Chapter 6
The cabin belonged to a company called North Star Assets.
That meant nothing to me.
Until Detective Reed searched the registration.
North Star Assets had been created by Daniel Price.
My father’s attorney.
Our family friend.
The man sitting at Dad’s kitchen table less than two hours earlier.
Dad stared at Reed.
“That has to be a mistake.”
Reed shook his head.
“The filing lists Daniel as organizer.”
“Attorneys create companies for clients all the time.”
“Correct.”
“So who owns it?”
“That’s what we’re determining.”
Dad immediately reached for his phone.
Reed stopped him.
“Do not call Daniel.”
“Why?”
“Because if he is involved, we don't want to warn him.”
Dad laughed once.
Not because anything was funny.
Because the idea was impossible.
“Daniel was at my wedding.”
I knew.
He was at mine too.
He had brought Emma a silver bracelet when she was born.
He sent flowers every year on the anniversary of Mom’s death.
I suddenly remembered something.
The messages from the unknown number had started after Dad called Daniel.
Not before.
I looked at Reed.
“My father told Daniel about the texts.”
Dad turned toward me.
“Claire.”
“And about Lucas.”
“Daniel is not doing this.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’ve known him thirty years.”
I looked at the old phone.
“You knew Mom thirty-five.”
That hurt him.
I saw it.
“I’m sorry.”
He shook his head.
“No. You’re right.”
Reed asked, “Did Daniel know Margaret well?”
Dad looked toward the wall.
“Very.”
“How well?”
“He handled our business affairs.”
“Personal affairs?”
“Some.”
“Did he know about Thomas Caldwell?”
Dad hesitated.
My heart sank.
“Yes.”
I whispered, “You never told me.”
“Your mother needed someone to help untangle some old financial matters. Daniel knew.”
Reed sat down.
“When?”
“Years before she died.”
“Did Daniel know Ryan?”
“I don't know.”
“What about Lucas?”
Dad closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
I stared.
“How?”
“Daniel helped us investigate him when money started disappearing.”
The room became quiet.
Reed wrote something down.
“So Daniel knew Thomas, Lucas, Margaret, the financial irregularities, and the cabin.”
Dad's face tightened.
“Yes.”
“And he met Ryan?”
“I said I don't know.”
I suddenly remembered my wedding.
Daniel shaking Ryan’s hand.
Not like strangers.
I had been too excited to notice.
But now I could see it.
Ryan saying, “Good to see you.”
Not “Nice to meet you.”
Good to see you.
I whispered, “They knew each other.”
Dad looked at me.
“What?”
“At my wedding.”
“You remember that?”
“I remember Ryan’s words.”
Reed leaned forward.
“What exactly?”
“He said, ‘Good to see you, Daniel.’”
Dad shook his head.
“That could mean—”
“No. Ryan told me that day was the first time they met.”
My father went silent.
Reed stood.
“We’re going to the cabin.”
“I’m coming,” Dad said.
“No.”
“It belongs to my family.”
“Not legally.”
“Then I’m coming because my wife may have left something there.”
Reed studied him.
“I can't take civilians into a potential evidence location.”
Dad stepped closer.
“You found the location because someone texted my daughter. That person is watching my house. My wife died after saying she was meeting Lucas Caldwell. If something she left behind is sitting in that cabin, I have a right to know.”
Reed remained calm.
“You have a right to know when it is safe and legally appropriate.”
Dad looked ready to argue.
I touched his arm.
“Let them go.”
He looked at me.
“I need you with Emma.”
That ended it.
We returned home under police escort.
Aunt Susan met us at the door.
She was my mother’s younger sister.
One look at our faces and she stopped asking casual questions.
“What happened?”
Dad said, “We need to talk.”
Emma ran into my arms.
I held her.
For ten minutes, I concentrated only on her.
Juice.
Cartoons.
A blanket.
Normal things.
Then Susan joined Dad and me in the kitchen.
We told her almost everything.
Ryan’s arrest.
The drawer.
The old phone.
