PART 4 — THE WOMAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING
My phone kept ringing.
REBECCA SLOAN.
Nobody in the foyer moved.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Charlotte stared at me.
Agent Hale’s expression changed from cautious to completely alert.
“Don’t answer it,” Daniel whispered.
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because Robert literally told you to find Rebecca if something happened to him.”
“That doesn’t mean she did anything.”
“Emma.”
“He said find Rebecca. He didn’t say Rebecca was responsible.”
Agent Hale stepped closer.
“Mrs. Foster is right.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You seriously think this is a coincidence?”
“I think assumptions get people hurt.”
The phone stopped ringing.
For three seconds, silence filled the house.
Then it rang again.
Rebecca.
Agent Hale raised one hand.
“Answer it.”
Daniel snapped, “You just said assumptions get people hurt.”
“I also need information.”
He looked at me.
“Speakerphone.”
My pulse hammered as I accepted the call.
“Rebecca?”
Her voice came immediately.
“Emma, thank God.”
She sounded breathless.
Not calm.
Not professional.
Terrified.
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Are you alone?”
I looked around.
Daniel.
Charlotte.
Agent Hale.
“No.”
“Who’s there?”
I hesitated.
Agent Hale nodded.
“Daniel. Charlotte Mercer. And an FBI agent.”
Rebecca went completely silent.
“Rebecca?”
“Which agent?”
“Marcus Hale.”
Nothing.
Agent Hale’s eyes narrowed.
“Ms. Sloan,” he said.
Rebecca sucked in a breath.
“Oh God.”
Daniel whispered, “What?”
Agent Hale leaned toward the phone.
“Rebecca, where are you?”
She ignored him.
“Emma, listen to me carefully.”
I gripped the phone.
“I’m listening.”
“Do not give Agent Hale Robert’s letter.”
Everything inside me stopped.
Agent Hale’s face became unreadable.
Daniel immediately stepped between us.
“What did she say?”
Rebecca repeated more loudly:
“Emma, do not give him the letter.”
Agent Hale said calmly, “Ms. Sloan, I suggest you explain that statement.”
“I’m not talking to you.”
“You called a potential witness in an active investigation.”
“I called my client.”
“Rebecca,” I interrupted. “What is going on?”
Her breathing sounded shaky.
“Emma, I need you to trust me.”
I almost laughed.
Trust.
That word had become poison.
“Everybody keeps asking me to trust them.”
“I know.”
“No, I don’t think you do.”
“I can prove it.”
“Then prove it.”
Rebecca lowered her voice.
“Ask Hale for his badge number.”
Agent Hale’s jaw tightened.
Daniel looked at him.
“Badge number?”
Rebecca continued.
“Ask him.”
I stared at Hale.
He slowly reached inside his coat.
Daniel tensed.
Hale removed his credentials and held them toward me.
“Special Agent Marcus Hale. Badge 41726.”
I read the number aloud.
Rebecca went silent again.
Then:
“Emma, get away from him.”
The room exploded.
Daniel moved first.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him.
Agent Hale immediately raised both hands.
“Everybody stay calm.”
Charlotte backed toward the wall.
“What is happening?”
Rebecca shouted through the phone:
“That badge belongs to an agent who died eight months ago.”
Nobody moved.
I stared at Hale.
His expression didn’t change.
Not even slightly.
Daniel whispered:
“You’re not FBI.”
Hale looked at him.
Then at me.
Then at the phone.
And smiled.
It was the first time I had seen him smile.
It terrified me.
“Rebecca,” he said calmly, “you always were difficult.”
My blood turned cold.
They knew each other.
Daniel moved in front of me.
“Get out of this house.”
Hale glanced toward the front door.
“No.”
Daniel’s voice rose.
“I said get out!”
“Daniel,” Hale said quietly, “you really should stop pretending you’re in control.”
Then he reached under his jacket.
Daniel lunged.
Everything happened at once.
Charlotte screamed.
I dropped the phone.
Daniel slammed into Hale.
They crashed against the entry table.
The lamp fell.
Glass shattered across the floor.
Hale struck Daniel across the face.
Daniel staggered.
I saw metal in Hale’s hand.
A gun.
“Daniel!”
