“You found it.”
Robert closed the folder.
“What did I find?”
Richard stepped inside and shut the door.
“The report David was looking for.”
Mercer looked between them.
Robert's voice became cold.
“You knew about it?”
Richard didn't answer.
“Richard.”
“I knew.”
“You told me you didn't.”
“I was trying to protect the company.”
Robert stood.
“And my son?”
Richard looked away.
Robert's voice trembled.
“Were you trying to protect him too?”
Richard finally looked at him.
“No.”
The silence that followed was devastating.
Mercer stood frozen.
Then Richard said something that changed everything.
“David wasn't killed because he found the report.”
Robert's eyes narrowed.
“Then why?”
Richard swallowed.
“Because he gave a copy to someone outside the company.”
“Who?”
Richard looked at Mercer.
“I don't know.”
Mercer frowned.
“Then how do you know he gave it away?”
Richard reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a photograph.
It showed David Jenkins entering a parking garage.
Beside him stood another person.
The image was blurry.
But the face was visible enough to recognize.
Mercer stared at it.
His blood ran cold.
Because he knew that person.
It was someone who was still working for the airline.
And someone who had been aboard Flight 728 that morning.
Richard whispered:
“That's the person Robert has been trying to find.”
Robert looked at Mercer.
And for the first time since they met, the old man's calm expression completely disappeared.
“Captain,” he said, “I think we have a much bigger problem than we realized.”
Captain Daniel Mercer stared at the photograph.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
The image was grainy, taken from a security camera somewhere inside an underground parking garage.
David Jenkins was walking toward a dark sedan.
Beside him was another man.
The face wasn't perfectly clear.
But it was clear enough.
Mercer knew him.
He had seen him in meetings.
He had spoken with him.
He had signed flight reports reviewed by him.
And that morning, the man had been aboard Flight 728.
“Who is he?” Mercer finally asked.
Robert Jenkins didn't answer.
Richard Cole did.
“Ethan Wallace.”
Mercer felt his stomach tighten.
“Senior operations manager?”
Richard nodded.
“He's been with the airline for fourteen years.”
Mercer looked at the photograph again.
“Why was he with David?”
“We don't know.”
Robert's voice was cold.
“You know more than you're saying.”
Richard shook his head.
“I don't.”
“You just admitted that David gave someone a copy of the report.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew Ethan was involved.”
“I suspected.”
Robert stepped closer.
“Suspected?”
Richard looked exhausted.
“I didn't have proof.”
“Then why did you keep it from me?”
“Because every time I got close to the truth, someone erased the evidence.”
Mercer looked between them.
“Wait.”
Both men turned.
“What exactly are you talking about?”
Richard sighed.
“There were maintenance records concerning one of our aircraft three years ago.”
“The aircraft David was investigating?”
“Yes.”
“What was wrong with it?”
“Repeated engine vibration warnings.”
Mercer nodded.
“Those were documented.”
“They were.”
“And then?”
“Someone changed the records.”
Mercer's expression hardened.
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
Robert interrupted.
“That's the lie.”
Richard looked at him.
“What?”
“You said you don't know.”
“I don't.”
Robert pointed to the photograph.
“Then why did you keep this?”
Richard didn't answer.
Mercer stepped closer.
“Where did you get it?”
“From an internal security archive.”
“Why didn't you report it?”
Richard looked at Robert.
“Because I was afraid.”
The words stunned Mercer.
“Afraid of whom?”
Richard lowered his voice.
“Whoever has been doing this.”
Mercer shook his head.
“You're a vice president of operations.”
“That doesn't make me untouchable.”
Richard looked toward the hospital corridor.
“You have no idea how much influence some people have inside this company.”
Robert's face remained expressionless.
“My son did.”
Richard nodded.
“And that's why he's dead.”
Robert's hands tightened around the photograph.
Mercer felt the atmosphere becoming unbearable.
He looked at the clock.
“We need to understand one thing.”
Robert looked at him.
“What?”
“If Ethan Wallace was on my flight this morning, where is he now?”
Richard's face changed.
“He shouldn't have been.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ethan wasn't listed on the passenger manifest.”
Mercer stared at him.
“What?”
Richard nodded.
“I checked.”
Mercer thought back to the morning.
He remembered the First Class cabin.
The passengers.
The boarding process.
Then one detail suddenly surfaced.
“There was a passenger in 2C.”
Richard looked at him.
“Who?”
“I don't remember the name.”
“Describe him.”
“Mid-forties. Gray suit. Dark hair.”
Richard frowned.
“That sounds like Ethan.”
Mercer felt a chill.
“Then why wasn't he on the manifest?”
Richard didn't answer.
Robert looked at him.
“Exactly.”
The room became silent.
Then the hospital door opened.
Emily Carter stood there.
“Captain?”
Mercer turned.
“What is it?”
She looked nervous.
“There's something you need to see.”
They followed her into the corridor.
Emily held a tablet.
“I reviewed the boarding records.”
“What did you find?”
She showed him the screen.
Passenger 2C had been registered under the name Edward Wallace.
Mercer stared.
“Same surname.”
“Yes.”
Richard took the tablet.
“That's not Ethan's name.”
“No.”
Robert stepped closer.
“Who purchased the ticket?”
Emily hesitated.
“That's the strange part.”
“Who?”
“The ticket was issued through an employee travel account.”
Richard's expression changed.
“Whose?”
Emily looked at him.
“Yours.”
Everyone went silent.
Richard's face turned pale.
“That isn't possible.”
Emily turned the screen toward him.
“Your account number is attached to the reservation.”
Richard stared at it.
“I didn't issue that ticket.”
Robert looked at him.
“Did you give anyone access to your account?”
“No.”
“Think carefully.”
“I didn't.”
Mercer looked at the passenger information.
“Then someone used your credentials.”
Richard nodded slowly.
“Apparently.”
Robert's eyes narrowed.
“Or you're lying.”
Richard looked offended.
“You think I killed your son?”
“I think someone used your authority to cover their tracks.”
Richard looked at Mercer.
“Captain, you need to understand something.”
“What?”
“If Ethan Wallace was on that flight, he may still be on this aircraft.”
Mercer froze.
“We searched the cabin.”
“Did you search every crew area?”
“Yes.”
“The lavatories?”
“Yes.”
“Cargo?”
“Yes.”
“Crew rest area?”
“Yes.”
Richard shook his head.
“Then where is he?”
Mercer thought.
“He could have left through the terminal.”
“After the emergency landing?”
“Yes.”
Richard checked his phone.
“He didn't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because airport security just confirmed that no one matching his description exited the secure area.”
Mercer's pulse increased.
“So he's still here.”
Robert looked at him.
“Or he never boarded.”
Mercer frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Robert pointed toward the photograph.
“Look at the date.”
Mercer examined it.