“Do you understand me?”

There was a silence on the recording, then the sound of Lucas whispering.

“We understand, Dad.”

The recording ended there.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my chest tightening until I could barely breathe.

Daniel was unraveling.

His family’s empire was built on the lies in this binder, and he knew the truth was about to come out.

The taxi took a sharp right turn, throwing me against the door.

We passed the chain-link fence of the airfield’s outer perimeter.

Beyond the fence, I could see the tail fins of small private jets parked on the tarmac.

The gray sky seemed to hang low over the runway.

“We are approaching the security gate,” the driver said.

A white security booth stood at the entrance to the private terminal.

A guard in an orange vest was talking to the driver of a black Lincoln Navigator.

“Stop here,” I told the taxi driver.

I handed him two fifty-dollar bills and grabbed the handle of the door.

“Keep the change,” I said.

I stepped out into the rain.