Chapter 10: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Nobody spoke after Richard's phone call ended.
Opal stood beside the coffee table, gripping the edge so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
"He's alive," she whispered.
Daniel put his phone down.
"Apparently.""
"Seven years," Opal said.
"Seven years, and he let me believe my husband was dead.""
Eleanor wiped her cheeks.
"Mother, I'm sorry.""
Opal turned toward her.
"Don't apologize for surviving.""
Then she pulled her daughter into her arms.
I watched them embrace.
For twenty-three years, Eleanor had lived believing she couldn't return home. For seven years, Opal had mourned a husband who was apparently still alive.
And somewhere in the middle of those lies was my family.
"Why does Richard want me?"" I asked.
Daniel opened his briefcase.
"Because he believes you have access to something he needs.""
"My father's records?""
"Possibly. Or he wants to use you to force Opal to surrender Walter's documents.""
I shook my head.
"He could have simply taken them years ago.""
"Not if he doesn't know where they are.""
Opal looked toward the locked cabinet.
"Walter hid the original records somewhere else. I never found them.""
I remembered the small metal compartment.
"What about the flash drive?""
"Those are copies. The originals are still missing.""
Daniel checked his phone.
"I've contacted a former investigator I trust. He can help us locate Walter, but we need to avoid making direct contact with Richard.""
Eleanor stood.
"I know where he keeps people.""
We all turned toward her.
"What do you mean?"" I asked.
"Richard owned several properties through shell companies. One of them was an old farmhouse outside Lexington. He used it to store equipment and keep people away from his regular business.""
"How do you know?""
"Because he took me there once when I was younger.""
Opal looked horrified.
"He brought you there?""
Eleanor nodded.
"He said it was where he planned to start over. There was a small building behind the farmhouse with reinforced doors.""
Daniel wrote down the address Eleanor remembered.
"That gives us somewhere to start.""
I looked at the clock.
It was almost nine in the evening.
"We should go.""
Daniel shook his head.
"Not without a plan.""
I understood his concern.
But I couldn't stop thinking about Walter.
A man had spent years hiding from his wife, his daughter, and everyone who believed he was dead.
If Richard was holding him somewhere, every minute mattered.
Daniel made several calls.
He arranged for a local investigator to meet us near the property and contacted law enforcement with the information about a potentially kidnapped person.
"We are not breaking into anything," he told us.
"If Walter is there, the authorities will handle the entry.""
I nodded.
For once, I wasn't going to let anger make decisions for me.
Before leaving, Eleanor approached me.
"Rebecca?""
"Yes?""
"I need to tell you something about Trevor.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What?""
"Three months before your arrest, he came to see Richard. I overheard them arguing.""
"About what?""
"Your father's second set of books.""
I stared at her.
"What did they say?""
Eleanor swallowed.
"Trevor told Richard that your father had hidden the original records inside the medical supply business.""
Daniel stepped closer.
"Did he say where?""
"Yes.""
She looked directly at me.
"He mentioned your father's old desk.""
I closed my eyes.
The locked drawer.
The key Trevor had taken.
The records I had never examined.
Everything was connected.
Daniel drove us toward Lexington shortly before midnight.
The farmhouse stood at the end of a narrow country road, surrounded by bare trees and an old wire fence.
Two vehicles were parked near the barn.
One was a dark SUV.
The other was a familiar gray sedan.
Monica's car.
I felt my stomach drop.
"She's here.""
Daniel stopped the vehicle several hundred feet away.
The investigator was already waiting.
He approached our car.
"Nobody enters until we have confirmation," he said.
He had contacted local authorities, who were on their way.
We watched the farmhouse from behind the investigator's vehicle.
A light switched on in the small building behind the barn.
Then a shadow appeared in the window.
An elderly man.
He was leaning heavily on a walking stick.
Opal made a strangled sound.
"Walter.""
She pressed both hands against the window.
The man turned slightly.
Even from that distance, I could see the shape of his face.
It was the same face in the photographs.
The same eyes.
The same silver hair.
Walter Hargrove was alive.
Then the farmhouse door opened.
Trevor stepped outside.
He walked toward the small building carrying a black leather bag.
He looked up toward the road.
For one terrifying second, I thought he had seen us.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes?""
A pause.
His expression changed.
"What do you mean she's there?""
I looked at Daniel.
He was staring at his own phone.
Then he whispered:
"Rebecca, don't move. Someone just warned Richard that we've found the farmhouse.""
May you like
A second later, the lights inside the building went dark.
And Walter disappeared from the window.
