The Secret Inside the Dog Tag
Chapter 16 - The Secret Inside the Dog Tag
The skull dog tags were custom-made.
What Adrian never knew was that Ethan had modified his before deployment.
The back plate could slide open.
Inside was space for a tiny memory chip.
Ethan had used it years earlier to store emergency documents.
After he began investigating Victor, he placed audio files there.
Then forgot.
Trauma.
Fear.
Years of hiding.
He hadn't remembered until now.
The chip was damaged.
But specialists recovered part of one recording.
Victor's voice.
Another man's voice.
Their father's.
The conversation had occurred days before the plane crash.
Their father accused Victor of stealing from the company.
Victor threatened him.
The final sentence was unmistakable.
"If you get on that plane, Henry, don't expect to land."
The recording wasn't enough by itself to prove Victor sabotaged the aircraft.
But combined with the mechanic's payment and Sarah's records, prosecutors finally had a full case.
Victor Hale was charged with multiple financial crimes and conspiracy connected to Henry Cole's death.
For Adrian, the victory felt strangely empty.
Nothing could return twenty-two years.
Nothing could restore Ethan's lost eighteen.
Nothing could erase Noah's childhood poverty.
Adrian returned to the downtown sidewalk where he had first heard Noah singing.
The spot was empty.
No speakers.
No purple microphone.
Ethan joined him.
"We lost a lot of time," Adrian said.
Ethan nodded.
"I know."
"I hated you sometimes."
"I know."
"Not because you left."
Adrian looked at his brother.
"Because I thought you were dead and I was angry you left me alone."
Ethan's eyes filled.
"I'm here now."
Adrian nodded.
"Then let's not waste what's left."
Behind them, Noah's voice suddenly appeared.
"Are you two going to stand there all day?"
They turned.
Noah was holding a brand-new purple microphone.
May you like
Rachel stood beside him.
And for the first time in nearly two decades, the Cole brothers laughed together.