He turned.
Hale pointed it directly at his chest.
“Enough.”
The entire house froze.
Daniel slowly raised his hands.
Charlotte pressed herself against the wall.
I could hear Rebecca screaming through the phone lying on the floor.
“Emma! Emma!”
Hale bent down and picked it up.
He looked at the screen.
Then ended the call.
He placed my phone on the table.
“Everyone into the living room.”
Nobody moved.
Hale lifted the gun.
“Now.”
We obeyed.
Daniel walked first.
I followed.
Charlotte behind me.
Hale shut the living room doors.
“Sit.”
We sat.
Daniel’s nose was bleeding.
He wiped it with his sleeve.
“You’re making a huge mistake.”
Hale chuckled.
“You have no idea what mistakes look like yet.”
I stared at him.
“Who are you?”
He looked at me for a long moment.
“Marcus Hale.”
“Rebecca said that agent is dead.”
“She’s correct.”
“Then who are you?”
He smiled faintly.
“My real name wouldn’t mean anything to you.”
“Try me.”
His smile disappeared.
“Adrian Cole.”
Daniel looked confused.
Charlotte didn’t.
She gasped.
Hale—Adrian—turned toward her.
“Mrs. Mercer remembers.”
Charlotte’s face went white.
“No.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You know him?”
Charlotte’s voice trembled.
“Robert mentioned him years ago.”
“Who is he?”
She stared at Adrian.
“He worked for the company.”
Adrian corrected her.
“I built half the company.”
Daniel frowned.
“I’ve never heard your name.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian paced slowly across the room.
“Twenty-six years ago, Robert Mercer and I started a consulting firm from a rented office with four desks and one client.”
Charlotte looked sick.
“Robert told me his first partner left.”
“I didn’t leave.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened.
“Robert removed me.”
“How?” I asked.
“Fraud.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Funny coming from you.”
Adrian pointed the gun at him.
Daniel stopped.
Adrian continued.
“Robert forged documents. Moved ownership. Told investors I had stolen company funds.”
Charlotte whispered:
“That’s not what Robert said.”
“Robert said many things.”
He looked at her.
“He was talented that way.”
Something about the bitterness in his voice reminded me of myself.
A person betrayed by someone they trusted.
But sympathy disappeared when I looked at the gun.
“What does any of this have to do with Olivia?” I asked.
Adrian smiled.
“Everything.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“What did you do to her?”
Adrian ignored him.
“Olivia Grant came to me four years ago.”
I stared.
“You knew her?”
“She found me.”
“Why?”
“Because she discovered inconsistencies in company records.”
Charlotte whispered:
“She was investigating Robert.”
“Yes.”
Adrian nodded.
“At first.”
“At first?”
“Then she found Daniel.”
Daniel looked confused.
“Me?”
“You weren’t exactly subtle.”
Adrian laughed.
“Expense reimbursements. Hotel bills. Rental payments. Gifts disguised as client entertainment.”
Daniel looked away.
Adrian continued.
“Olivia realized you could become useful.”
“Useful for what?”
“To expose Robert.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“So she used me.”
“Yes.”
The answer came without hesitation.
Daniel looked as though it hurt more than he expected.
I almost wanted to say welcome to the club.
Adrian continued.
“Robert had spent decades burying evidence. Olivia needed access to areas of the company she couldn’t reach.”
“So she transferred into Daniel’s division,” I said.
“Correct.”
“And started an affair with him.”
“Not originally.”
Daniel looked up.
“What?”
Adrian smiled coldly.
“That part was Daniel’s idea.”
I turned toward my husband.
He didn’t meet my eyes.
Of course.
Adrian continued.
“Olivia discovered very quickly that Daniel enjoyed believing women admired him.”
Daniel clenched his jaw.
“She flirted.”
“She baited you.”
“She loved me.”
Adrian laughed.
“Daniel, she kept files on you.”
The words hit him like a slap.
Adrian looked at me.
“Your husband became useful because he had access to Robert’s financial approvals.”
“So Olivia stayed with him for information.”
“At first.”
My stomach tightened.
“At first?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“She made the mistake of becoming attached.”
“To Daniel?”
“Yes.”
Daniel actually looked hopeful.
