Chapter 5: The Man Who Was Never Supposed To Be There
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
The room became too quiet.
Captain Ward’s words sat between us like something dangerous.
*Andre Carter was there that night too.*
No.
That couldn’t be right.
My mind immediately rejected it.
Andre was younger then.
A stranger.
Someone whose name had never appeared in any report connected to my father.
Someone I had spent weeks defending.
Someone I had risked my career for.
But now his name was attached to the one mystery that had haunted my entire life.
I looked at Ward.
“You’re lying.””
His expression didn’t change.
“I wish I was.””
“You expect me to believe Andre was involved in my father’s death?””
“No.””
“Then what are you saying?””
Ward walked toward the desk and pulled out an old file.
The paper looked worn.
Not like something recently opened.
Like something hidden.
He placed it in front of me.
“This was never supposed to leave evidence storage.””
My eyes moved to the label.
CASE FILE: THOMAS BROOKS.
My father’s name.
My hands shook slightly.
“Why do you have this?””
“Because I took it.””
I looked up sharply.
“You stole evidence?””
“Yes.””
The honesty caught me off guard.
“Why?””
“Because someone was trying to erase it.””
I opened the file.
The first pages were familiar.
The official report.
The accident description.
The timeline.
Everything I had already heard.
Then I found something I had never seen.
A second report.
A hidden report.
My eyes moved across the page.
*Additional witness identified.*
I froze.
There was a name.
Andre Carter.
My heart sank.
“He was seventeen.””
Ward’s voice was quiet.
“He was there.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“That’s what your father was trying to find out.””
I turned the page.
The witness statement was incomplete.
Parts were blacked out.
Someone had intentionally removed information.
“Who did this?””
Ward looked away.
“I don’t know.””
“You keep saying that.””
“Because it’s true.””
I slammed the file shut.
“No. You know enough to scare me, but not enough to tell me the truth.””
Ward didn’t argue.
That bothered me.
“You’re right.””
The admission surprised me.
“I don’t know everything.””
“Then what do you know?””
He took a breath.
“Your father was investigating Derek Vale.””
I nodded.
“You told me that.””
“He believed Vale wasn’t working alone.””
“Who was with him?””
Ward looked at the file.
“The people around him.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“It’s the only one I have.””
I stared at him.
“Then why mention Andre?””
“Because Andre was one of those people.””
My chest tightened.
“No.””
Ward looked at me.
“You want to believe he’s innocent.””
“I know him.””
“Do you?””
The question irritated me.
“Yes.””
“Really?””
His voice softened.
“Tiana, how much do you actually know about Andre Carter?””
I opened my mouth.
Then stopped.
Because the answer was uncomfortable.
I knew what he showed me.
I knew the version of himself he allowed people to see.
But I didn’t know everything.
Ward continued.
“You know he saved your life.””
“Yes.””
“You know he helped your department years ago.””
“Yes.””
“You know he disappeared afterward.””
“Yes.””
“Do you know why?””
I didn’t answer.
Ward leaned against the desk.
“Because after your father died, Andre became connected to the investigation.””
“How?””
“He had information.””
“About what?””
“About the person who took the flash drive.””
My pulse increased.
“And he never told anyone?””
“He tried.””
“What happened?””
Ward looked at me.
“People stopped listening.””
The room felt heavier.
I looked down at the file again.
“What does Andre want now?””
Ward’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s the question you should be asking.””
I hated that he was right.
My phone buzzed.
I already knew who it was before looking.
Andre.
I answered.
“What?””
Silence.
Then his voice.
“Tiana.””
I closed my eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Another pause.
“I know what Ward told you.””
“Answer the question.””
“Tiana…”
“No.””
My voice cracked with anger.
“You don’t get to protect me anymore.””
Silence.
Then Andre said quietly:
“I was there.””
The words hurt even more because they came directly from him.
I looked at Ward.
He watched me carefully.
“What happened?””
Andre sighed.
“I was seventeen.””
“I know.””
“You don’t know everything.””
“Then tell me.””
Another silence.
“I was working for Derek Vale.””
My stomach dropped.
I gripped the phone tighter.
“You were working for him?””
“Yes.””
“Doing what?””
“Small jobs.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“I was delivering things. Passing messages. Watching people.””
The room spun.
“And my father?””
“I didn’t know who he was.””
“Don’t lie.””
“I’m not.””
His voice became desperate.
“When I realized what Vale was doing, I tried to get out.””
“Then why were you there that night?””
Andre didn’t answer.
That silence told me enough.
“Why?””
Finally, he spoke.
“Because your father was going to expose him.””
I felt my eyes burn.
“And you helped him?””
“I tried.””
“But he died.””
Andre’s voice became quiet.
“Yes.””
The word shattered something inside me.
I ended the call.
No goodbye.
No explanation.
Nothing.
I just stood there.
Seven years of believing I knew my father’s story.
Seven years of believing I knew who deserved my trust.
Gone.
Ward spoke first.
“You need to understand something.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“Both of us are telling you pieces.””
“Both?””
“Me and Andre.””
“Why?””
“Because neither of us has the whole truth.””
I looked at the file.
The hidden report.
The missing evidence.
The erased names.
“You’re saying someone else is controlling this.””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Ward’s face became serious.
“That’s what your father died trying to discover.””
My phone buzzed again.
This time, it wasn’t Andre.
It wasn’t an unknown number.
It was Reed.
I answered immediately.
“Marcus?””
His breathing was heavy.
“Tiana, where are you?””
“Why?””
“Because someone just broke into my apartment.””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
“They weren’t looking for money.””
“What were they looking for?””
A pause.
Then:
“The same thing everyone else is looking for.””
I looked at Ward.
“The flash drive?””
“No.””
Reed’s voice lowered.
“Something worse.””
I felt cold.
“What?””
“The original copy of your father’s investigation.””
I looked at the file in my hands.
“Impossible.””
“No.””
His voice was urgent.
“It’s possible.””
“How?””
“Because whoever broke in left something behind.””
I waited.
“What?””
A long silence.
Then Reed said:
“A photograph.””
My heart started racing.
“What photograph?””
His voice became almost a whisper.
“A picture of your father.””
I exhaled.
“Marcus, I’ve seen pictures of my father.””
“No.””
He sounded shaken.
“Tiana.””
“What?””
“The picture was taken the night he died.””
My hand went numb.
“And who was in it?””
Reed hesitated.
Then answered:
“You.””
The world stopped.
I couldn’t speak.
“That’s impossible.””
“I know.””
“I wasn’t there.””
“I know.””
“Then why—”
Because his next words changed everything.
“Because Tiana, the person in the picture isn’t you now.””
I froze.
“What?””
“It’s a child.””
My heart stopped.
A terrible thought entered my mind.
A thought I didn’t want to believe.
Reed continued.
“The girl standing next to your father in the picture…”
His voice dropped.
“She’s wearing the necklace you still have.””
I touched the small chain around my neck.
The one my father gave me before he died.
The one I had worn every day since I was nineteen.
The one I thought was just a memory.
But now I wondered.
What if it was something else?
Ward stepped closer.
“Tiana?””
I looked at him.
My voice barely worked.
“Who was with my father that night?””
Neither man answered.
Then Reed said the words that made my entire past collapse.
“The girl in the photograph wasn’t just a witness.””
A pause.
May you like
“She was the reason your father was there.””
And then the call ended.
