Chapter 7: The Woman Behind The Curtain
The silence after the call ended felt heavier than any confession.
Evelyn stood frozen, staring at the phone screen.
*CALLER DISCONNECTED.*
Two words.
But they carried thirty years of pain.
Her father was alive.
Her father was in danger.
And once again, someone had taken him away.
Daniel immediately reached for the phone.
“We need to trace this.””
Thomas shook his head.
“You won’t.””
Everyone looked at him.
Daniel narrowed his eyes.
“Why?””
“Because whoever contacted us knew exactly how to hide.””
Thomas walked toward the desk.
“You think this was a normal phone call?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
Thomas pointed at the screen.
“That number shouldn’t exist.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
Thomas hesitated.
Then he said:
“That line belonged to Whitmore Holdings’ old private communication system.””
Daniel frowned.
“Old?””
“It was shut down twenty years ago.””
Margaret slowly sat down.
Her hands trembled.
“No…”
Evelyn looked at her.
“You know what this means.””
Margaret stared at the floor.
“Yes.””
“What?””
The older woman looked up.
“That someone inside the family has been keeping it alive.””
The police searched Robert Carter’s location for hours.
Nothing.
No address.
No signal.
No evidence.
It was as if the man had vanished again.
But Evelyn refused to accept that.
Not this time.
She had already lost thirty years.
She wasn’t losing another day.
Daniel watched her as she stood beside Alexander’s desk.
“You need to be careful.””
She looked at him.
“Careful?””
“Yes.””
She pointed toward the coffin photograph.
“Alexander was careful.””
Daniel nodded.
“And look where that got him.””
The words were painful because they were true.
Alexander had spent years trusting people.
And someone had used that trust against him.
Evelyn looked at the documents scattered across the desk.
“Who had access to everything?””
Daniel answered immediately.
“Very few people.””
“Names.””
Daniel hesitated.
“Alexander.””
“Dead.””
“Myself.””
“You didn’t kill him.””
“I know.””
“Who else?””
Daniel looked at the folder.
“Thomas.””
Thomas, standing near the window, turned around.
“I told you. I wasn’t involved.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“You lied for thirty years.””
Thomas lowered his eyes.
“I know.””
“Why should anyone believe you now?””
He had no answer.
Because he knew there wasn’t one.
Then Margaret spoke.
“Because Thomas wasn’t the one who gave the order.””
Everyone turned.
Evelyn stared at her.
“You’re defending him?””
“No.””
Margaret’s voice was quiet.
“I’m telling the truth.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Then tell us everything.””
Margaret looked at the floor.
“I have spent thirty years protecting the wrong people.””
She took a deep breath.
“I thought I was protecting my family.””
Her eyes moved toward Thomas.
“But I was protecting a lie.””
Three decades earlier.
After Evelyn disappeared, Margaret believed she had solved a problem.
That was the lie she told herself.
She told herself Alexander would eventually recover.
She told herself he would become stronger.
She told herself the Whitmore family would survive.
But she never expected what happened next.
Alexander didn’t become stronger.
He became empty.
He stopped laughing.
Stopped trusting.
Stopped letting people close.
Except one person.
His brother.
Thomas.
Margaret remembered the night Alexander confronted her.
The night he finally discovered the truth.
“You knew.””
His voice had been quiet.
That was what frightened her most.
Alexander was never dangerous when he was angry.
He was dangerous when he was hurt.
Margaret stood in his office.
“Alexander…”
“Don’t.””
He placed the documents on the desk.
The same documents that would eventually destroy the family.
“You knew Evelyn was alive.””
Margaret said nothing.
“You knew where she was.””
Silence.
Then Alexander whispered:
“How could you?””
Margaret looked away.
“I was trying to protect you.””
Alexander laughed.
A broken sound.
“From what?””
“From losing everything.””
He stared at her.
“I already lost everything.””
Those words followed her for the rest of her life.
Because they were true.
Present day.
Daniel placed another document on the desk.
“This was hidden with Alexander’s final files.””
Everyone looked.
It was a handwritten list.
Names.
Dates.
Notes.
Evelyn scanned it.
“What is this?””
Daniel answered:
“People Alexander investigated.””
She looked down.
At first, the names meant nothing.
Then one caught her attention.
Her expression changed.
“What?””
Daniel noticed.
“You know someone?””
Evelyn touched the page.
“This name.””
Everyone looked.
A single name.
*Lydia Vale.*
Thomas went completely still.
Margaret noticed.
“You know her.””
Thomas didn’t answer.
Evelyn looked between them.
“Who is she?””
Thomas slowly sat down.
“She worked for Alexander.””
“What kind of work?””
“Personal assistant.””
Daniel frowned.
“A secretary?””
Thomas shook his head.
“No.””
His face became serious.
“She was more than that.””
“How much more?””
Thomas swallowed.
“She handled everything Alexander didn’t want the public to know.””
Evelyn looked at the list.
“And she was investigating?””
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because Alexander trusted her.””
Daniel looked at the documents.
“Then why is her name here?””
Nobody answered.
Because everyone already knew.
Something had gone wrong.
The next morning, Evelyn and Daniel went to the old Whitmore archives.
The building had been closed for years.
Alexander had kept private records away from the main company offices.
A place only three people knew existed.
Alexander.
Daniel.
And Lydia Vale.
The hallway smelled like dust and old paper.
Evelyn walked slowly.
Every step felt like entering another piece of Alexander’s life.
Daniel unlocked the final door.
Inside were hundreds of boxes.
“Alexander kept everything.””
Evelyn looked around.
“Because he knew someone might need the truth.””
Daniel nodded.
They searched for hours.
Until Evelyn found a small box.
No label.
Only one word written on top.
*EVELYN.*
Her hands froze.
Daniel noticed.
“Open it.””
Inside was a collection of letters.
All addressed to her.
But none had been sent.
Her breath caught.
“He wrote these?””
“Yes.””
She opened the first one.
Evelyn,
I found evidence that you never left me.
Tears filled her eyes.
She opened another.
I don’t know why you were taken from me, but I know one thing. I never stopped loving you.
Then another.
And another.
Thirty years of words he never got to say.
Then she reached the final letter.
The paper was different.
Newer.
Written shortly before his death.
She opened it.
The first sentence made her stop.
If you are reading this, Lydia failed to protect me.
Daniel looked up.
“What?””
Evelyn handed him the letter.
He read the next lines.
His face changed.
“What does it say?””
Daniel’s voice became quiet.
“Alexander believed Lydia knew who was behind everything.””
Evelyn continued reading.
Her hands shook.
Then she reached the final paragraph.
And froze.
Because Alexander had written one final warning.
Not about Thomas.
Not about Margaret.
Not about Robert.
About Lydia.
She tried to save me.
But she was too late.
And the person who forced her to choose between my life and Evelyn’s freedom is the same person who has been controlling this family for thirty years.
Evelyn looked at Daniel.
“Who?””
Before he could answer, the lights in the archive room went out.
Complete darkness.
Then a sound.
A door locking.
From the outside.
Daniel rushed toward it.
“Hey!””
No answer.
Evelyn heard something slide beneath the door.
A piece of paper.
Daniel picked it up.
The message was written in black ink.
Only six words.
Evelyn read them.
May you like
And her blood turned cold.
*STOP SEARCHING, OR YOUR FATHER DIES.*
