Chapter 10 - The Confession of Jenna Nolan
The federal building in downtown Norfolk was a fortress of limestone and blast-proof glass.
At 3:00 AM, the third-floor conference room smelled of stale coffee, burnt styrofoam, and high-stakes exhaustion.
Special Agent Davis and I sat across the wide walnut table from Derek’s younger sister, Jenna Nolan. She was twenty-six, wearing a crumpled linen sundress from the cruise ship, her makeup smeared across her cheeks, clutching a paper cup of water like it was a life preserver.
Two federal public defenders sat beside her, both looking grim and distinctly unenthusiastic about their client's prospects.
"Jenna," Agent Davis began, sliding a five-page document across the table. "This is an agreement for an expedited proffer session. If you lie to us once—if you omit a single bank transfer, a single conversation, or a single contact—the US Attorney will file accessory to espionage charges before the sun comes up. You will face a mandatory minimum of twenty-five years."
Jenna looked at the document, then looked at me. Her hands shook so violently the water in her cup splashed onto the table.
"I didn't know about Lily," Jenna wept, her voice trembling. "Hannah, I swear on my life, I didn't know they left Lily alone! Mom told me that Evelyn was keeping her for the week! She said you had authorized it before you left for deployment!"
"Save the tears, Jenna," I said, my voice ice. "You were on the phone with Derek when he activated the remote doorbell camera from the lido deck of the ship. You laughed in the background while he told Evelyn that the babysitter was putting Lily down for a nap. It’s on the audio recording."
Jenna buried her face in her hands, her shoulders heaving with ragged sobs.
One of the public defenders tapped her arm. "Answer the Major’s questions, Jenna. Tell them about the meeting in Charleston."
Jenna took a deep, shuddering breath, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
"It started eight months ago," she whispered. "Derek was losing heavily on college basketball. He took out private loans from a man named Viktor—he operates out of a maritime logistics firm near the Port of Charleston. Derek owed over two hundred thousand dollars."
"And Patricia?" Davis asked.
"Mom found out when Viktor’s associates showed up at her country club in Richmond," Jenna said, her voice dropping to a terrified murmur. "She was furious, but not because Derek owed the money. She was furious because of the scandal. She said the Nolan family didn't get humiliated by street thugs. She met with Viktor personally."
"What did she offer him?" I asked.
"She knew Hannah was up for promotion to Major," Jenna said, looking at me with genuine dread. "Mom knew Hannah had top-secret compartmentalized clearance for naval supply chain systems. Mom told Viktor that Derek could provide the clearance certificates for Viktor’s commercial shipping manifests in exchange for wiping the debt and giving them a forty percent cut of the transport fees."
"And the life insurance policy?" Davis pressed. "The two-point-five million?"
Jenna swallowed hard, tears spilling over her eyelids. "That was Mom’s idea. She said... she said Hannah was always too independent. She said Hannah looked down on our family. Mom said if Hannah survived the deployment, she would eventually divorce Derek and take Lily, and the family would get nothing. Mom told Derek that military personnel die in training accidents and combat zones every day. She said if they had the policy secured in Bermuda, no domestic probate court could touch it."
"And the Nassau property?" I asked.
"The house in Cable Beach," Jenna choked out. "Derek was supposed to fly with Lily from Miami to Nassau on Sunday afternoon. Mom had already hired a full-time nanny in the Bahamas. Derek was going to live there under the Vance identity until the insurance payout cleared. They were going to tell the family that Hannah was killed in action, and that Derek took Lily abroad to grieve."
The utter, calculated depravity of it took the air out of the room.
It wasn't an impulse. It wasn't a desperate gamble made in the heat of a crisis.
It was a cold, premeditated conspiracy orchestrated by a mother and son to murder my reputation, steal my child, and profit off my death while I stood watch on the other side of the planet.
"Where is Viktor now?" Agent Davis asked, leaning forward with his pen poised.
Jenna looked up, her face pale as chalk.
"He’s not in Charleston," she whispered. "He flew into Norfolk yesterday. He was the one who told Mom that Hannah’s early return was a breach. He said if the cargo freighter *Titan Explorer* gets seized at the Norfolk terminal, he wouldn't just kill Derek. He said he’d burn down everything Derek loved."
Davis’s phone buzzed on the table.
He picked it up, listened for three seconds, and his face hardened into stone.
May you like
"The *Titan Explorer* just docked at Pier 12," Davis said, standing up. "Customs inspectors found forty-eight shipping containers loaded with military avionics components. And three armed men just breached the perimeter of the naval base."
***