It was pathetic.
“And then she became pregnant,” Adrian said.
Hope disappeared.
“Whose baby?” Daniel demanded.
Adrian shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“Was it Robert’s?”
“Possible.”
“Mine?”
“Possible.”
Daniel shot to his feet.
Adrian aimed the gun.
“Sit down.”
Daniel remained standing.
“Where is she?”
“Sit.”
“Where is Olivia?”
“Daniel.”
“WHERE IS SHE?”
I grabbed his sleeve.
“Sit down.”
He looked at me.
For one strange second, we weren’t husband and betrayed wife.
We were two people trapped in a room with an armed man.
Daniel slowly sat.
Adrian nodded.
“Good.”
Charlotte whispered:
“And Robert?”
Adrian looked toward her.
“Alive.”
Charlotte burst into tears.
I turned sharply.
“He’s alive?”
“For now.”
Charlotte stood.
“Where is my husband?”
“Sit down.”
“Tell me where Robert is!”
Adrian’s eyes hardened.
“Charlotte.”
She sat.
“What do you want?” I asked.
Adrian looked at me.
Finally.
The question he had been waiting for.
“What do I want?”
“Yes.”
He looked around my living room.
“At this point?”
His gaze stopped on the envelope in my hand.
“The letter.”
I tightened my fingers around it.
“Why?”
“Because Robert wrote more than one.”
Charlotte frowned.
“What?”
Adrian looked at her.
“The one you found wasn’t the only copy.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I helped him write them.”
Silence.
Even Daniel looked shocked.
“You and Robert were working together?” I asked.
“For the last six months.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It will.”
Adrian gestured with the gun.
“Give me the letter.”
“No.”
Daniel turned toward me.
“Emma.”
I ignored him.
Adrian smiled.
“You’re braver than your husband.”
“I’ve had practice.”
His expression almost softened.
Almost.
“Emma, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“People with guns always say that.”
“I came here for information.”
“Then put the gun down.”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because Rebecca is coming.”
My heart skipped.
“How do you know?”
“She’ll come.”
“What does she have to do with this?”
Adrian stared at me.
“Rebecca Sloan has been involved since before your father died.”
My mouth went dry.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
I stood slowly.
Daniel whispered:
“Emma, sit.”
“No.”
I looked directly at Adrian.
“You do not get to bring my father into this.”
“Your father was already in it.”
“What are you talking about?”
Adrian lowered the gun slightly.
“Where do you think your inheritance came from?”
The question stunned me.
“What?”
“The $720,000.”
“My father earned it.”
“Partly.”
“Partly?”
Adrian nodded.
“Your father owned shares in Robert’s company.”
I stared at him.
“No, he didn’t.”
“He absolutely did.”
“I handled his estate.”
“No.”
He looked toward the front door.
“Rebecca handled his estate.”
My stomach twisted.
That was true.
Rebecca had managed almost everything after Dad died.
Property transfers.
Accounts.
Investments.
Trust documents.
I had signed where she instructed.
I trusted her because Dad trusted her.
Adrian continued.
“Your father invested in Robert’s company before it became successful.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“That doesn’t answer me.”
“He owned four percent.”
Daniel sucked in a breath.
Even Charlotte looked shocked.
I knew enough about the company to understand what four percent could mean.
Millions.
Far more than $720,000.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
“Why didn’t I inherit it?”
Adrian looked at me.
“That is the question you should be asking Rebecca.”
My knees weakened.
Daniel stood beside me.
This time Adrian didn’t stop him.
“Emma?”
I barely heard him.
Four percent.
My father.
Rebecca.
The inheritance.
The missing money.
Nothing fit anymore.
Adrian continued.
“Your father discovered Robert had been hiding company assets.”
“No.”
“He planned to confront him.”
“Stop.”
“He contacted Rebecca.”
“Stop.”
“Three weeks later, he died.”
I crossed the room before I realized I was moving.
I slapped Adrian.
Hard.
Daniel grabbed me immediately.
“Emma!”
Adrian’s head turned from the impact.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked back at me.
“I deserved that.”
“Do not talk about my father.”
“I’m telling you what happened.”
“My father died of a heart attack.”
“Yes.”
