Mara turned toward her mother.
“No.”
Evelyn did not defend herself.
Daniel held the photograph.
“You were the person Adrian feared.”
Evelyn's voice was almost inaudible.
“Yes.”
Mara shook her head.
“Why?”
“Because he knew what I had done.”
Daniel looked at the letter.
“What did you do?”
Evelyn sat on the edge of the hospital bed.
“I helped Victor.”
The words landed heavily.
Mara stepped backward.
“For how long?”
“Not long.”
“That isn't an answer.”
Evelyn looked at her daughter.
“Your father trusted me with the company accounts.”
“And?”
“I discovered what Victor was doing.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you stop him?”
Evelyn's eyes filled.
“Because your father was going to report him.”
“That sounds like exactly what he should have done.”
“It wasn't that simple.”
“Why?”
“Victor threatened your father.”
Mara stared at her.
“He threatened me too.”
Daniel looked up.
“What did he threaten?”
Evelyn's hands shook.
“Your father had arranged for you to inherit everything. Victor said he would make sure you disappeared before the transfer happened.”
Mara felt sick.
“So you protected me.”
“I thought I did.”
Daniel's voice was quiet.
“But Adrian found out.”
“Yes.”
“He knew you had signed something.”
Evelyn nodded.
“A transfer document.”
“To Victor?”
“Yes.”
Daniel stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because Victor promised he would leave you alone.”
Mara's voice broke.
“And you believed him?”
“I was desperate.”
Daniel stood.
“And Adrian?”
“He found the document.”
“He confronted you.”
“Yes.”
“You fought.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
Evelyn looked at the photograph.
“He said he would expose me.”
Daniel understood.
“That is why Adrian feared you.”
“I never wanted him dead.”
“But he died.”
“Yes.”
“Because of your decision.”
Evelyn bowed her head.
“Yes.”
Mara could barely breathe.
Daniel walked to the metal cabinet.
“Where is the ledger?”
Evelyn looked at the watch.
“You have it.”
He unfolded the hidden paper.
A series of numbers was written across it.
Claire leaned closer.
“Those are coordinates.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Coordinates for what?”
“The old storage facility.”
Mara recognized the name.
“That building was demolished.”
“Not all of it,” Claire said.
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“Did my father hide the ledger there?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't Victor find it?”
“Because your father gave the key to you.”
Daniel touched the watch.
“And when I was injured?”
“Victor took the watch.”
Claire interrupted.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
“Victor tried.”
“What happened?”
“Adrian stopped him.”
Daniel stared at her.
“Then how did the watch end up with me?”
Claire looked at Evelyn.
“Because I returned it.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“You gave it back?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Adrian told me to.”
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
“He knew I would forget.”
“Yes.”
“And he left the message.”
“Yes.”
Mara looked at the letter.
“Then Adrian knew Daniel might survive.”
“He hoped.”
“What happened to the ledger?”
Claire answered, “It was moved.”
“Where?”
“By Adrian.”
Daniel suddenly looked toward the wall.
His eyes widened.
“The river.”
Mara stared.
“What?”
“He didn't hide it in the storage facility.”
“How do you know?”
“I remember.”
He closed his eyes.
The memory came in fragments.
Adrian standing beside a concrete pillar.
A metal box.
The river behind him.
Daniel asking, “Why here?”
Adrian answering, “Because nobody looks beneath the dead man's marker.”
Daniel opened his eyes.
“There is a memorial stone.”
Evelyn stood.
“Where?”
“Across the river.”
They left the tunnel before dawn.
The rain had stopped.
The river moved darkly beneath the bridge.
Mara followed Daniel toward a small stone memorial dedicated to flood victims.
He knelt.
The ground around the base was soft.
He brushed away the mud.
A metal ring appeared.
Mara crouched beside him.
Daniel pulled.
A narrow compartment opened.
Inside was a sealed metal box.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
Daniel lifted it out.
He looked at Mara.
“Ready?”
“No.”
“Neither am I.”
He opened it.
The ledger was inside.
So were copies of contracts, bank records, photographs, and a final letter from Adrian.
Daniel unfolded it.
Mara read beside him.
Adrian had written that Victor had stolen money for years, but he had not acted alone.
The ledger listed names.
One of them was Dr. Hart.
Another was Victor.
The third was Evelyn.
Mara stared.
Her mother closed her eyes.
Daniel continued reading.
Adrian had discovered that Evelyn had helped conceal the fraud. He had intended to expose everyone, but after Daniel was attacked, he changed his plan.
He wanted Daniel protected.
He wanted Mara protected.
He believed the truth could wait.
Then came the final paragraph.
If I die, Evelyn will try to protect Mara by taking the blame. Do not let her. She made terrible choices, but Victor is the one who turned fear into murder.
Daniel lowered the letter.
Mara looked at her mother.
“You didn't kill him.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
“But you helped hide what happened.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
“Who killed Adrian?”
Claire answered.
“Victor.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
For the first time, the answer was complete.
But something still bothered him.
He looked at the ledger.
One final payment was listed.
Paid to Samuel Hart.
The date was after Victor's death.
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“Why would Hart receive money after Victor died?”
Claire went pale.
“He wasn't being paid by Victor.”
“Then who?”
Evelyn looked at the river.
“I know.”
Mara turned.
“Who?”
Evelyn whispered, “Your father.”
Silence.
“My father was dead.”
“Yes.”
“How could he pay Hart?”
“He didn't.”
Daniel looked at the ledger.
“Then someone used his account.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed to the final transaction.
“That account wasn't your father's.”
Mara leaned closer.
The account number was different.
Daniel stared.
“It belongs to Adrian.”
Mara looked at him.
“But Adrian was dead.”
Claire's face tightened.
“Exactly.”
A car door slammed behind them.
They turned.
A black sedan stood at the edge of the road.
A man stepped out.
Older.
Thin.
Gray-haired.
Daniel recognized him instantly from the photograph.
Dr. Hart.
He looked at Daniel.
Then at the ledger.
“You finally remembered.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You erased my memory.”
Hart shook his head.
“No.”
Daniel stopped.
Hart looked toward Evelyn.
“She did.”
Evelyn gasped.
Mara turned.
“Mom?”
Hart continued.
“Evelyn asked me to make you forget the river.”
Evelyn whispered, “I asked you to save him.”
“You asked me to save Mara.”
Daniel stared at his mother.
Hart raised a second envelope.
“And you never asked what happened to Adrian afterward.”
Mara felt the ground seem to shift beneath her.
Hart looked directly at Daniel.
“Because Adrian was alive when I left him.”
Daniel's face went white.
Hart opened the envelope.
Inside was a recent photograph.
A man standing beside a window.
Older.
Scarred.
But unmistakably Adrian.
Click Here to continue read next: PART8: The Last Photograph Finally Explained Who Had Been Watching Them, and Daniel Had to Choose Between the Life He Knew and the Truth He Owed
The Smile in the Photograph Made Her Mother Stop Breathing Before Anyone Could Explain Why
Part 7 of 16
