Chapter 7: The Red Folder
The man standing at the bottom of my staircase didn't look like a thief.
He wore a charcoal suit beneath his black jacket, polished shoes, and a silver watch. He looked like someone who belonged in a corporate boardroom, not someone who had just broken into my home.
But the photograph in his hand made my blood run cold.
It showed my father standing outside Bennett Enterprises.
"Who are you?"" I demanded.
He looked up at me.
"Richard Hale. I'm here to collect something your father promised me.""
Margaret stepped between us.
"Richard, you have no authorization to enter this property.""
He smiled.
"Still playing the loyal attorney, Margaret?""
My stomach tightened.
"You know him?""
Margaret didn't answer.
Richard glanced toward the upstairs hallway.
"Olivia, I understand you've had a difficult evening. Your husband and I would prefer to resolve this quietly.""
"My husband sent you?""
"Daniel has been very cooperative.""
I felt my hands curl into fists.
"Get out of my house.""
Richard sighed.
"Your father was a stubborn man. He made promises he couldn't keep. I'm simply trying to collect what I'm owed.""
"What does that have to do with me?""
He lifted the photograph.
"Everything.""
Margaret reached for her phone.
Richard immediately pulled a second phone from his pocket.
"Before you make any unnecessary calls, perhaps you should understand something. Your husband isn't the only person who knows about the attempted share transfer.""
I stared at him.
"What do you want?""
"The red folder.""
The words from Evelyn's note suddenly came back to me.
Don't bring Margaret.
Daniel's warning echoed in my head.
Don't let Evelyn give you the red folder.
I looked at Margaret.
She was watching Richard with an expression I'd never seen before.
Fear.
"Where is it?"" Richard asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about.""
He stepped closer.
"Your father kept records. Bank records. Ownership records. A complete history of transactions involving several private accounts.""
"I don't have anything like that.""
Richard smiled.
"Then perhaps Evelyn has already contacted you.""
Before I could answer, a security officer appeared behind him.
"Sir, step away from the stairs.""
Richard slowly raised both hands.
"Of course.""
But instead of surrendering, he dropped the photograph.
A small black device fell from his jacket pocket.
The security officer immediately ordered him to remain still.
Richard looked at me.
"Tell Evelyn that if she gives you that folder, people will get hurt.""
Then he smiled.
"Your father should have kept his promises.""
Security escorted him outside.
I watched from the window as two officers placed him inside a waiting vehicle.
Across the street, the dark sedan was still parked.
Evelyn was gone.
I grabbed my phone and called the number she'd used.
No answer.
I tried again.
Nothing.
Margaret approached me.
"Olivia, we need to leave. This house is no longer secure.""
I turned toward her.
"Who is Richard Hale?""
She hesitated.
"Eleven years ago, he was a financial consultant working with your father.""
"Why does he want the red folder?""
"Because it contains evidence of transactions involving an investment group that your father refused to cooperate with.""
"What investment group?""
Margaret looked away.
"Northbridge Capital.""
I recognized the name.
It was a private investment firm that had recently expressed interest in purchasing a controlling stake in Bennett Enterprises.
Daniel had mentioned them several times during dinner.
He'd claimed they were interested in a strategic partnership.
Now I understood why he had been so eager to restructure the company.
I looked at Margaret.
"Does Northbridge own Richard's company?""
"I don't know.""
"Do you know whether Daniel has been working with them?""
She didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
My phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
**Evelyn: The boathouse. Tomorrow. 10 a.m.
Bring no one. If you want the truth about your father, you must come alone.**
I showed Margaret.
She immediately shook her head.
"Absolutely not.""
"She's the only person who can explain what happened.""
"Richard just threatened you. We cannot assume Evelyn is safe.""
"Then we'll make sure I'm protected without letting her know.""
Margaret looked exhausted.
"Olivia, your father trusted me to protect you.""
I turned toward her.
"Then stop deciding what I can handle.""
She fell silent.
An hour later, I was staying in a secure hotel under a reservation made by Robert Hayes.
I didn't sleep.
I sat beside the window, staring at the Atlanta skyline, thinking about my father.
At 8:30 the next morning, Robert called.
"Olivia, we've identified Richard Hale.""
"Who is he?""
"He's a former executive at Northbridge Capital. He left the company three years ago.""
"Does he have any connection to Daniel?""
Robert paused.
"There's something you should see.""
He sent me a photograph.
It showed Daniel entering a private club with Richard.
The date was two weeks earlier.
I enlarged the image.
Daniel was carrying a black leather folder.
The same kind Margaret had brought to the gala.
I called Robert back.
"Find out everything you can about Northbridge.""
"Already working on it.""
"And Robert?""
"Yes?""
"Don't tell Margaret about this photograph.""
He went quiet.
"Understood.""
At 9:45, I drove toward the old Bennett family boathouse.
The lake was calm, and the morning mist hung low over the water.
I parked beside the wooden building and stepped out.
Evelyn stood near the entrance.
She looked older, thinner, but unmistakably alive.
Her eyes filled with tears when she saw me.
"Olivia.""
I walked toward her.
"Why did everyone tell me you were dead?""
She took my hands.
"Because your father wanted me to disappear.""
"Why?""
Evelyn glanced toward the water.
"Because the night he died, I discovered something that could have destroyed Daniel, Patricia, and everyone involved in the company.""
She opened the boathouse door.
Inside, a small wooden table stood beneath a dusty window.
On it rested a red leather folder.
I stared at it.
"Is that what Daniel warned me about?""
Evelyn nodded.
"Yes.""
"What's inside?""
She looked directly into my eyes.
"The original agreement proving your father never intended Daniel to own Bennett Enterprises.""
Then she added something that made my heart stop.
"And Olivia, the person who arranged your father's final meeting wasn't Daniel.""
May you like
She opened the folder.
"It was your mother.""