“His doctor confirmed it.”
“Yes.”
“There was an autopsy.”
“No.”
I froze.
“What?”
“There was no autopsy.”
I looked at Daniel.
He looked just as confused.
“There was.”
Adrian shook his head.
“Rebecca told you there was.”
My memory flashed backward.
Hospital hallway.
Rebecca standing beside me.
Her hand on my shoulder.
Emma, your father’s heart simply gave out.
There’s nothing suspicious.
He wouldn’t have wanted you putting yourself through an autopsy.
Had she said there was an autopsy?
Or had I assumed?
My stomach turned.
“Why would Rebecca lie?”
“That’s what Robert wanted to know.”
Charlotte looked at Adrian.
“Robert knew Emma’s father?”
“Very well.”
“Why did he never tell me?”
“Because Robert had secrets from everyone.”
Adrian looked at me.
“Your father discovered something inside the company twenty-four years ago.”
“What?”
“An account.”
“What account?”
“A fund Robert created off the books.”
Daniel frowned.
“For what?”
Adrian looked at him.
“Bribes.”
Charlotte closed her eyes.
“No.”
“Payments to inspectors. Consultants. Officials. Anyone who could make problems disappear.”
“How much?” I asked.
“Over the years?”
He paused.
“More than forty million dollars.”
Silence.
Daniel whispered:
“Jesus.”
“Your father found the account because one of his investment companies was unknowingly being used to route payments.”
I felt nauseated.
“He confronted Robert.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“Robert denied everything.”
“What did my father do?”
“He gathered evidence.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“Where is it?”
“That is why everybody is here.”
Adrian looked at Robert’s letter.
“Your father hid it.”
“Where?”
“He never told Robert.”
“Then how do you know?”
“He told Rebecca.”
The betrayal cut deeper every second.
“Why would he trust Rebecca?”
“Because she was his attorney.”
I shook my head.
“No. Rebecca became my attorney later.”
“She represented your father first.”
I didn’t know that.
Or maybe I had forgotten.
“How does Olivia fit into this?”
“She rediscovered references to the same fund.”
“After twenty-four years?”
“Yes.”
“And Robert?”
“Robert realized someone else inside the company had restarted it.”
Daniel frowned.
“Restarted it?”
“The payments stopped after your father died.”
Adrian’s voice darkened.
“Then began again eight years ago.”
“Who restarted them?”
“That is what Olivia was trying to determine.”
Daniel went pale.
“Were my accounts involved?”
“Yes.”
He stared at the floor.
“I didn’t know.”
Adrian laughed once.
“You signed the reports.”
“I thought they were client development expenses.”
“Because asking questions would have interfered with your bonuses.”
Daniel had no answer.
Then a sound came from the kitchen.
A faint beep.
The security system.
Someone had opened the back door.
Adrian immediately raised the gun.
“Everyone stay here.”
Charlotte whispered:
“Who is that?”
Nobody answered.
Adrian moved toward the hallway.
Three seconds later, a woman’s voice called from the kitchen.
“Emma?”
Rebecca.
I stood.
Adrian turned.
“Sit.”
“Rebecca!”
“Emma, stay where you are!”
Footsteps approached.
Rebecca appeared in the doorway.
She was still wearing the dark navy suit she had worn earlier at her office.
Her hair was loose.
Her face was pale.
And in her right hand was a gun.
Daniel whispered:
“Oh, fantastic.”
Rebecca aimed directly at Adrian.
“Put it down.”
He smiled.
“Hello, Rebecca.”
“Gun.”
“You first.”
“I’m not negotiating.”
“You always negotiate.”
She stepped into the room.
“Emma, come toward me.”
Adrian raised his weapon.
“No.”
Rebecca’s jaw tightened.
“Adrian.”
Charlotte looked between them.
“You know each other.”
Rebecca didn’t answer.
Adrian did.
“Twenty-five years.”
I stared at Rebecca.
“Is that true?”
Her eyes remained on Adrian.
“Yes.”
“Did you know my father owned shares in Robert’s company?”
“Yes.”
The word hit me harder than anything else that night.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Emma, this is not the time.”
“It is exactly the time.”
“Please.”
“Did you hide part of my inheritance?”
