Henry nodded, and Sabrina felt anger rise within her. All these years of wondering, of what-ifs, of missed chances—all deliberately orchestrated by their fathers.
"Why, exactly?" she demanded.
Henry paused, choosing his words carefully. "They were hoping you wouldn't have to get involved. And, they were hoping, neither one of you would be killed."
Sabrina shook her head, tears misting her vision. "They shouldn't have done that."
Walker tightened his grip on her hand. "I would have."
She turned to him, surprised. "What?"
His expression was solemn as he met her eyes. "I would have done the same thing, if I was trying to protect someone I loved."
The word hung between them, charged with meaning. Sabrina's heart skipped a beat before she turned back to the computer, though she didn't withdraw her hand from his. "Right."
She continued searching through the files, opening one containing email correspondences. "Look at this," she said, pointing to a particular exchange. "Dad highlighted these messages. They're between someone with the username 'Alpine' and various contacts."
Walker studied the messages, finally releasing her hand to scroll through the documents. She immediately missed the warmth of his touch. "These are operational instructions. Changing shipping routes, adjusting manifests."
"Alpine," Henry repeated, his expression darkening. "That was the username assigned to Thomas Barrington."
"Your Thomas?" Sabrina asked, confusion replacing her earlier certainty. "The one outside right now?"
"No," Henry corrected. "Thomas Barrington was Clark Shipping's former Head of Operations. He died in a boating accident six months before your father."
"Another 'accident,'" Walker said grimly.
Sabrina frowned. “Right.” The middle-aged executive who had worked closely with her father. Yet another death in this expanding web of conspiracy.
Walker moved toward the window, checking the perimeter. "Where's this Thomas now?"
Henry joined him, scanning the treeline. "He should have been back from the perimeter check by now."
Something in their tense postures sent alarm racing through Sabrina.
"Where's your man?" Walker asked, his voice taking on the hard edge she'd heard during the boardroom shooting.
Henry looked worried. "Crap."
"We need to move," Walker said, drawing his weapon. "Now."
Fear surged through Sabrina as Henry headed for a panel in the wall, which slid open to reveal a hidden compartment containing weapons and go-bags. More secrets, more layers to this conspiracy that had claimed her father's life.
"There's a tunnel access in the bedroom closet," Henry told her. "It leads to a garage about fifty yards from the cabin."
Panic clawed at her throat as she looked between the men. "So Thomas is gone?"
Walker took the laptop and the most critical files, securing them in a waterproof bag from Henry's cache. "It appears so. What about the rest?"
"Leave it," Henry said, checking his weapon. "It's all backed up on the server, which will wipe itself if compromised."
Sabrina scrambled to gather key papers, her hands shaking.
"Go!" Walker ordered.
She rushed to follow Henry toward the bedroom, fear making her movements clumsy.
Just as they reached the bedroom, the front door burst open.
