Chapter 4
Richard Blackwood had spent his entire life learning how to appear innocent.
As a child, he could break a window and somehow make the gardener apologize.
At seventeen, he crashed Elias's car and convinced the insurance company it had been stolen.
At thirty-six, he moved eight million dollars through shell corporations and built an entire paper trail leading back to his sister.
He had always believed intelligence meant never getting caught.
He had forgotten one thing.
Katherine knew him better than anyone.
And now she was awake.
Barely.
But awake.
Elias sat beside her hospital bed.
Emma slept curled in a chair near the window, covered by a blanket a nurse had brought.
Two private security officers stood outside.
Katherine opened her eyes.
"Dad?"
"I'm here."
"Emma?"
"Right there."
Katherine turned her head enough to see her.
She relaxed.
Then she noticed Elias holding the black button.
Her expression changed.
"Where did you get that?"
"Beside your bed."
She stared at it.
"Richard."
"That's what I think."
"No."
Her voice trembled.
"Don't think. Know."
Elias looked at her.
"What happened in radiology?"
"I don't remember."
"The nurse found an unknown vial."
Katherine's eyes closed.
"I told you."
"You were right."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
"No."
Elias put the button into an evidence bag.
"I should have believed you eleven years ago."
Katherine opened her eyes.
"You want forgiveness already?"
"No."
"Good."
"I haven't earned it."
That answer surprised her.
Elias looked toward Emma.
"I want the chance to."
Katherine was silent.
Then she whispered, "Find the music box."
"My attorney sent people."
"Richard will know where it is."
"Why?"
"Because he saw me hide things in it when we were kids."
"Why would you leave evidence in a place he could search?"
"Because no one had used the founder's suite in years. You closed it after Mom died."
Elias looked down.
"I reopened it."
"When?"
"Three years ago."
Fear returned to her face.
"For what?"
"Private board dinners."
Katherine tried to sit up.
Pain stopped her.
"He may have found it already."
Elias's phone rang.
Daniel.
He answered immediately.
"Tell me."
"We reached the suite."
"And?"
"The music box is gone."
Katherine closed her eyes.
Elias swore.
"But," Daniel continued, "we found something else."
"What?"
"A hidden compartment under the dresser."
Katherine looked at Elias.
She knew exactly what Daniel was talking about.
"What was inside?" Elias asked.
"An envelope."
"Bring it here."
"We're already on the way."
Elias ended the call.
Katherine smiled weakly.
"He didn't find everything."
"What is in the envelope?"
"If it's the one I remember, a bank key."
"For what?"
"A safe-deposit box."
"Where?"
"First American."
Elias almost laughed from relief.
Katherine shook her head.
"Don't celebrate."
"Why?"
"The box wasn't in my name."
"Whose?"
"Mom's."
Elias stared at her.
"Margaret's account was closed after she died."
"Not this one."
"What are you saying?"
Katherine gave a tired smile.
"Mom didn't trust Richard either."
The words hit him hard.
"She told you that?"
"Not directly."
"Then how do you know?"
"Because she gave me the key six months before she died."
Elias looked away.
Margaret had died from cancer fourteen years earlier.
During her final months, she had become increasingly worried about the family.
Elias had believed it was fear of leaving them.
Maybe it had been fear of what would happen after she was gone.
Katherine whispered, "She told me to use it if the family ever turned against itself."
"What is inside?"
"I don't know."
There was a knock.
Daniel entered carrying a sealed evidence pouch.
He froze when he saw Katherine.
For years, he had helped search for her.
"Katie."
Katherine's eyes softened.
"Hello, Daniel."
He looked as if he might cry.
Instead, he placed the pouch on the table.
"I think this belongs to you."
Inside was a yellowed envelope.
Katherine opened it carefully.
A small brass key fell onto the blanket.
Stamped on it were four numbers.
4281.
Daniel stared.
"First American still uses those old box keys."
Elias stood.
"We go now."
Katherine grabbed his wrist.
"No."
He looked at her.
"Richard will be watching you."