Her face changed.
“No.”
“Then where are the shares?”
Rebecca swallowed.
“Gone.”
“How?”
“Your father sold them.”
“Before he died?”
“No.”
The room went silent.
I whispered:
“After?”
Rebecca finally looked at me.
“I sold them.”
My chest tightened.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Without telling me?”
“I had authority under the trust.”
“Where did the money go?”
Rebecca hesitated.
Daniel whispered:
“Rebecca.”
“Where did the money go?” I repeated.
“To protect you.”
My anger exploded.
“STOP SAYING THAT!”
Rebecca flinched.
“I was protecting you.”
“You stole from me.”
“No.”
“How much were the shares worth?”
She didn’t answer.
“How much?”
“Approximately nineteen million dollars.”
I stopped breathing.
Nineteen.
Million.
The room blurred.
Daniel whispered:
“Emma…”
I raised a hand.
“Don’t.”
I looked at Rebecca.
“Nineteen million dollars?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me?”
“Your father instructed me not to.”
“My father instructed you to steal nineteen million dollars from me?”
“No.”
“Then explain.”
Rebecca lowered her gun.
“Your father believed he was going to be killed.”
Silence.
Even Adrian’s expression changed.
“He came to my apartment four days before he died,” Rebecca continued.
“He was terrified.”
I could barely breathe.
“He told me if anything happened, I had to liquidate his company shares immediately.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever controlled them would become a target.”
“Whose target?”
“He didn’t know.”
I looked at Adrian.
He didn’t interrupt.
Rebecca continued.
“Your father believed someone inside Robert’s company had discovered what he knew about the hidden fund.”
“So you sold the shares.”
“Yes.”
“Where did the money go?”
“Into multiple trusts.”
“For who?”
Rebecca looked at me.
“For you.”
I stared.
“What?”
“The money was never stolen.”
“Then where is it?”
“Protected.”
“How much is left?”
Rebecca took a breath.
“With growth?”
“Yes.”
She looked directly at me.
“Just over thirty-one million.”
Daniel sank into a chair.
Charlotte covered her mouth.
I couldn’t process the number.
Thirty-one million dollars.
For twenty-three years, I believed my father had left me enough to live comfortably.
Rebecca had hidden a fortune.
“Why?”
“Because your father gave me conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“I could only tell you if someone attempted to access the original inheritance account.”
My eyes widened.
“The $720,000.”
“Yes.”
My stomach dropped.
“That was bait?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“It was a trigger.”
“A trigger for what?”
“For me to reopen your father’s file.”
I stared at her.
“So when Daniel planned to take the money…”
“I knew the old threat had returned.”
Daniel whispered:
“Why me?”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Because somebody wanted Emma’s father’s evidence.”
“I didn’t even know it existed.”
“You didn’t.”
“Then why manipulate me?”
Rebecca looked toward Adrian.
“Ask him.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
Rebecca continued.
“Olivia wasn’t working alone.”
Daniel stood.
“You?”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Not me.”
“Then who?”
She looked at Adrian again.
“Adrian approached Olivia.”
Adrian didn’t deny it.
“He wanted Robert destroyed.”
Rebecca said.
“But Robert approached me months later because he realized Adrian had his own agenda.”
Adrian laughed.
“Careful.”
“No more secrets.”
Rebecca raised her gun again.
“You told Olivia to target Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“You told her to push him toward Emma’s inheritance.”
“Yes.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You ruined my marriage.”
I looked at him.
“No, Daniel.”
He stopped.
“You ruined our marriage.”
His eyes lowered.
Adrian smirked.
“Finally, something we agree on.”
Rebecca continued.
“Adrian believed the moment the $720,000 moved, I would access the protected trust.”
“So you’d expose where Dad’s real money was kept,” I said.
“Yes.”
“And Adrian could trace it.”
“Yes.”
My skin went cold.
“You used Daniel to get to me.”
Adrian didn’t deny it.
Daniel looked ready to kill him.
“Where are Robert and Olivia?”
Rebecca asked.
Adrian smiled.
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“No.”
“Adrian.”
“They’ll remain safe as long as I leave this house with what I came for.”
“The letter?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“The key.”
I frowned.
“What key?”
