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Thomas doesn’t flinch.

He doesn’t defend himself.

He only looks at her with tears in his eyes.

“I deserved that.”

“You deserved worse.”

Nathan reaches for her, but Mom steps away from him too.

“No. I need the truth. All of it.”

The medic treating Ward glances toward Keating.

Ward’s graze needs stitches, but he refuses to leave Storm.

Keating tells the medic to continue.

Then he closes the evidence-room door.

“Thomas, begin with the argument between James and his son.”

Thomas slowly returns to his chair.

“Your father went to Blackwater six days before he died.”

Storm shakes her head. “Why?”

“Jonathan called him. He said he had found evidence hidden inside the lighthouse.”

“What kind of evidence?” Ben asks.

“Photographs and shipping records. Jonathan believed Pacific Maritime Restoration was using false salvage permits to move stolen cargo through Blackwater.”

“Why call Dad instead of the authorities?” I ask.

“Because Jonathan no longer knew which authorities he could trust. Some of the permits carried legitimate government signatures.”

Keating’s expression tightens. “Forged signatures?”

“Jonathan didn’t know.”

“And Grandpa found out Dad went there,” Storm says.

Thomas nods. “James was furious. He believed Jonathan had placed his son in danger.”

“That was the argument Mom heard,” I say.

“Yes. I believe it was.”

Mom lowers herself into a chair.

“What did my husband bring home from Blackwater?”

“I don’t know.”

“Cross told Calle to ask what he was carrying.”