I couldn't move.
Julian looked at me.
“What did she write?”
I folded the letter.
“Nothing.”
He knew I was lying.
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Laura.”
I shook my head.
“Not here.”
Julian looked hurt.
Or perhaps frightened.
I couldn't tell anymore.
The name in my mother's handwriting remained burned into my mind.
Julian Reed.
My manager.
The man who had called me back to Bellamy's after the walkout.
The man who had shown me my mother's ring.
The man who had driven me to the hospital.
The man who had helped me find the storage unit.
The man who had known my mother was alive.
Or had known something.
I closed the safe.
“I'm taking this.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Good.”
Julian stepped toward me.
“Laura, please.”
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“Just tell me one thing.”
“What?”
“Did my mother trust you?”
He looked down.
“Yes.”
“Then why did she write your name?”
His face tightened.
“I don't know.”
I wanted to believe him.
But the letter had been written by my mother.
She had known something.
She had feared someone.
And she had left the truth inside a locked room beneath the restaurant.
I turned toward Evelyn.
“Where is the ledger?”
“In your hands.”
“No. Where is the original?”
She looked confused.
“This is it.”
I opened the ledger.
The pages were filled with dates, account numbers, company names, and handwritten initials.
At first, it looked like ordinary financial records.
Then I noticed something.
Several transfers had been made on the same dates my mother had disappeared from work.
I traced one entry.
The receiving company was registered to an address across town.
Another transfer went to a different company.
Same address.
I looked at Evelyn.
“What is this?”
She leaned closer.
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
“That address belonged to Daniel.”
I turned another page.
The same address appeared repeatedly.
But beneath each transaction was a handwritten initial.
J.R.
Julian Reed.
My hands went cold.
I looked at him.
He stared at the ledger.
“I didn't write those.”
“You knew the accounts.”
“I knew some of them.”
“You knew my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You were involved.”
“No.”
I stepped back.
“Then explain the initials.”
“I can't.”
“That isn't good enough.”
He closed his eyes.
“There were payments.”
“To you?”
“No.”
“Then to whom?”
“I don't know.”
I almost laughed.
Everyone suddenly knew everything except the part that mattered.
I turned the page.
A list of phone numbers.
One belonged to Evelyn.
One belonged to Margaret.
One belonged to Arthur.
And one belonged to my mother.
Beside my mother's number was a date.
The date she disappeared.
Underneath it was a note.
Call from J.R. — 10:42 p.m.
I looked at Julian.
“You called her.”
He didn't answer.
“When?”
“The night she disappeared.”
His silence was enough.
“What did you say?”
“I asked her to come to Bellamy's.”
“Why?”
“To warn her.”
“About what?”
“That someone had discovered the ledger.”
“Who?”
“I didn't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head.
“You should have told me.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother told me not to.”
I stared at him.
“She told you to keep silent?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she believed your phone was being monitored.”
That stopped me.
“My phone?”
“Yes.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
“Then how did she know?”
“She had proof.”
“What proof?”
Julian looked toward Evelyn.
Evelyn shook her head.
“I never saw it.”
Julian continued.
“She told me she had discovered a device in her house.”
“A tracker?”
“Yes.”
My mind returned to my mother's disappearance.
Her phone.
Her purse.
Her wallet.
The ring.
Everything had been found except the ring.
“What did she do with the device?”
“She gave it to me.”
“Where is it?”
Julian reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small evidence bag.
Inside was a black electronic device no larger than a coin.
My stomach turned.
“That's what was tracking her?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you give it to police?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of Arthur?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Julian looked directly at me.
“Daniel.”
I remembered.
Daniel was dead.
Six weeks.
But my mother had disappeared four months ago.
That meant Daniel had been alive when she vanished.
I looked at Evelyn.
“You said he died six weeks ago.”
“Yes.”
“Then my mother disappeared while he was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew.”
Evelyn looked away.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Arthur told me not to.”
“Why would Arthur hide that?”
“I don't know.”
Julian interrupted.
“Because Daniel wasn't working alone.”
I looked at him.
“Who else?”
He didn't answer.
A sound came from the hallway.
Someone was outside.
Evelyn turned.
“Who is that?”
The handle moved.
Julian stepped toward the door.
I grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I'll check.”
“No.”
The door opened.
Arthur entered.
His face was grim.
“I told you to get away from him.”
Julian stepped forward.
“You don't get to order her around.”
Arthur looked at him.
“You're the last person who should talk about trust.”
Julian's jaw tightened.
“You know what happened.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell her.”
Arthur looked at me.
“I will.”
He held out a folder.
“This came from Daniel's office.”
I didn't take it.
“What is it?”
“Medical records.”
“For whom?”
“Your mother.”
My heart stopped.
“Daniel had my mother's medical records?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Arthur hesitated.
“Because he was responsible for arranging her treatment after the accident.”
“What accident?”
Silence.
“What accident?”
Arthur looked at Julian.
Julian closed his eyes.
“The night your mother disappeared,” he said, “she was hit by a car.”
I felt as though the room had suddenly lost all oxygen.
“Who hit her?”
“We don't know.”
“Then how did Daniel have her medical records?”
“Because he took her.”
My mouth went dry.
“Took her where?”
“To a private clinic.”
“Why?”
“To keep her out of the official system.”
“Why?”
“Because she was afraid.”
“Of Daniel?”
Julian shook his head.
“Of the person who ordered the accident.”
I looked at Arthur.
“You know who.”
He nodded.
“Who?”
Arthur looked at the ledger.
“Your mother's evidence points to someone inside the family.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“The person who arranged the accident wasn't trying to kill your mother.”
I stared at him.
“Then what were they trying to do?”
“Make her disappear.”
The words landed heavily.
I looked at the hospital photograph on my phone.
My mother had survived.
Someone had hidden her.
Someone had kept her unidentified.
Someone had watched her.
And someone had been trying to control what happened to her.
I opened the folder.
The first medical report showed an admission date four months earlier.
The diagnosis matched what the nurse had told me.
Head trauma.
Memory impairment.
Unknown identity.
Then I saw the final page.
A handwritten authorization.
Patient transferred under private instruction.
Authorized by:
Julian Reed.
I looked up.
Julian was staring at me.
“Laura.”
“You transferred my mother.”
“Yes.”
“Without telling me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she begged me to.”
“She was unconscious.”
“Not when I found her.”
I stopped.
“What?”
Julian's voice broke.
“She was awake when I found her.”
He looked toward the hospital beyond the walls.
“She knew exactly who she was.”
My heart pounded.
“Then why didn't she come home?”
Julian looked at the ledger.
“Because she told me someone was waiting for her at home.”
“Who?”
He swallowed.
“Your sister.”
My blood ran cold.
“Chloe?”
He nodded.
“Your mother believed the person hunting her would use Chloe to get to the ledger.”
I couldn't breathe.
My phone rang.
Chloe.
I answered immediately.
“Chloe?”
There was silence.
Then a man's voice.
“Your sister is safe.”
My heart stopped.
“Who is this?”
The voice continued.
“But if you want her to stay that way, bring the second ledger to the old Vance estate.”
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Arthur stepped forward.
“What happened?”
I looked at him.
Then at Julian.
Then at the ledger.
“Someone has Chloe.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 9: The Threat Against Chloe Forced Me to Choose Between the Ledger and My Sister While the People Around Me Finally Revealed Their Secrets
The Dinner Was Expensive, but the Real Cost Began When the Couple Walked Away Without Looking Back
Part 8 of 12
