Chapter 7
Everything happened at once.
Officers flooded the street.
Radios crackled.
Daniel demanded descriptions.
Dad wanted me upstairs.
Richard kept calling Leonard.
Jonathan stood in the middle of the room repeating the same sentence.
“My mother couldn’t have done this.”
I wanted to scream at him.
Instead, I grabbed Grandma’s letter.
The first one.
The only thing in the room I still trusted.
Daniel caught my movement.
“Where are you going?”
“To change.”
He stared at my wedding dress.
For one bizarre second, we both seemed to remember I was still wearing it.
I looked down.
Dirt stained the hem.
A small drop of blood from my cut hand marked the skirt.
Three hours ago, it had been perfect.
Now it looked exactly like my marriage.
I went upstairs.
Dad followed.
“You’re not going to that building.”
“Daniel is going.”
“Yes.”
“And the police.”
“Yes.”
“So am I.”
“No.”
I opened my closet.
“Dad.”
“Your grandmother would kill me if I let you walk into a trap.”
I stopped.
The sentence hurt.
“I think Grandma spent her last months trying to stop this trap.”
Dad’s anger softened.
I pulled on jeans and a sweater.
Then I looked at myself in the mirror.
Makeup still perfect except for one side of my face.
Wedding hair.
Diamonds at my ears.
Bruise forming at my wrist.
I removed everything.
Pins.
Earrings.
Bracelet.
The veil had already come off at the reception.
Finally I reached for the wedding band.
Then remembered.
It was downstairs.
Good.
I didn’t want it.
Dad stood in the doorway.
“Claire.”
“I need answers.”
“You need to stay alive.”
“So does Leonard.”
“We don’t know whether that picture is current.”
“No.”
“We don’t know whether Stephanie sent it.”
“No.”
“We don’t know whether Leonard is telling the truth.”
“No.”
Dad stepped closer.
“Then why walk into the middle of it?”
“Because every person who knows the truth keeps disappearing.”
That stopped him.
Grandma was dead.
Evelyn had escaped.
Leonard had apparently been kidnapped.
Stephanie was missing.
Financial records were gone.
Someone was trying to move hundreds of thousands of dollars.
If we waited, we might lose the only chance to understand why.
“I’m not going alone,” I said.
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
Dad studied my face.
Then nodded.
“Then neither am I.”
Downstairs, Daniel was furious when we returned.
“No.”
“That seems to be everyone’s favorite word tonight,” I said.
“Claire, this isn’t a family argument anymore.”
“I know.”
“Someone assaulted an officer.”
“I know.”
“Someone may have kidnapped Leonard.”
“I know.”
“Then act like you know.”
I moved closer.
“Daniel, whoever sent that message asked for Grandma’s letter. You need me.”
“We need the letter.”
“They may not know whether it’s the real one.”
Richard interrupted.
“She’s right.”
Daniel glared at him.
“Not helping.”
Richard lifted both hands.
“The safest tactical decision is yours. But whoever is doing this clearly believes Claire possesses information they need.”
Jonathan stepped forward.
“I know the Parker building.”
We all looked at him.
“How?” I asked.
He realized his mistake.
Too late.
“You’ve been there?”
He looked trapped.
“Once.”
“With whom?”
“My mother.”
Dad muttered something under his breath.
I felt rage rise again.
“When?”
“Before I met you.”
Of course.
“Why?”
“She wanted to show me where your grandmother’s company used to be.”
“Why would that matter?”
Jonathan looked at Richard.
Then at me.
“There’s a basement.”
Richard frowned.
“I know.”
“No.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“Under the basement.”
Richard went still.
“What?”
“A storage level.”
Dad looked at me.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
Jonathan continued.
“There’s an old records room. Mom said Ruth used to store original company ledgers there before digitizing everything.”
Richard grabbed his coat.
“That could be what Leonard meant.”
Daniel held up a hand.
“Nobody moves yet.”
He called the lead officer.
They spoke for several minutes.
Plans changed.
Units would approach quietly.
No sirens.
Nobody would enter until police cleared the first floor.
I would stay in a vehicle unless specifically needed.
That was the compromise.
Jonathan wasn’t coming.
He exploded.
“I know the building!”
“So tell us the layout,” Daniel said.
“I need to show you.”
“You need to stay here.”
“With who?”
Daniel pointed toward an officer.
“Him.”
Jonathan looked at me.
“Claire.”
I turned away.
He grabbed my sleeve.
Not hard.
But the instant his hand touched me, my entire body stiffened.
Daniel stepped between us.
Jonathan released me.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked at him.
“You keep being sorry after touching me.”
His face collapsed.
I left.
The drive downtown felt unreal.
Dad drove.
Daniel rode with police.
Richard sat in the back beside me.
I held Grandma’s letter in a plastic evidence sleeve.
Outside, the city continued normally.
Restaurants glowed.
Couples crossed streets.
People laughed outside bars.
Nobody knew my wedding night had become a criminal investigation.
Richard leaned forward.
“Claire.”
“Yes?”
“There’s something I didn’t tell you.”
I closed my eyes.
“Of course there is.”
Dad looked at him through the mirror.
“Maybe tonight would be a great time for everyone to stop doing that.”
Richard sighed.
“Ruth suspected Leonard before she died.”
