Evelyn refused to tell me anything over the phone.
She insisted we return to Bellamy's.
I didn't want to.
After the note at the storage unit, every familiar face felt different.
Julian.
Evelyn.
Margaret.
Arthur.
Even the people who had helped me could have been part of whatever had happened to my mother.
Still, the second ledger was too important to ignore.
We returned to Bellamy's.
Evelyn was waiting inside her office.
The door was damaged.
The lock had been forced.
Papers covered the floor.
“I didn't do this,” she said.
“I didn't accuse you.”
“You were thinking it.”
She was right.
I stepped inside.
“What was taken?”
“Nothing obvious.”
“Then what were they looking for?”
“The ledger.”
“Where is it?”
“I don't know.”
“You knew there was a second one.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
I looked at the broken lock.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Evelyn sat down.
“Your mother trusted me.”
“Then tell me why.”
She looked at the photograph on her wall.
“My husband was involved in the trust.”
“Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“He stole money.”
“He authorized transfers.”
“That's not the same thing.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“Daniel believed the money belonged to him.”
“And did it?”
“No.”
“Then why did he take it?”
“Because someone convinced him that the trust was being manipulated.”
“Who?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“Arthur.”
I stared at her.
“Arthur convinced Daniel to steal?”
“Not exactly.”
“What exactly?”
“Arthur wanted control.”
“Of the trust?”
“Of the family.”
I shook my head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
She opened a drawer.
Inside was an old photograph.
My mother.
Evelyn.
Daniel.
Arthur.
Margaret.
All five standing together.
“When was this taken?”
“Six years ago.”
“Why were you all together?”
“Your mother had discovered the first irregularity.”
“And you helped her?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she write that you knew what Daniel was doing?”
“Because I did.”
“You let him do it.”
“I tried to stop him.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
The honesty surprised me.
Evelyn looked down.
“I was afraid.”
“Of Daniel?”
“Of Arthur.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel wasn't acting alone.”
The room became quiet.
“Who was helping him?”
Evelyn didn't answer.
I remembered the note.
The person beside you is the reason your mother disappeared.
I looked at Julian.
He had been standing near the door.
He looked away.
A strange feeling moved through me.
“Julian.”
He looked at me.
“What?”
“Where were you the night my mother disappeared?”
His face changed.
“I was working.”
“At Bellamy's?”
“Yes.”
“Until what time?”
“Midnight.”
“Who saw you?”
He frowned.
“Laura, what are you doing?”
“Answer me.”
He looked toward Evelyn.
She said nothing.
“I was here.”
“Alone?”
“No.”
“Who was here?”
“Evelyn.”
I looked at her.
She nodded.
“Yes.”
My pulse slowed slightly.
Then Julian said something that brought it right back.
“Your mother came here that night.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“She came through the back door.”
“You saw her?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because she asked me not to.”
“What did she say?”
“That she was leaving town.”
I shook my head.
“She was found four months later.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you say nothing?”
“Because she told me you were in danger.”
I felt the floor beneath me shift.
“From whom?”
“She didn't say.”
“Did she leave anything?”
Julian hesitated.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“A key.”
My eyes moved to the brass key in my hand.
“318?”
He stared at it.
“Yes.”
“Why would she give you a hospital room number?”
“I don't know.”
“You should.”
“I didn't know what it meant.”
Evelyn suddenly spoke.
“She used numbers as codes.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
“To hide information.”
“What does 318 mean?”
“Not the hospital.”
“What then?”
Evelyn walked toward a bookshelf.
She removed three books.
Behind them was a narrow metal compartment.
She opened it.
Inside was a handwritten page.
Three.
One.
Eight.
I looked at it.
“It's a combination.”
“For what?”
Evelyn didn't answer.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Margaret.
Come back to the hospital. Your mother remembered something important.
I immediately called her.
She answered.
“Laura?”
“I'm coming.”
“Don't bring Arthur.”
“I won't.”
“Don't bring Julian either.”
I froze.
“Why?”
“Because your mother said his name.”
I looked at Julian.
He was watching me.
“What did she say?”
Margaret's voice dropped.
“She said Julian was the last person she saw before she disappeared.”
The call ended.
I stared at him.
He looked genuinely shocked.
“That isn't true.”
“You were at Bellamy's.”
“Yes.”
“You saw my mother.”
“Yes.”
“She gave you a key.”
“Yes.”
“She disappeared afterward.”
“I didn't hurt her.”
“I didn't say you did.”
“You're thinking it.”
I wanted to believe him.
But the envelope at the storage unit suddenly seemed less like a warning and more like a carefully placed accusation.
The person beside you.
Julian.
He took a step toward me.
“Laura, listen.”
My phone rang again.
This time, it was Arthur.
I answered.
His voice was urgent.
“Where are you?”
“Why?”
“Because I know who took your mother.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
“I'm not certain yet.”
“Then why call?”
“Because the person you're with is not who you think.”
I looked directly at Julian.
Arthur continued.
“Get away from him.”
The call ended.
I lowered my phone.
Julian stared at me.
“You believe him?”
“I don't know what to believe.”
He nodded.
“That makes two of us.”
Evelyn stepped between us.
“Enough.”
She looked at me.
“There's something you need to see.”
She took the brass key.
“Follow me.”
We went downstairs.
Past the kitchen.
Past the wine storage.
Behind a false panel was a narrow metal door.
The key fit.
Inside was a tiny room.
There was almost nothing there.
A chair.
A lamp.
A safe.
And a photograph.
My mother stood beside the safe.
On the back she had written:
For Laura, when she is ready.
My hands shook.
Evelyn stepped back.
“You should open it.”
The combination was three numbers.
I tried 318.
The safe clicked.
Inside was the second ledger.
And beneath it was a handwritten letter.
I opened the letter.
Laura,
If you're reading this, then I failed to keep you away from the people who wanted what I found.
The ledger will show you where the money went.
But the names are not the most important thing.
The most important thing is the person who helped them reach me.
I read the next line.
I trusted him because he had protected our family for years.
My eyes moved downward.
Then I saw the name.
I stopped breathing.
Julian spoke behind me.
“Laura?”
I turned.
The person named in my mother's letter was not Arthur.
It was not Evelyn.
It was not Margaret.
It was him.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: My Mother’s Letter Named the Man I Had Trusted, but the Ledger Revealed a Second Secret That Made the First One Look Small
The Dinner Was Expensive, but the Real Cost Began When the Couple Walked Away Without Looking Back
Part 7 of 12
