Chapter 8: The Contract With My Name On It
The signature on the contract made my hands go numb.
Richard Whitmore.
Ethan stared at the page.
“That’s impossible.””
Daniel gave a bitter laugh.
“That’s what everyone says before they realize they were wrong.””
I looked between them.
“Explain.””
Daniel sat down slowly.
For the first time since he entered the house, he looked exhausted.
“Richard hired your security team eight years ago.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“He hired us to protect Daniel Voss.””
Daniel nodded.
“And to protect information that Daniel Voss had.””
I stared at him.
“Then why attack us?””
“Because Richard wasn’t afraid of someone stealing the information.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“He was afraid someone would reveal why it existed.””
The room felt colder.
Ethan walked toward the window.
“My father hired her?””
Daniel looked at him.
“Yes.””
Ethan’s face hardened.
“Why?””
“Because your father knew Naomi was the only person capable of protecting the evidence.””
I looked at the file again.
The pages contained dates.
Payments.
Messages.
Everything.
Richard had hired me.
Richard had trusted me.
And then somehow, Richard had become part of the reason my life collapsed.
I looked at Daniel.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
He looked away.
“Because I wasn’t supposed to survive either.””
The silence was immediate.
I whispered:
“What happened that night?””
Daniel rubbed his hands together.
“I found out Richard wasn’t the only person involved.””
“Who else?””
He looked at Ethan.
And that was when I understood.
The answer was connected to the Whitmore family.
“Someone inside this house wanted the evidence destroyed.””
Ethan’s voice was quiet.
“Who?””
Daniel didn’t respond.
Instead, he asked me:
“Do you remember the person who pulled you out of the fire?””
My breath caught.
The stranger.
The ring.
The hand that grabbed mine.
“I never saw their face.””
Daniel nodded.
“But you saw the ring.””
I looked at him.
“Yes.””
He reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small photograph.
A close-up.
A hand wearing the same ring.
My heart started racing.
“That’s the Whitmore family crest.””
Daniel nodded.
“But not Richard’s.””
Ethan looked at the image.
His face changed.
“What?””
Daniel placed the photo on the table.
“That ring belongs to the firstborn Whitmore.””
Ethan frowned.
“My father is the firstborn.””
“No.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Richard’s older brother was.””
The room went silent.
I had never heard of another brother.
Neither had Ethan.
“Who?”” Ethan asked.
Daniel looked at me.
“Thomas Whitmore.””
The name meant nothing to me.
But Ethan reacted.
Because he knew.
“My uncle?””
Daniel nodded.
“The man your family said died thirty years ago.””
I looked at Ethan.
“Your uncle is alive?””
Ethan stepped back.
“That’s impossible.””
Daniel opened another document.
“Then explain this.””
It was a bank transfer.
Recent.
Very recent.
The account holder name was hidden.
But the initials were clear.
T.W.
My mind raced.
If Thomas Whitmore was alive…
If he had been involved in Philadelphia…
If he had been inside the house all along…
Then Vanessa’s betrayal was only a small piece of something much bigger.
Suddenly, every strange event made sense.
The missing footage.
The planted earrings.
The threats.
Someone wanted me gone.
Not because I was a maid.
Because I was a witness.
A sound interrupted us.
A glass breaking outside the room.
We all turned.
Ethan opened the door.
Nobody was there.
Only a small envelope lying on the floor.
My name was written on it.
Naomi Reyes.
Inside was a single photograph.
A picture taken eight years ago.
A picture from Philadelphia.
May you like
And behind me in the flames…
Was the person who saved me.