Adrian’s eyes moved to the necklace around my neck.
My hand instinctively touched it.
A small silver pendant.
My father’s pendant.
I had worn it almost every day since his funeral.
“No.”
Adrian smiled.
“Your father loved hiding things in plain sight.”
Rebecca whispered:
“Emma, don’t.”
I gripped the pendant.
“What is this?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“The reason Olivia disappeared.”
“What?”
“She found out what it opens.”
Daniel moved between us.
Adrian raised the gun.
“Move.”
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“You’re not touching her.”
I stared at my husband.
Twenty-four hours ago, I wanted nothing more than to destroy him.
Now he was standing between me and a gun.
It didn’t erase anything.
But it surprised me.
Adrian sighed.
“Always late to become honorable.”
Then lights flooded the windows.
Red.
Blue.
Red.
Blue.
Police.
Rebecca smiled.
Adrian’s expression vanished.
“You called them?”
“No.”
The front door exploded inward.
“FBI! DROP YOUR WEAPONS!”
Real agents flooded the hallway.
Rebecca immediately dropped her gun.
Adrian turned.
Daniel tackled him.
A shot fired.
Charlotte screamed.
I hit the floor.
Agents rushed forward.
Someone shouted:
“GUN DOWN!”
Another:
“CLEAR!”
Then:
“Suspect secured!”
I lifted my head.
Daniel lay beside the sofa.
“Daniel?”
He didn’t answer.
Blood spread across his shirt.
My heart stopped.
“Daniel!”
I crawled toward him.
An agent grabbed me.
“Ma’am, stay back!”
“That’s my husband!”
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
Medics rushed in.
Daniel’s eyes opened weakly.
He looked at me.
“Emma.”
“I’m here.”
His mouth moved.
“I’m sorry.”
I swallowed.
“For what?”
He gave a broken laugh.
“Pick one.”
Despite everything, tears filled my eyes.
“Don’t talk.”
Medics lifted him.
He winced.
Then grabbed my wrist.
“The pendant.”
“What?”
“Don’t give it to anyone.”
His eyes shifted toward Rebecca.
Not Adrian.
Rebecca.
I followed his gaze.
Rebecca stood across the room.
Two agents were questioning her.
She looked at Daniel.
Something passed between them.
Fear.
Recognition.
I looked back at him.
“What do you know?”
Daniel’s grip tightened.
“Olivia told me something before she vanished.”
“What?”
He struggled to speak.
“She said…”
His eyes began closing.
“Daniel.”
“She said Rebecca wasn’t protecting you.”
My blood ran cold.
“Then what was she doing?”
Daniel forced his eyes open.
“Protecting herself.”
The medics rushed him away.
I turned toward Rebecca.
She was gone.
The spot where she had been standing was empty.
“Where’s Rebecca?”
Nobody answered.
“WHERE IS SHE?”
One of the agents turned.
“Ma’am?”
“The woman who was standing right there.”
He looked confused.
“There was no woman there.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“We entered the room. We saw the armed male suspect, three civilians, and you.”
“No.”
My voice shook.
“Rebecca Sloan was right there.”
The agent frowned.
“Ma’am, nobody matching that description was in this room when we entered.”
I felt sick.
I ran toward the kitchen.
Back door.
Open.
Rebecca had disappeared.
Then I remembered the pendant.
I ripped it from my neck.
Turned it over.
For twenty years, I had believed it was simply a silver keepsake.
But now I noticed something I had never seen before.
A tiny seam.
I pressed my thumbnail against it.
Click.
The pendant opened.
Inside was a miniature brass key.
And folded behind it…
A tiny piece of paper.
My hands shook as I unfolded it.
My father’s handwriting.
Emma,
If Rebecca ever tells you she protected the money for you, run.
My knees nearly gave out.
There was more.
One final sentence.
The hidden account was never the reason I was afraid.
Rebecca was.
And underneath those words…
My father had written an address.
I recognized it immediately.
Rebecca Sloan’s house.
I looked toward the open back door.
She was gone.
But now I knew exactly where she might be going.
And if my father’s note was telling the truth…
Robert and Olivia weren’t the people I needed to save first.
I was…………
TO BE CONTINUED IN LAST PART…
