Chapter 9 - The Man Everyone Thought Was Dead
They didn't call the police.
Not immediately.
They called Elaine's investigator.
Then they drove straight back to the house.
Diane remained silent.
For the first time, she seemed to understand how dangerous the situation had become.
Natalie locked the doors.
Evan closed the curtains.
Richard stood by the kitchen window.
“Why would Victor show himself?”
Elaine answered.
“Because he wants you to know he isn't hiding.”
“That sounds insane.”
“It is a message.”
Natalie placed the old trust documents on the dining table.
The same table that had started all of this.
Twelve chairs.
Twelve names.
One Thanksgiving.
And a secret spanning decades.
She sat down.
“My father knew him.”
“Yes.”
“My father made a deal with him.”
“Yes.”
“My mother knew something.”
“Yes.”
“Diane knew something.”
“Yes.”
“And your father knew something,” she told Evan.
“Yes.”
She looked around the room.
“So everyone knew something except us.”
No one contradicted her.
Natalie looked at Diane.
“Start talking.”
Diane sat across from her.
“Your father and David Brooks were partners. Victor Lane was their financial advisor.”
“What did he steal?”
“Money.”
“How much?”
“Almost two million dollars.”
Evan looked stunned.
“That much?”
Diane nodded.
“The company discovered irregular transfers.”
Richard spoke.
“Victor had created shell companies.”
“Northstar?”
“Yes.”
Natalie stared.
“He stole from the company.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“Your father confronted him.”
“What happened?”
Diane looked down.
“Victor threatened him.”
“With what?”
“Your father had another daughter.”
Natalie frowned.
“I was his only child.”
“Biological child.”
Natalie went still.
Diane's eyes filled with tears.
“There was another.”
Evan stood.
“Mom.”
Diane shook her head.
“I never knew for certain until years later.”
Natalie felt numb.
“What are you saying?”
“Your father had a child with another woman before he met your mother.”
“So?”
“Victor found her.”
Natalie stared.
“And he used her to threaten your father.”
Richard stepped in.
“Your father agreed to take the blame for some of Victor's financial crimes.”
Natalie felt sick.
“He covered for him?”
“To protect the other child.”
“Did the child survive?”
Diane hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Natalie stood.
“This keeps getting worse.”
Evan walked toward her.
“I know.”
She looked at him.
“No. You don't.”
He stopped.
She immediately regretted the sharpness.
But she was tired.
Tired of being the person who discovered everyone else's lies.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A woman's voice said, “You found the box.”
Natalie froze.
“Who is this?”
“You know me.”
“No, I don't.”
“You will.”
The call ended.
Natalie looked at Evan.
“What?”
“A woman.”
“What did she say?”
“She said I found the box.”
Richard's face changed.
“She's part of it.”
The investigator arrived twenty minutes later.
He examined the documents.
Then he looked at the photograph of Victor.
“I can confirm this man is Victor Lane.”
Natalie stared.
“You know him?”
“I've been tracking him for six months.”
“Why?”
“Financial fraud.”
She looked at Diane.
“So you knew he was alive.”
Diane shook her head.
“I suspected.”
The investigator looked toward her.
“You suspected?”
“Yes.”
He sighed.
“You should have told someone.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because he contacted me.”
“What did he want?”
Diane's answer was quiet.
“The house.”
Everyone went silent.
“What house?”
“Ours?”
Diane nodded.
“He said the house contained records.”
Natalie looked at the basement.
“What records?”
“I don't know.”
Richard spoke.
“Yes, you do.”
Diane looked at him.
“You never opened the final box.”
“What box?”
“The one your father left in the basement.”
Natalie turned.
“We found one.”
“No.”
Richard shook his head.
“There was another.”
“Where?”
“In the foundation.”
Natalie felt her skin crawl.
“How do we get there?”
Richard hesitated.
“We don't.”
“Why?”
“Because opening it could destroy the evidence.”
The investigator shook his head.
“We need it.”
Richard looked at Natalie.
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
They went downstairs.
The investigator examined the foundation.
Behind a concrete pillar was a narrow steel plate.
Under it was another locked compartment.
No key.
But the brass key from Thanksgiving fit.
The lock clicked.
Inside was a packet.
A recording.
And a photograph.
Natalie looked at the photograph.
It showed her father.
David Brooks.
Victor Lane.
And a fourth person.
The fourth person was much younger.
Natalie's breath stopped.
Evan looked.
“Who is that?”
Diane whispered:
“Gregory Shaw.”
Natalie looked at her.
“The lawyer.”
“Yes.”
“And Victor.”
“Yes.”
“They worked together.”
“Yes.”
Then Richard said something that made everyone freeze.
“So did your father.”
The investigator picked up the recording.
“Do we have a player?”
Richard nodded.
They returned upstairs.
A small old recorder sat in the box.
Richard inserted the tape.
Static crackled.
Then a man's voice.
Natalie's father.
“If anyone ever hears this, Victor has taken control.”
Natalie closed her eyes.
The voice continued.
“David and I tried to contain him.”
David Brooks responded on the tape.
“We failed.”
Natalie looked at Evan.
His father's voice.
Alive.
Speaking.
The recording continued.
“We created a trust for our children.”
Static.
“Not just for Evan.”
Natalie's heart stopped.
“For Natalie too.”
Evan looked at her.
Her father's voice continued.
“When they marry, the trust becomes active.”
Then David spoke.
“Unless Diane stops it.”
Diane covered her mouth.
Natalie turned.
The recording continued.
“She believes the marriage will give her access.”
Diane began to cry.
“My brother is dead,” Natalie whispered.
The tape went on.
“He isn't dead,” David said.
“He cannot know.”
Silence.
Then Natalie heard her father's voice again.
“Victor knows our children are the key.”
The tape ended.
No one moved.
Evan finally whispered:
“My father knew.”
Natalie nodded.
“So did mine.”
Then the front door slammed.
Everyone jumped.
The investigator reached for his weapon.
“Stay here.”
Footsteps crossed the hallway.
Fast.
Someone entered the kitchen.
The investigator moved first.
A shadow disappeared through the back door.
They ran outside.
Nothing.
Only rain.
Then Natalie saw something on the kitchen counter.
A white envelope.
It had been placed there while they listened to the recording.
She opened it.
Inside was one sheet.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Victor.
You finally heard their voices.
Now you need to hear mine.
At the bottom was an address.
An old warehouse.
And a time.
Midnight.
Diane stared at it.
“Don't go.”
Natalie looked at her.
“Why?”
Diane's face was terrified.
“Because that is where he kept the other girl.”
Natalie went still.
“The daughter.”
Diane nodded.
“The daughter your father thought he saved.”
Evan looked at Natalie.
“What if she's still alive?”
Natalie stared at the address.
Midnight.
May you like
Tomorrow.
The mystery had just become personal.
