The shed seemed to become smaller.
Mara stared at her father as though he had spoken in another language.
“My mother?”
Thomas nodded.
“You're saying she was involved?”
“I’m saying she was forced into it.”
“That isn't the same thing.”
“No.”
“Then tell me the whole truth.”
Thomas looked at the lake.
“For years, your mother worked as a courier for Samuel.”
Mara shook her head.
“She was a nurse.”
“She was both.”
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
Mara stepped backward.
Her memories came rushing at her in fragments: her mother's careful hands, the locked drawer in the bedroom, whispered telephone calls, long afternoons when she was told to stay with neighbors. At the time, Mara had believed those things were ordinary adult mysteries.
They were not.
Thomas continued.
“Your mother discovered what Samuel was doing. She tried to leave.”
“And he stopped her.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He threatened you.”
Mara closed her eyes.
“What happened to her?”
“She helped me disappear.”
“Then why did you say she was involved?”
“Because she was.”
Mara looked at him.
“She passed information to Samuel under pressure. Sometimes she believed she was protecting us. Sometimes she wasn't.”
Evelyn spoke quietly.
“She made mistakes.”
Mara looked at her.
“You knew her too.”
“Yes.”
“Everyone knew.”
No one answered.
Outside, the vehicles had stopped.
Mercer peered through a crack in the boards.
“They're searching the cottage.”
Elias sat against the wall.
“How long?”
“Not long.”
Mara turned back to Thomas.
“What did my mother do with the final page?”
Thomas reached inside his coat.
“She hid it.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere only you would remember.”
Mara frowned.
“I don't understand.”
Thomas smiled faintly.
“When you were six, your mother gave you a music box.”
Mara's breath caught.
“The blue one.”
“Yes.”
“I still have it.”
“No.”
Mara stared.
“What?”
“Not anymore.”
She remembered.
The music box had disappeared after her mother died.
She had blamed herself for losing it.
Thomas said, “Your mother gave it to Clara.”
Mara's face tightened.
“Why?”
“To hide the page.”
“Then Clara has it.”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
“Where is it?”
“Your mother knew Clara would search the obvious places.”
Evelyn stepped closer.
“She moved it.”
“To where?”
Thomas looked at Mara.
“You.”
Mara stared at him.
“I had it?”
“When you were a child.”
“Where?”
Thomas smiled sadly.
“You buried it.”
Mara's mind raced.
A place from childhood.
The garden.
The old willow tree beside the lake.
She remembered digging there with her mother.
A small tin box.
A ribbon.
A note.
Mara suddenly understood.
“The willow.”
Thomas nodded.
“But the cottage burned.”
“The willow is on the far side of the property.”
Mercer turned from the window.
“We have a few minutes.”
They moved.
The path to the willow ran along the lake, hidden by thick shrubs. Mara remembered every bend. She had spent entire summers there as a child, building little houses from sticks and pretending the roots were walls.
At the base of the tree, she found a patch of earth that looked untouched.
She knelt.
Elias watched.
“You remember?”
“Not everything.”
Mara dug with her hands.
Her fingers struck metal.
She pulled out a rusted tin box.
Inside lay a folded page wrapped in wax paper.
Thomas closed his eyes.
“That is it.”
Mara unfolded the paper.
Names filled the page.
Not politicians.
Not businessmen.
Police officers.
Judges.
Lawyers.
One name appeared at the bottom.
Daniel Mercer.
Mara looked up.
Mercer stood several feet away.
He did not move.
“You.”
He lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
Mara's voice broke.
“You were on the list.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I took money.”
The admission was quiet.
Elias looked at him.
“But you changed sides.”
Mercer nodded.
“Years later.”
“Why?”
Mercer looked at Thomas.
“Because your father saved my life.”
Mara stared.
“What happened?”
“I was ordered to arrest him.”
“And?”
“I discovered what they were doing.”
“So you helped him disappear.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did Jonah warn me about you?”
Mercer looked at the ground.
“Because Jonah didn't know when I changed sides.”
Mara's anger softened, but only slightly.
“You should have told me.”
“I couldn't.”
“You could have tried.”
“I did.”
“When?”
“The day I came to your house.”
Mara remembered.
The warning.
Stay away from Jonah.
She had thought it was a threat.
It had been protection.
A branch cracked behind them.
Everyone turned.
Nathan Bell stepped out from the trees.
His hands were empty.
Mercer raised his weapon.
“Bell.”
Bell stopped.
“Don't shoot.”
Mara stared at him.
“You took the case.”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
“Safe.”
“With Clara?”
Bell shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Bell looked at Thomas.
“Jonah.”
Mara's heart jumped.
“He has the case?”
Bell nodded.
“Jonah took it before I reached the tunnel.”
Elias looked confused.
“How?”
Bell gave a bitter smile.
“He knew you would come.”
Mara stared.
“Where is Jonah?”
Bell looked toward the lake.
“On the platform.”
The hidden platform beneath the water.
Mara understood.
“He planned this.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the only way to expose Clara was to make her believe the ledger was still hidden.”
Thomas looked at Bell.
“Did she come?”
Bell nodded.
“She knows.”
Mercer turned.
“Then we have to move.”
A boat engine started across the lake.
Everyone looked toward the water.
A small motorboat emerged from behind the trees.
Jonah stood at the bow.
Beside him was Clara.
She held a gun against his side.
Mara froze.
Clara raised her voice.
“Stay where you are.”
Jonah looked directly at Mara.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
Mara realized something.
He wasn't afraid.
Clara shouted again.
“Give me the page.”
Mara held it tightly.
“No.”
Clara smiled.
“You always were stubborn.”
Mara stared at her.
“You knew my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my father was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Clara's expression hardened.
“Because your father destroyed my family.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“Your father destroyed himself.”
Clara looked at him.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“I was.”
“For twelve years.”
“Yes.”
Clara laughed.
“You should have stayed dead.”
Jonah moved suddenly.
He struck her wrist.
The gun fell.
Mercer shouted.
Bell ran toward the dock.
Elias moved to intercept Clara as she jumped from the boat.
She fired once.
The bullet struck the ground.
Mercer tackled her.
Jonah climbed onto the dock.
Mara ran to him.
He caught her.
For a moment she could only hold him.
“You're alive.”
“So are you.”
“You could have told me.”
“I couldn't.”
“I hate that answer.”
“I know.”
She pulled away.
“Did you know about my mother?”
Jonah hesitated.
“Yes.”
Mara shook her head.
“Everyone knew except me.”
Jonah's eyes softened.
“That was the one thing I hated most.”
Clara struggled beneath Mercer.
“Don't listen to him!”
Mara turned.
Clara was staring directly at her.
“Ask Jonah where the final ledger really is.”
Mara looked at Jonah.
He said nothing.
Her heart sank.
“You don't have it.”
Jonah slowly shook his head.
“No.”
“Then where is it?”
He looked toward Thomas.
Thomas smiled.
Mara understood.
The ledger had never been in the black case.
It had never been under the cottage.
The case contained only copies.
The original had been hidden somewhere else.
“Where?” Mara asked.
Thomas looked at her.
“Your mother's grave.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART8: At the Grave Where Mara Had Mourned Her Mother for Years, the Last Secret Finally Came Into the Light and Everyone Paid the Price of Keeping It Buried
The Police Arrived Before Sunrise, Yet the Woman Already Knew Exactly What They Had Come to Ask Her About
Part 7 of 16
