The photograph remained on the screen between us.
I zoomed in again.
There was no mistaking her.
Claire.
Daniel's younger sister.
She had been twenty-four when my father died. She had stood beside me at the funeral, held my hand when I could barely remain upright, and cried so hard that I had comforted her instead of the other way around.
For eleven years, I had believed she had barely known my father.
Now I was looking at a photograph of her sitting beside him minutes before his death.
Daniel stared at the screen.
“That's my sister.”
“I know.”
“She told me she wasn't in Kentucky.”
I looked at him.
“She lied to you too.”
He shook his head slowly.
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“Claire couldn't have done this.”
Samuel stepped closer.
“Don't decide that yet.”
Daniel turned toward him.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because suspicion isn't proof.”
I looked again at the photograph.
Claire was turned slightly toward my father. Her expression was serious. My father was holding something in his lap.
The envelope.
The same envelope Margaret had kept hidden.
My pulse quickened.
“Why was Claire with him?”
Samuel pointed toward the image.
“Look at your father's hand.”
I enlarged it.
He was holding a small piece of paper.
Not the envelope.
A key.
The brass key I had found at the property.
I stared at it.
“Why would he give that to her?”
“Maybe he didn't,” Samuel said.
“Then what was she doing there?”
Nobody answered.
Daniel picked up his phone.
“I’m calling her.”
He dialed.
No answer.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Then his expression changed.
“What?”
He turned the screen toward me.
Claire had sent a message.
*Don't come looking for me.**
A second message arrived.
*You don't know what Dad did.**
Daniel stared at the words.
“Which dad?”
My voice was quiet.
He looked at me.
“I don't know.”
Samuel reached for the phone.
“Ask her about Mercer.”
Daniel typed.
*Were you working with Mercer?**
The reply came almost immediately.
*No. I was trying to stop him.**
Another message followed.
*But Dad was already dead by the time I understood what he had done.**
Daniel sat down.
I could see the confusion on his face.
“What does she mean?”
I looked at Samuel.
“Call her again.”
This time, she answered.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then Claire whispered, “I knew you would find the photograph eventually.”
“Why were you with my father?”
“Because he asked me to meet him.”
“Why?”
“He wanted me to help him.”
“With what?”
“The account.”
My stomach tightened.
“The secret account?”
“Yes.”
“Then why was your face hidden from everyone?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know my father was going to die?”
“No.”
Her voice broke.
“I swear I didn't.”
Daniel spoke.
“Claire, tell us everything.”
She was silent.
Then she said, “I met Uncle—”
She stopped herself.
“My father.”
“Your father?” Daniel asked.
“Victor.”
She inhaled shakily.
“He knew Mercer was planning something. He told me to follow your father.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Why would he trust Claire?”
“Because Mercer didn't know she was involved.”
Claire continued.
“Dad thought your father had the evidence. He wanted me to find out where it was.”
“Did you tell him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because your father convinced me Dad was wrong.”
I closed my eyes.
My father had always been good at making people listen.
“What happened that night?”
“I met him near the property.”
“Then?”
“He gave me the key.”
“The brass key?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He told me there was a room beneath the property.”
I glanced at Samuel.
“We found it.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because I watched you.”
Daniel stiffened.
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Across the road.”
“Why didn't you come to us?”
“Because Mercer was watching too.”
My heart began pounding.
“What happened after you left my father?”
“I didn't leave him.”
The words came softly.
“I was still there when Mercer arrived.”
I could barely breathe.
“Then what happened?”
“I saw Dad's car.”
“Victor?”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel?”
“He arrived a few minutes later.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I told him to leave.”
Claire's voice shook.
“Dad argued with your father.”
“With mine?”
“No. With Daniel.”
I looked at my husband.
“What did he say?”
Claire answered.
“He told Daniel that if he took the evidence, Mercer would kill him.”
Daniel opened his eyes.
“I don't remember that.”
“You were in shock.”
Claire continued.
“Then Dad left.”
“Victor left?”
“Yes.”
“Your father was still alive.”
“Yes.”
“Then who hit the car?”
“I don't know.”
The line went silent.
Then Claire said, “But I saw Mercer.”
I felt every muscle in my body tighten.
“He was driving the second vehicle.”
Samuel nodded.
“That matches what I was told.”
“What happened after the crash?”
Claire's breathing became uneven.
“I ran toward your father.”
“And?”
“He was alive.”
The same words Daniel had used.
“He looked at me and said one thing.”
“What?”
“Take the key to her.”
My throat tightened.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He knew he wasn't going to survive.”
I could barely speak.
“What happened to the key?”
“I gave it to you.”
I stared at the brass key lying on the table.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I found it at the property.”
Claire began crying.
“I left it there because I was too afraid to come near you.”
“Then why did my father say to take it to me?”
“Because he knew the property would eventually lead you to the truth.”
The call ended.
Daniel remained motionless.
Then his phone rang.
This time, the caller was Claire.
But when he answered, it wasn't her voice.
A man's voice said, “You should have left the past buried.”
The call ended.
Samuel immediately moved toward the door.
“We need to go.”
I looked at him.
“Where?”
“To the property.”
“Why?”
“Because if Mercer knows you found the key, he'll go there too.”
Daniel stood.
“We're going.”
I picked up the photograph.
For the first time, I understood what my father had been trying to leave me.
Not money.
Not revenge.
A path.
And someone had just realized I had finally reached the end of it.
Click here to continue reading: PART 10: The Final Box Beneath the Land Held Proof of the Crash, but It Also Revealed Why Daniel Had Been Protected From the Truth
The Dinner Table Went Silent After His Family Finally Revealed What They Had Always Thought About Me
Part 9 of 12