Thomas.
Lucas.
Mom’s recording.
Daniel.
Susan’s face changed at that name.
Dad noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Susan.”
She looked down.
“What about Daniel?”
“I said nothing.”
“No. You reacted.”
She stood.
“I need some air.”
Dad blocked the doorway.
“You know something.”
“Move.”
“Susan.”
“Robert, move.”
“Not until you tell me.”
She glared at him.
Then at me.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Margaret made me promise.”
Dad whispered, “Promise what?”
“She made me promise never to tell you unless there was no other choice.”
“Tell me what?”
Susan’s voice shook.
“Daniel was in love with her.”
Dad stared.
“What?”
“For years.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“He was my best friend.”
“I know.”
“He introduced us.”
“I know.”
Dad stepped backward.
Susan wiped her eyes.
“Margaret chose you. Daniel knew that.”
“Did they have an affair?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she told me everything after Thomas.”
Dad flinched.
Susan continued.
“She hated herself for what happened with Thomas. She would never do that to you again.”
“Then why does Daniel matter?”
“Because when the trouble with Lucas started, Margaret went to him.”
Dad’s voice hardened.
“Instead of me.”
“She was ashamed.”
“I was her husband.”
“And she was terrified you would leave if you found out Thomas’s sons were using the old affair against her.”
I asked, “Did Daniel help her?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I don't know everything.”
Dad laughed bitterly.
“Apparently no one in this family knows everything.”
Susan ignored him.
“A few weeks before Margaret died, she told me Daniel had found a way to protect you and Claire.”
“What way?”
“She didn't say.”
I thought about the cabin.
“Did you know Mom still owned the lake house?”
Susan frowned.
“She didn't.”
Dad and I exchanged a look.
“What?”
“She transferred it before the accident.”
“To whom?”
“I assumed you.”
Dad shook his head.
“No.”
Susan went pale.
“Then maybe Daniel.”
My phone rang.
Detective Reed.
I answered on speaker.
“We entered the cabin.”
My grip tightened.
“And?”
“It’s been maintained.”
Dad stepped closer.
“By whom?”
“We don't know.”
“What did you find?”
Reed paused.
“A locked room behind the basement wall.”
I stared at Dad.
“What’s inside?”
“We’re waiting for a warrant extension before opening several secured containers.”
Then Reed added, “But we found photographs.”
My stomach tightened.
“Of what?”
“You.”
I couldn't speak.
Reed continued.
“Hundreds of them.”
Dad grabbed the phone.
“Recent?”
“Some.”
“How recent?”
“One appears to have been taken outside Emma’s school last week.”
My knees went weak.
Dad caught me.
Reed kept talking.
“There are photographs of Claire dating back more than fifteen years.”
Susan covered her mouth.
I whispered, “Ryan?”
“We don't know.”
“Lucas?”
“We don't know.”
“Daniel?”
“We don't know.”
Dad said, “Whose fingerprints?”
“Processing will take time.”
Then Reed’s voice changed.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“We found a wall covered with newspaper articles and financial records involving your family.”
I imagined it.
Someone sitting in Mom’s cabin for years.
Watching.
Collecting.
Waiting.
Reed said, “And in the center is a photograph of Margaret.”
Dad closed his eyes.
“What does that prove?”
“Nothing by itself.”
“What else?”
“There’s writing underneath it.”
I whispered, “What does it say?”
Reed hesitated.
Then read it.
SHE CHOSE THE WRONG BROTHER.
Nobody spoke.
Susan gripped the table.
Dad looked confused.
I wasn't.
“Thomas and Lucas,” I whispered.
Reed said, “Possibly.”
But Susan shook her head.
“No.”
We all turned toward her.
She looked terrified.
“What?” Dad demanded.
Susan’s voice was barely audible.
“Thomas wasn't the only Caldwell brother Margaret knew.”
Dad frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Susan stared at us.
“Thomas had a younger brother.”
My heart pounded.
“Who?”
May you like
She looked directly at Dad.
“Daniel.”
