Richard lived quietly now.
He had moved away from the city after giving his testimony and had not returned to the aquarium since the investigation ended.
When Elena arrived at his house, he looked unsurprised.
“I wondered when you'd find it.”
Elena stopped on the front step.
“You knew.”
Richard nodded.
“Your father left clues.”
“He left a recording.”
Richard's face tightened.
“What did it say?”
“That you agreed to help him.”
Richard looked away.
“I did.”
“Then why didn't you tell us?”
“Because I thought it was over.”
Elena's voice sharpened.
“You thought it was over when Lena died?”
“No.”
“Then when?”
“When Peter was arrested.”
Elena stared at him.
Richard opened the door.
“Come inside.”
Daniel, Claire, and Mia waited in the car.
Elena entered with Marcus.
Richard led them to a small room lined with books.
He sat down.
“My brother was clever.”
“Victor.”
“Yes.”
“He was involved before Peter.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
Richard hesitated.
“Long before either of us worked at the aquarium.”
Elena felt her stomach tighten.
“My father knew.”
Richard nodded.
“He was the first person who tried to expose it.”
“What was the operation?”
Richard looked at Marcus.
“You know about the animal transfers.”
“We know the records were falsified.”
“That was only the visible part.”
Elena leaned forward.
“What was the invisible part?”
Richard folded his hands.
“Some animals were transferred to private facilities under research agreements. Some were legitimate. Others were not.”
“What happened to them?”
“We don't know.”
“That's not an answer.”
“It is the only honest one.”
Marcus asked, “Who controlled the research station?”
Richard looked at him.
“Several companies.”
“Names?”
Richard gave them three.
Marcus wrote them down.
One appeared in the records they had already found.
The other two did not.
Elena asked, “Why did my father trust you?”
“Because I believed him.”
“And Victor?”
“I didn't understand how far he had gone.”
Richard told them about the first meeting.
Elena's father had discovered discrepancies in the aquarium's financial records. He approached Richard because Richard handled maintenance and had access to parts of the facility the accounting department could not enter.
They worked together quietly.
They discovered the underground corridors.
They found evidence of after-hours transfers.
Then Victor learned they were investigating.
“He threatened my father?”
Richard nodded.
“What did he say?”
“That if your father continued, Elena would become part of the problem.”
Elena's breath caught.
“He threatened me?”
“You were young.”
“I was eight.”
Richard looked down.
“Your father stopped.”
Elena stared at him.
“He didn't stop.”
“No.”
“He kept investigating.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed Lena would eventually find the records.”
Elena closed her eyes.
Her father had spent years protecting her while still trying to expose the truth.
Richard continued.
“Three days after the first unauthorized transfer, your father and I followed a shipment.”
“To the research station?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“We found another facility.”
Marcus asked, “What kind?”
“An old marine laboratory.”
“Was it operating legally?”
“Partly.”
“Partly?”
“Some work was legitimate. Other activity wasn't.”
Elena asked, “What did you see?”
Richard looked at her.
“Animals that had no reason to be there.”
The room became quiet.
“Your father photographed the facility.”
“Where are the photographs?”
“Victor took them.”
Elena's voice dropped.
“He stole them.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to my father?”
“He threatened to report Victor.”
“And?”
“Victor had connections.”
Elena looked away.
“My father died years later.”
“I know.”
“Was his death connected?”
Richard hesitated.
“I don't know.”
Elena looked sharply at him.
“You don't know?”
“I never found proof.”
Marcus asked, “What happened to the research station?”
Richard answered.
“Closed.”
“When?”
“After Lena died.”
“Convenient.”
Richard nodded.
“Yes.”
Mia entered the room.
Elena looked surprised.
“I thought you were staying in the car.”
Mia shrugged.
“I got bored.”
Richard smiled faintly.
“You've become very good at finding things.”
Mia looked at him.
“Did Lena come here?”
Richard froze.
“No.”
“She knew your house?”
“No.”
“Then why did she have your photograph?”
Richard stared at her.
“What photograph?”
Mia opened her notebook.
She had copied the photograph from the archive.
Richard and Elena's father stood together.
On the back was a handwritten note.
Richard read it.
His expression changed.
“Where did you find this?”
“In the archive.”
He turned the photograph over.
The handwriting was Lena's.
She had written:
“Richard knows where Dad kept the original.”
Richard sat back.
“She knew.”
Elena stared at him.
“She knew what?”
“Your father kept one photograph.”
“Where?”
Richard looked toward the bookshelf.
He stood.
Pulled out a book.
Inside was a small envelope.
He handed it to Elena.
Her hands shook as she opened it.
The photograph showed the research station.
In the background stood Victor.
Beside him was another man.
Elena recognized him immediately.
The current director of the research company.
He was the same man whose name appeared on the old transfer records.
Marcus looked at the photograph.
“This changes the investigation.”
Richard nodded.
“It proves Victor wasn't acting alone.”
Elena studied the photograph.
“Why did Lena write that you knew where it was?”
Richard answered quietly.
“Because I told her.”
“You spoke to her?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The afternoon before she died.”
Elena's face went pale.
“You never said that.”
“I was afraid.”
“What did she ask?”
“She asked me who she could trust.”
“And what did you tell her?”
Richard looked at Elena.
“I told her nobody.”
Elena's eyes filled.
“You should have told her the truth.”
“Yes.”
“What happened afterward?”
“She said she had one more piece of evidence.”
“What?”
“A ledger.”
Marcus leaned forward.
“Where is it?”
Richard shook his head.
“I never saw it.”
“Then why did she mention it?”
“Because she said she had hidden it where nobody would look.”
Mia whispered, “The water.”
Richard looked at her.
“What?”
“The stingray pool.”
Richard stared.
“No.”
Mia shook her head.
“Not the pool.”
She opened her notebook.
“She hid things under the light.”
Richard's face changed.
“Her father's old office.”
“What?”
“There was another room beneath the aquarium.”
Marcus frowned.
“Room 17?”
“No.”
Richard shook his head.
“Room 17 was the storage room.”
“Then what?”
Richard looked toward Elena.
“Room 18.”
The words seemed to stop everyone.
Marcus stood.
“The old plans only showed Room 17.”
Richard nodded.
“Because Room 18 was removed from the plans.”
“Why?”
“Because that was where the original ledger was kept.”
Elena stared at him.
“Is it still there?”
Richard looked down.
“I don't know.”
Mia smiled faintly.
“Then we should look.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART15: Room 18 Was Missing from Every Official Blueprint, Yet the Forgotten Door Contained the One Record Capable of Connecting Victor to Lena’s Final Night
The Stingray Beneath the Water Changed Direction Twice, and Mia Was Certain It Was Trying to Show Her Something
Part 14 of 16
