The Phone That Could Destroy Him

“Daniel Brooks.””

Nia didn't immediately respond.

The name seemed to change the temperature of the room.

Maya stared at the general, waiting for recognition, disbelief, anything that might tell her she wasn't alone in what she remembered.

“You knew him?”” Maya asked.

Nia placed her phone facedown on the bedside table.

“I knew of him.””

Maya's brow furrowed.

“What does that mean?””

“It means we need to establish exactly what happened before we assume anything.””

“Daniel was my brother.””

The words came out sharper than Maya intended.

Nia nodded slowly.

“I understand.””

“No, you don't.”” Maya's voice broke.

“Everyone keeps talking about the accident like it was just some mistake. Daniel didn't make mistakes like that. He was careful.

He checked everything twice. He used to call me before he drove anywhere at night because he wanted me to know when he got home.””

Her eyes filled.

“He called me that night, too.””

Nia leaned forward.

“What did he say?””

Maya rubbed her thumb over the cracked edge of the phone.

“He said he had found something he wasn't supposed to see.””

“What kind of something?””

“He wouldn't tell me over the phone. He said he was coming to meet me.””

Maya paused, fighting to steady her breathing.

“He never arrived.””

The nurse finished checking the monitor and quietly stepped toward the door, giving them privacy without leaving the patient unattended.

Nia kept her voice gentle.

“Did Daniel work for Victor's company?””

“He was a mechanic. He worked in the vehicle maintenance department.””

Victor's company operated a fleet of commercial vehicles, and Nia knew that some of its contracts involved transportation services for government facilities. But she didn't know Daniel personally, and she wasn't going to pretend otherwise.

“Did he ever tell you about problems with the vehicles?””

Maya nodded.

“He said some of the maintenance reports didn't match what he'd seen in the workshop. Parts were being marked as replaced when they hadn't been. Sometimes the paperwork said a vehicle had passed inspection when he'd never even seen it.””

“Did he report it?””

“He tried.””

“To whom?””

“His supervisor first. Then someone in corporate compliance.””

Maya looked toward the glass.

“Malcolm Reed.””

Nia's expression sharpened.

“You're certain?””

“Daniel told me the man's name. He said Reed promised to look into it.””

“What happened afterward?””

“Daniel got scared. He said people were asking him questions about his shifts and who he talked to. Then, two days before the accident, he told me to keep my phone charged.””

Maya's eyes moved to the damaged device in her hands.

“He said, 'If anything happens, don't let them take this.''”

Nia felt a cold unease settle beneath her ribs.

“Did he give you the phone?””

“No. This was my phone. We used to send each other voice messages.””

Maya opened the device's message application, but stopped before selecting anything.

“I don't know whether the recording is from the accident or something Daniel sent me. I haven't played it.””

“That's all right,” Nia said.

“Don't open it until we know how to preserve the original file.””

Maya nodded, then looked at the general with sudden desperation.

“Can you find out if Daniel survived?””

Nia hesitated.

That hesitation told Maya more than an answer might have.

“You don't know,” Maya whispered.

“I haven't seen verified information about his condition.””

“Then find out.””

“I will.””

“Please.””

Nia took Maya's hand.

“I promise I'll pursue the truth through the proper channels. I won't tell you something is certain when I don't know that it is.””

Maya turned her face toward the window.

Beyond the glass, Victor had returned.

He was no longer pacing. He stood beside Reed, speaking with clipped gestures while the compliance liaison listened with his head bowed.

Then Victor looked directly into Maya's room.

He raised his wrist, checked his watch, and pointed at the phone.

Maya shuddered.

Nia stood and closed the observation blind halfway, leaving enough of the glass visible for the nurse to monitor the room.

“Don't watch him,” she said.

Maya swallowed.

“He always does that.””

“Does what?””

“Checks his watch when he's waiting for something to happen.””

Nia looked at the silver watch she had seen on Victor's wrist.

“Did you notice that at the scene?””

Maya nodded.

“He looked at it just before he walked away from the car.””

“Which car?””

“The one Daniel was driving.””

Maya's voice became distant, but she remained fully conscious, her eyes fixed on the phone.

“I remember the driver's door was open. I was on the ground near the passenger side. I could hear Daniel breathing, but he wasn't moving.””

She pressed her lips together.

“Victor looked inside. Then he looked at his watch.””

Nia didn't interrupt.

“He said something to someone standing behind him. I couldn't see the other person clearly.””

“What did he say?””

Maya squeezed her eyes shut.

“I don't remember all of it. Just the last part.””

She opened her eyes.

“He said, 'We can't have him talking.''”

Nia felt her jaw tighten.

“And after that?””

“Somebody told him to leave.””

“Who?””

“I don't know.””

Maya shook her head in frustration.

“I was dizzy. I couldn't stand up. I tried to crawl toward Daniel, but somebody grabbed my shoulder and told me not to move.””

“Was it Victor?””

“I don't know. The sleeve was dark. I saw a silver watch.””

Nia glanced at the doorway.

The corridor outside had become crowded with hospital security personnel. Victor was speaking to them now, holding out a business card and pointing toward Maya's room.

One guard looked through the glass, then turned away from him.

Nia stepped to the bedside table and checked her phone again.

The unknown number had sent another message.

*DANIEL IS NOT THE ONLY PERSON THEY'RE TRYING TO SILENCE.*

Nia read it, then looked at the sender details.

No name. No callback number.

She showed the message to Maya.

“Have you received anything like this?””

Maya shook her head.

“No.””

“Does anyone know you're here besides the hospital and the people who brought you in?””

“My aunt knows. I called her before I left home that night. She hasn't answered my messages since the accident.””

“What's her name?””

“Patricia Brooks.””

Nia wrote it down.

“Has she ever worked for Victor's company?””

“No. She used to work at a county records office.””

Nia paused.

“What kind of records?””

“Public records. Vehicle registrations, business filings, that sort of thing.””

Maya frowned at the general's reaction.

“Why?””

Nia looked toward the window.

Because the pieces were beginning to connect in ways she didn't like. A mechanic who had found irregularities in maintenance reports. A sister who had preserved a damaged phone.

A corporate liaison who appeared frightened of a video file. And an executive who had arrived at a hospital demanding a waiver before anyone had established what had happened.

But suspicion wasn't proof.

Nia knew better than to confuse the two.

She returned to Maya's bedside.

“We're going to do this carefully. First, we protect you. Then we preserve the evidence. After that, we find out what happened to Daniel.””

Maya wiped her cheeks.

“What if the recording doesn't prove anything?””

“Then we keep asking questions.””

“And if it does?””

Nia met her eyes.

“Then the truth deserves to be heard.””

A knock sounded at the door.

One of the hospital security officers entered and addressed Nia.