Chapter 6: What My Daughter Saw
I didn't sleep that night.
Neither did Sophie.
We stayed in a hotel under police protection while Detective Morgan arranged for a child specialist to speak with her.
I sat beside my daughter's bed, watching the little rise and fall of her chest.
Every few minutes, she opened her eyes to check that I was still there.
At around three in the morning, she finally spoke.
“Daddy?””
“I'm here.””
“Are you going to be mad?””
I moved closer.
“Never. You can tell me anything.””
She played with the corner of her blanket.
“I saw the man before Mommy went away.””
My heart tightened.
“Which man?””
“The man with the big watch.””
I remembered the video.
Thomas Reed had worn a large silver watch.
“Where did you see him?””
“In our kitchen.””
I sat completely still.
“When, sweetheart?””
She frowned, trying to remember.
“When Mommy was making pancakes. I was coloring.””
I brushed her hair away from her forehead.
“Was Amanda there?””
Sophie nodded.
“She was talking to Mommy.””
“What were they saying?””
“I don't know all the words.””
“That's okay.””
Sophie closed her eyes briefly.
“Mommy said, 'You can't take her.'' Then the man said, 'The papers are already ready.''”
My throat tightened.
“What happened next?””
“Amanda told me to go upstairs.””
“Did you?””
She shook her head.
“I hid by the stairs.””
I felt my stomach turn.
“And then?””
Sophie looked toward the bedroom door.
“The man gave Mommy a little black box. Mommy cried.””
I leaned closer.
“Did you see what was inside?””
She shook her head.
“No. But Mommy said it was proof.””
I looked at the time.
The child specialist was scheduled to arrive at eight.
I didn't want to pressure Sophie or ask leading questions. I simply held her hand.
“Thank you for telling me, sweetheart.””
She looked up.
“Daddy?””
“Yes?””
“Mommy said if something happened, I should remember the song.””
“What song?””
She began humming.
Three little notes.
Then two more.
I recognized it immediately.
Emily used to hum that melody whenever she searched for something in the house.
It was a little tune we'd made up during our first year of marriage.
I smiled sadly.
“That's Mommy's song.””
Sophie nodded.
“She said it would help me find the treasure.””
I felt my heart jump.
“The treasure?””
She nodded again.
“It's where the yellow door is.””
I immediately called Margaret.
She answered on the second ring.
“Michael?””
“Sophie remembers something about a black box and a song. She says Emily told her there was a treasure at the cottage.””
Margaret went quiet.
Then I heard her whisper.
“Oh, Emily.””
“What is it?””
“Michael, I think I know what she meant.””
“Tell me.””
“The blue cottage has a built-in music box. Emily's grandmother installed it in the bedroom wall. When you press the notes in the correct order, a hidden compartment opens.””
I looked at Sophie.
“Do you know the notes?””
Margaret hesitated.
“Emily taught me the melody. I remember it.””
I wrote the sequence down.
Three notes.
Two notes.
Then a pause.
“What's inside the compartment?”” I asked.
“I don't know. Emily never showed me.””
I closed my eyes.
“Margaret, I need you to meet us.””
“I'll be there in an hour.””
Detective Morgan wasn't pleased when I explained that we wanted to return to the cottage.
“You've already had an unauthorized entry there,” she said.
“I'm not letting you walk into another ambush.””
“I understand.””
“Then let my officers search it first.””
We agreed.
At nine-thirty, two patrol cars arrived at the cottage.
The house was empty.
The front door was still damaged, but nothing else appeared disturbed.
An officer checked the bedroom wall.
Behind a wooden decorative panel was a small brass music box.
Margaret arrived shortly afterward.
The moment she saw it, she covered her mouth.
“Emily loved this thing.””
She placed her fingers on the little metal keys.
Then she played the melody.
Three notes.
Two notes.
A soft click sounded inside the wall.
A narrow compartment slid open.
Inside was a black metal box.
