening, Vincent arrived.
Seventy years old now.
White hair.
Expensive suit.
He stopped inside the hospital room.
For a moment, the former lieutenant and former boss simply stared at each other.
“You got old,” Daniel said.
Vincent smiled.
“You disappeared.”
Vincent looked toward Lily.
His smile vanished.
“That your little girl?”
Daniel nodded.
Vincent’s jaw tightened.
“Give me twenty minutes with those boys.”
“No.”
“Ten.”
“No.”
“Five?”
“Vincent.”
“Fine.”
Daniel handed him a laptop.
“Lily had a cloud backup.”
They listened.
Three male voices filled the room.
Tyler: “Delete everything.”
Brandon: “What about Kim?”
Ethan: “My father will handle her.”
Then Lily’s voice.
“You can't do that.”
A chair moved.
Ethan spoke again.
“Who are you?”
The recording ended.
Vincent looked at Daniel.
“That changes things.”
“Yes.”
“Police?”
“Not yet.”
Vincent frowned.
“You don’t trust them?”
“One detective may already have been bought.”
“What are you thinking?”
Daniel looked toward Lily.
“Those boys believe their families are protecting them.”
He closed the laptop.
May you like
“So we remove the protection.”
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