Whether the blast had been intended to destroy equipment, erase occupants, frighten Dad, or create confusion, none of them could prove yet.
But it had ended the birthday dinner in shattered windows, smoke, and screaming neighbors.
Dad stepped closer to my window.
“Emily, I need the drive.”
Every muscle in my body tensed.
There it was.
The request Mark had warned me about.
I stared at my father.
“No.”
His face did not change.
“Good.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“If you had handed it to me, I would have known Mark was wrong to trust you with it.”
Anger flashed hot through me.
“This is not one of your tests.”
“No.” His voice softened.
“It isn’t.”
“Then stop treating me like a recruit.”
Dad nodded once.
“You’re right.”
That admission was more shocking than the explosion.
My phone rang.
Mark.
I answered and put it on speaker.
“I’m with Dad.”
“I know.”
Dad looked around sharply.
Mark continued, “Robert, tell her about the access records.”
Dad closed his eyes briefly.
I opened the laptop again.
The scanned records showed repeated information requests routed through dormant professional relationships connected to Dad’s former circles.
Most requests looked harmless individually.
Together, they formed a map around Mark.
The crucial detail was a sequence of dates.
The first requests began before Dad had knowingly spoken to anyone about Mark.
Dad had not started the surveillance.
But after the initial contact, his casual answers had confirmed which information was accurate.
He had become a verification point.
A human checksum.
That was why Mark had been unable to clear him immediately.
Someone could exploit a man without recruiting him.
All they needed was his trust.
Dad leaned against the concrete pillar.
“I gave them credibility,” he said.
“I spent thirty years believing I could tell when someone was working me.”
Mark answered through the phone.
“That belief is what they used.”
Dad accepted the blow without defending himself.
For once, neither man tried to control the room.
I scrolled farther.
The last file contained another recording.
My father’s voice again.
But this one was different.
He was speaking to Mark.
“If they come near Emily or the boy, you burn all of it.