I recognized it immediately.
It was the same type of box I'd seen in the photograph Sophie had described.
Detective Morgan photographed it before opening the lid.
Inside were three USB drives, a small stack of bank transfer records, and a sealed envelope.
Margaret picked up the envelope.
“That's Emily's handwriting.””
She handed it to me.
The letter was short.
Michael,
If this box has been opened, then someone has attempted to take Sophie or control her inheritance. I hope I am wrong about everything, but I cannot leave her future unprotected.
The evidence inside identifies the people who have been moving money through her trust.
But the most important file is not about money.
It is about the night of my accident.
I stopped reading.
My hands had begun to tremble.
I opened the first USB drive.
It contained scanned contracts and bank transfers.
The second contained photographs.
The third contained a video file.
Detective Morgan connected it to a secure laptop.
A recording appeared.
Emily sat at a desk, wearing the blue sweater I remembered from our anniversary dinner.
Her hair was tied back.
She looked exhausted.
But she was alive.
“Michael,” she said into the camera, “if you're watching this, I'm sorry.””
I covered my mouth.
Daniel stood behind me.
Margaret began crying quietly.
Emily continued.
“I found out Richard was moving money from the trust. At first, I thought it was an accounting mistake. Then I found Amanda's name.””
She paused.
“She approached me pretending to be a financial investigator. She said she could help me expose Richard. I believed her.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Then I discovered she was working with him.””
Emily leaned toward the camera.
“Michael, I need you to understand something. They don't just want the money. They want control of Sophie because her inheritance includes voting rights in Bennett Holdings.””
I frowned.
Bennett Holdings.
The company had been established by my wife's grandfather, whose family name was Bennett before Emily married me.
Emily continued.
“If they control Sophie's guardianship, they can appoint someone to exercise those voting rights. They can sell the land, transfer the properties, and make the entire trust disappear.””
Detective Morgan was writing rapidly.
Then Emily's expression changed.
“There's something else. Richard told me the accident would be arranged to look like a weather-related crash.””
My breath stopped.
The room became silent.
Emily looked directly into the camera.
“I don't know whether he was serious. But I recorded a conversation between him and Thomas Reed. The recording is on this drive.””
Detective Morgan stopped the video.
“We need to preserve this and review it with our technical team.””
I nodded.
But I couldn't stop looking at Emily's face.
She had known.
She'd been afraid.
And she'd been trying to protect our daughter while I believed everything was fine.
I felt tears running down my cheeks.
Then the video resumed automatically.
Emily leaned closer.
“One last thing, Michael. If Amanda has managed to get close to you, there's a reason she chose you.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Emily's recorded voice continued.
“She knows something about your family that you don't.””
I looked at Daniel.
He looked equally confused.
Emily took a breath.
“Your father didn't die from a heart attack, Michael.””
The room seemed to tilt.
My father had died when I was nineteen.
I'd been told he'd collapsed at work.
Emily continued.
“He was investigating the same company. And before he died, he transferred something into your name.””
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
I slowly turned toward Margaret.
“Did Emily ever tell you what my father transferred?””
Margaret shook her head.
“No.””
Then Detective Morgan's phone rang.
She listened for several seconds before her expression changed.
“What do you mean he's at the station?””
She turned toward me.
“Michael, we just received a call from a man claiming to have evidence about your wife's accident.””
“Who?””
Detective Morgan looked at her notes.
“Thomas Reed.””
My stomach dropped.
“Where is he?””
“He's requesting to speak with you.””
“Why?””
She hesitated.
Then she said:
“Because he claims Amanda has been lying to both of you.””
I stood.
“What does he want?””
Detective Morgan lowered her voice.
“He says he knows who was actually driving the second car.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
*Michael, don't believe anything Thomas tells you. Ask him what happened to your father.*
I stared at the screen.
May you like
Then another message appeared.
*Your father didn't die that night by accident either.*
