Chapter 8 - Hannah's Father
Hannah's father, Michael Reed, had driven freight for a living.
He hauled whatever paid: medical supplies, restaurant equipment, machine parts.
Four years earlier, his truck had crossed the center line on Interstate 94 and struck a barrier. Police called it fatigue.
Hannah had believed them because grief left no room for investigation.
Now Walter asked for the date.
When Hannah told him, he went silent.
"What?"
"Say the date again."
She did.
Walter looked at Nicholas.
"That was the week Lake Briar opened."
They searched Michael Reed's old employment records.
His final delivery had not been machine parts.
It had been a locked medical crate routed to a private client with no name.
Destination code: LB-12.
Room 12.
Hannah felt sick.
Nicholas watched her carefully.
"Your father may have seen Rebecca."
"Then why didn't he tell me?"
"Maybe he tried."
Hannah remembered a nervous voicemail from two days before his death asking her to call when she was alone. She had been working a double shift and thought she had deleted it years ago.
Her old phone backups still existed. Hannah called Ethan. "Can you open Dad's old backup?" Ten minutes later, he found the voicemail.
Michael's voice filled the clinic room.
"Han, I delivered something today I shouldn't have seen. There was a woman there. She said her name was Rebecca. She gave me a number and told me if anything happened, find Nicholas Valenti. I know that name scares people, but she said he's the only one who can fix this."
Hannah covered her mouth.
The message continued.
"And, sweetheart... the doctor running the place is Adrian Feldman."
Nicholas looked toward the toxicology report in his lap.
His neurologist.
May you like
His sister's jailer.
And possibly the last man to see Hannah's father alive.
