“Your sister was far too curious for her own good.”

“She found the digital manifests on your father’s personal computer.”

“She was going to go to the federal authorities.”

“We had to secure our investment,” my father added.

“So you tried to murder your own daughter,” I said, looking at Richard.

“It was a tactical necessity,” my father said.

I felt a cold rage rising in my throat.

“She is your daughter, Richard,” I said.

“She is a liability,” my father said.

Madison let out a small, choked sob behind me.

I wanted to comfort her, but I could not look away from the two men in front of me.

“The cargo is already at the port,” Hayes said. “The ship sails at midnight.”

“It won’t sail,” I said. “I’ve already sent the files to the military police.”

It was a bluff, but I needed to see how they would react.

Hayes tilted his head slightly.

“No, you haven’t,” he said.

“The base network has been offline for scheduled maintenance since eighteen hundred hours.”

“You couldn’t have sent anything.”

He was right.