I turned.
“What?”
“Not of theft.”
“Of what?”
“Protecting Evelyn.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?”
“Because Leonard was also the person who preserved evidence against Evelyn.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“I know.”
“So explain.”
Richard looked out the window.
“Ruth thought Leonard had a personal connection to Evelyn.”
“What kind?”
“She never discovered it.”
Dad asked, “Romantic?”
“Possibly.”
I thought about Leonard and Evelyn.
Their ages.
Their history.
“Did Grandma think they were having an affair?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what?”
Richard hesitated.
“She once asked me whether I thought Jonathan could be Leonard’s son.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
“I have no evidence.”
“Does Jonathan know?”
“I don’t think so.”
Dad exhaled slowly.
“That would explain Leonard protecting him.”
Maybe.
Or maybe it was another lie.
Every answer opened another door.
We arrived near the Parker building and stopped two blocks away.
Police were already positioned nearby.
The building looked exactly as I remembered.
Red brick.
Tall black windows.
Faded PARKER INDUSTRIES lettering above the entrance.
Grandma had sold the company but retained the building.
After her death, it became mine.
I had never bothered selling it.
Another inherited property I barely thought about.
Tonight it looked like a tomb.
Daniel came to our car.
“First floor appears empty.”
“What about Leonard?”
“No visual.”
“Stephanie?”
“No.”
“Evelyn?”
“No.”
He looked at the letter.
“We’re going inside.”
Dad started opening his door.
Daniel stopped him.
“You stay with Claire.”
I glared.
Daniel ignored me.
“We’ll search.”
He left.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
My phone remained silent.
Richard stared at the building.
“I don’t like this.”
Neither did I.
At twelve minutes, Daniel called.
“Claire.”
“Yes?”
“We found Leonard.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
I breathed.
“Thank God.”
“He’s injured but conscious.”
“Where’s Stephanie?”
“No sign.”
“Evelyn?”
“No sign.”
I hesitated.
“Does he want the letter?”
Daniel paused.
“No.”
My skin prickled.
“What?”
“He says he never sent the message.”
Richard leaned toward the phone.
“Ask him who did.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“He says we need to leave the building immediately.”
A loud boom came through the phone.
Then the call cut out.
I screamed Daniel’s name.
The Parker building went dark.
Every window.
Every light.
Gone.
Police radios erupted.
Officers outside moved.
Dad grabbed me.
“Stay here.”
Smoke appeared near the rear of the building.
Richard opened his door.
“Fire.”
I caught him.
“No.”
“But Daniel—”
“Police are going in.”
Then my phone buzzed.
One new message.
UNKNOWN NUMBER.
I opened it.
YOU BROUGHT POLICE.
NOW OPEN RUTH’S LETTER.
I stared at the screen.
“I already opened it.”
Another message arrived instantly.
NOT THAT ONE.
CHECK THE ENVELOPE.
My heart pounded.
I pulled Grandma’s envelope from the evidence sleeve.
Richard turned on his phone flashlight.
We examined it.
Nothing.
Then Dad felt along the inside.
“Wait.”
The envelope had two layers.
A false backing.
Richard carefully tore the inner seam.
A tiny folded note fell out.
My grandmother’s handwriting.
Claire—
If Evelyn is involved with Jonathan, go to the records room beneath Parker Industries.
Locker 17.
The key is where your mother sleeps.
My hands began shaking.
Dad went silent.
My mother had been dead since I was eleven.
She was buried beside Grandma.
“The cemetery,” I whispered.
Richard nodded.
Another text arrived.
GOOD.
NOW YOU UNDERSTAND.
COME TO LOCKER 17.
ALONE.
I looked toward the black building.
Smoke thickened.
Sirens approached.
Dad said, “Absolutely not.”
Then my phone rang.
Daniel.
I answered instantly.
“Are you okay?”
He coughed.
“Yes. Small incendiary device. Fire suppression system handled most of it.”
“Leonard?”
“Alive.”
“Who sent the messages?”
“Not him.”
I looked at the note.
“There’s a hidden records room.”
“We found stairs.”
“Locker seventeen.”
Silence.
Daniel whispered, “We’re standing in front of it.”
My breath stopped.
“Is it locked?”
“Was.”
“What’s inside?”
I heard movement.
Then Daniel cursed.
“What?”
“Daniel?”
He didn’t answer.
“WHAT IS IT?”
Finally his voice returned.
“Claire.”
I had never heard my brother sound like that.
“What?”
“There are photographs.”
“Of what?”
“Your family.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What kind of photographs?”
“Your grandmother.”
Pause.
“Your mother.”
Another pause.
“And Evelyn.”
I stopped breathing.
Dad stared at me.
Then Daniel said the sentence that changed everything again.
“Claire, there’s a photograph of your mother holding Jonathan when he was a baby.”
Dad nearly dropped the phone.
I whispered, “That’s impossible.”
Daniel continued.
“And there’s writing on the back.”
“What does it say?”
He read it.
August 1990.
Sarah with her son.
Jonathan.
The world disappeared beneath me.
Sarah Parker was my mother.
And if the photograph was real, Jonathan wasn’t simply the man who had targeted me for my inheritance.
He might be my mother’s son.
May you like
My half brother.
And I had married him that afternoon.