"Then Daniel goes."
"He'll be watching Daniel too."
"Who do you trust?"
Katherine's gaze moved toward Emma.
"No."
Elias understood immediately.
"Absolutely not."
"Nobody is watching her."
"She is ten years old."
"Which is exactly why no one will expect it."
"I will not use my granddaughter as bait."
Emma's voice came from the chair.
"I'm awake."
Everyone turned.
She sat up.
"I can do it."
"No," Katherine and Elias said together.
Emma frowned.
"That was weird."
Under different circumstances, Daniel might have laughed.
Emma stood.
"If the box has proof that Uncle Richard hurt Mom, I want to help."
Katherine shook her head.
"Baby, this isn't a game."
"I know."
Emma pointed to herself.
"Lady Vivienne threw me on the floor. Somebody texted me a picture of you unconscious. Someone tried to hurt you in the hospital."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I know it's not a game."
Katherine covered her face.
Emma went to her.
"I don't want to lose you."
"You won't."
"You don't know that."
Katherine pulled her close.
Elias watched them.
He had missed Emma's entire life.
Her first step.
Her first word.
Her first day of school.
Ten birthdays.
He had missed all of it because his family had allowed one lie to grow until it became a prison.
He wasn't going to lose another day.
"Daniel," he said.
"Yes?"
"Can the bank open the box without Katherine present?"
"If the account is still legally held under Margaret's estate, you may have access as executor."
"Then we go together."
Katherine looked at him.
"And Emma stays here."
"Correct."
Emma crossed her arms.
"This family is very bossy."
Elias almost smiled again.
Twenty minutes later, Elias and Daniel left through a private hospital exit.
They switched vehicles twice.
At First American, the branch president personally escorted them downstairs.
The old account still existed.
Margaret had prepaid the box for fifty years.
Box 4281 was brought into a private room.
Elias inserted the key.
His hands shook.
Inside was a stack of documents.
Several photographs.
A flash drive.
And a handwritten letter.
On the envelope were two words.
For Elias.
He recognized Margaret's handwriting instantly.
He sat down.
Daniel looked away as Elias opened it.
My love,
If you're reading this, then something happened exactly as I feared.
Richard is not the man you think he is.
Elias stopped.
His eyes blurred.
He forced himself to continue.
I discovered unauthorized transfers from one of the hospitality accounts. I confronted him privately. He begged me not to tell you and promised to return the money.
I believed him once.
Then I found more.
Katherine knows nothing about this.
Protect her.
Protect yourself.
And if Richard ever tries to make you choose between your children, remember that the person forcing the choice is usually the one hiding something.
Elias covered his mouth.
Daniel whispered, "There's more."
The flash drive.
He plugged it into an offline laptop.
Folders appeared.
BANK RECORDS.
RICHARD.
AUDIO.
CORRESPONDENCE.
Elias opened the audio file.
Margaret's voice filled the room.
Weak.
But unmistakable.
"Richard, I saw the transfers."
Then Richard's younger voice.
"You don't understand."
"I understand theft."
"I was going to put it back."
"You used Katherine's credentials."
Silence.
Then Richard said something that made Elias's blood turn cold.
"If Dad finds out, I'll make sure he thinks she did it."
The recording ended.
Elias stared at the laptop.
Eleven years of grief transformed into rage.
Daniel whispered, "We have him."
"No."
Elias looked at the other files.
"We have the beginning."
His phone rang.
Hospital security.
He answered.
"Mr. Blackwood, there's a problem."
"What?"
"Your granddaughter is missing."
Elias stood so quickly the chair fell over.
"What do you mean missing?"
"Her mother fell asleep. One of our nurses entered fifteen minutes ago and Emma was gone."
Elias's blood froze.
"Check every camera."
"We are."
"Lock the building."
"We have."
A message arrived on his phone.
Unknown Number.
Elias opened it.
A photograph.
Emma was sitting in the back of a car.
Her hands were tied.
Her eyes were terrified.
May you like
Underneath were four words.
BRING ME THE KEY.
