Emily did not open the metal box that night.
She took it to the foundation office the next morning.
The decision had nothing to do with fear.
At least, that was what she told herself.
She wanted witnesses.
She wanted records.
She wanted the box opened in a place where nothing could disappear unnoticed.
Charles arrived first.
Helen came next.
Margaret and Claire joined them later.
Daniel insisted on coming despite Emily's objections.
"I'm not dying," he said.
"You say that every time you want to do something reckless."
"I learned from my father."
That ended the argument.
They gathered around the conference table.
The metal box sat in the center.
It was smaller than Emily had first thought, roughly the size of a hardcover book.
There was no visible keyhole.
Only a narrow groove along the side.
Charles examined it.
"Combination."
Emily looked at the notebook.
"Maybe Thomas left a clue."
They searched the pages.
Nothing.
Then Helen noticed something.
"The dates."
"What about them?"
"Look."
She pointed to three entries.
October 2.
October 11.
October 23.
Emily frowned.
"Those were the dates Thomas moved."
"Yes."
Helen looked at the box.
"Try them."
Charles entered the numbers.
Nothing happened.
He tried the dates in reverse.
Still nothing.
Daniel watched silently.
Then he said, "Not dates."
Everyone looked at him.
"What?"
"Places."
Emily remembered the notebook.
Each entry began with a location.
The warehouse.
The hotel.
The clinic.
She entered the room numbers.
The box clicked.
Everyone froze.
The lid opened.
Inside was a small flash drive.
Three photographs.
And a folded document.
Emily picked up the document.
It was a handwritten statement from Thomas.
This time, he did not write about fear.
He wrote about money.
The stolen funds had never been the real objective.
They were leverage.
Voss had used the money to build a network of people who owed him favors.
Police officers.
Accountants.
Officials.
Businessmen.
People who could make records disappear.
The Mercer company had become useful because Thomas's reputation gave the operation legitimacy.
Emily read the page slowly.
Then she reached the final paragraph.
One person inside the company resisted.
Edward.
Another person knew.
Daniel.
A third person protected the system.
Charles.
Charles looked at the paper.
"I knew pieces."
"You knew enough."
"Yes."
"Why did you stay?"
Charles looked at Daniel.
"Because I thought I could protect him."
Daniel shook his head.
"You should have left."
"I know."
Charles lowered his eyes.
The old guilt between the men had never entirely disappeared.
Emily continued reading.
Thomas had discovered that Voss was not working alone.
Someone had been feeding him information from inside the family.
Someone who knew Emily's schedule.
Someone who knew where Margaret lived.
Someone who knew when Claire had returned.
Emily looked up.
"Who?"
The statement did not say.
Instead, it contained a reference.
SEE PHOTOGRAPH THREE.
Emily picked up the third photograph.
It showed the foundation office.
From across the street.
The image was recent.
Very recent.
Emily recognized the building.
She recognized the car parked outside.
And then she saw the person standing beside it.
Her heart stopped.
It was Nora.
The woman Emily had helped two days earlier.
Charles took the photograph.
"Who is she?"
Emily stared.
"I don't know."
"She came to see you."
"Yes."
"How did she know about the foundation?"
Emily shook her head.
"We advertise."
Charles looked closer.
"There is someone behind her."
Emily leaned in.
A man stood partly hidden near the doorway.
The photograph had been taken from far away.
His face was blurred.
But the coat was familiar.
Emily remembered the photograph of Thomas outside the warehouse.
Then she remembered the message.
HE KNOWS WHERE EMILY IS.
"That's Hepburn."
Helen stood.
"We need to find Nora."
They called her.
No answer.
Emily sent a message.
Still nothing.
Then the office phone rang.
Emily answered.
A man's voice said, "You should have listened."
"Who is this?"
"You know."
"Where is Nora?"
A pause.
"Safe."
"Prove it."
A photograph arrived on Emily's phone.
Nora sat in a room Emily did not recognize.
She was unharmed.
But frightened.
Emily's stomach tightened.
"What do you want?"
"The drive."
"Why?"
"Because Thomas left something on it that doesn't belong to him."
"What?"
"Proof."
"Proof of what?"
The caller laughed quietly.
"Of who really controlled the Mercer money."
Emily looked at the flash drive.
"Come get it."
"Not yet."
"What do you want?"
"Go to the river."
Charles immediately shook his head.
Emily ignored him.
"When?"
"Tonight."
The call ended.
Daniel looked at her.
"Don't go."
Emily looked at him.
"I'm not going alone."
Charles nodded.
"No."
Claire stepped forward.
"I'm coming."
Margaret shook her head.
"So am I."
Helen looked at everyone.
"If Hepburn knows about the old records, I need to be there."
Daniel sighed.
"Apparently I'm the only person in this family who still knows how to stay home."
Emily smiled.
"Then stay home."
He gave her a reluctant nod.
Before they left, Emily copied the flash drive.
She made three copies.
One went to the police.
One went into the foundation's secure archive.
One stayed with her.
If someone took the original, the evidence would survive.
At the river, rain had begun falling.
The warehouse looked smaller than Emily remembered.
The same broken windows.
The same rusted loading doors.
The same smell of wet concrete.
They entered together.
"Nora?" Emily called.
No answer.
A light flickered upstairs.
They climbed.
Nora was sitting in a chair.
Her hands were untied.
She looked terrified.
Emily rushed toward her.
"Are you hurt?"
Nora shook her head.
"No."
"Where is he?"
She pointed toward the far end of the room.
A door opened.
Hepburn stepped out.
He was older than Emily expected.
Gray hair.
Thin face.
Calm eyes.
He carried no visible weapon.
"You brought the drive."
Emily held it up.
"Let her go."
"She's free."
Nora stood.
Hepburn did not stop her.
She ran toward Emily.
Charles moved between them.
Hepburn smiled.
"You see?"
Emily frowned.
"What?"
"You assume I'm the enemy because everyone before me was."
"Then tell me who you are."
He looked at the flash drive.
"My name is Peter Hepburn."
Emily froze.
"You know Peter?"
Charles stared.
"No."
Hepburn smiled.
"Everyone remembers the wrong Peter."
He reached into his coat.
Claire stepped forward.
"Don't."
Hepburn removed an old identification card.
It belonged to the private investigator Thomas had hired decades earlier.
The photograph was younger.
The name read Peter Hepburn.
Emily looked at him.
"You worked for Thomas."
"Yes."
"Then why have you been watching us?"
"Because Thomas asked me to."
Emily stared.
"He's dead."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Hepburn's expression changed.
"Because he left one final instruction."
"What?"
"Protect Emily from the truth if the truth became dangerous."
Emily almost laughed.
"That's absurd."
"No."
He looked toward the river.
"It's exactly what Thomas wanted."
Emily held the flash drive tighter.
"What is on it?"
Hepburn answered.
"The identity of the person who has been secretly funding Voss's legal defense."
Everyone went still.
Voss had been in custody for years.
His case was nearly over.
Who could still be paying for him?
Hepburn looked directly at Emily.
"Someone in your family."
Click Here to continue read next: PART15: Emily Learns Who Has Been Quietly Funding Voss, and the Answer Forces Her to Reopen a Wound She Thought Had Finally Closed
The Visitor Arrived Carrying Two Expensive Shopping Bags, Yet Her Father Had Asked Everyone to Keep Her Away From His Hospital Room
Part 14 of 16
