Chapter 9: The Last Night of My Father's Life
I wanted to slap Daniel.
I wanted to scream.
But instead, I stood perfectly still.
"You're telling me you were with my father the night he died?""
Daniel nodded.
"Yes.""
"Why?""
"He wanted to talk about the company.""
"What company?""
"Your father's investments. The original trust. Everything.""
I looked at Richard.
He appeared shaken.
"Robert told me he was meeting a former business associate that evening," he said.
"He never mentioned Daniel.""
Daniel gave a bitter laugh.
"Because he didn't trust you either.""
Richard stepped forward.
"Be careful what you say.""
"Why? Are you going to pretend you weren't involved?""
I turned toward Michael.
"Show me the proof.""
Michael opened his briefcase and removed a small digital recorder.
"I kept this because I was afraid Daniel would eventually come after me.""
Daniel lunged.
"Don't.""
The investigators immediately restrained him.
Michael placed the recorder on the desk.
"Your father recorded a conversation shortly before his death. I received a copy from him several weeks before the accident.""
My mouth went dry.
"Why didn't you give it to me?""
"Because I was afraid.""
"Of Daniel?""
"Of Victor Harrington. And of what the recording could reveal about my own involvement.""
He pressed a button.
A faint crackling sound filled the storage unit.
Then I heard my father's voice.
"Daniel, I know about the transfers.""
My heart stopped.
Another voice answered.
Daniel's.
"You don't understand the arrangement.""
"I understand perfectly. You've been moving money through accounts that don't belong to you.""
"Those funds were borrowed.""
"Without authorization.""
A pause followed.
Then my father's voice became sharper.
"You've been using Emily's name.""
Daniel sighed.
"Emily doesn't need to know.""
"She's my daughter.""
"She's my wife.""
"That doesn't make her your property.""
I closed my eyes.
The recording continued.
Daniel's voice lowered.
"Give me the trust certificate, Robert. We can settle this quietly.""
"No.""
"You're making a mistake.""
"Then I'll make it.""
There was a chair scraping across the floor.
Then my father spoke again.
"If anything happens to me, the documents go directly to Emily.""
A long silence followed.
Finally, Daniel said:
"Then I suppose we'll have a problem.""
The recording ended.
I stood frozen.
For years, I had remembered my father's death as an ordinary tragedy.
Now I was hearing the final conversation he had ever recorded.
"Is that everything?"" I whispered.
Michael nodded.
"There's more.""
He removed a second file.
"This is an interview with the driver who took your father home.""
Richard frowned.
"Who was the driver?""
Michael looked at Daniel.
"Daniel.""
I turned.
"Then why does the report say your father died alone?""
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Because I left him at his house.""
"At what time?""
"Eleven.""
Michael shook his head.
"That isn't what the security footage showed.""
He opened a photograph on his laptop.
It showed Daniel entering my father's house at 10:47 p.m.
The next image showed him leaving at 11:32.
A third image showed him carrying a black briefcase.
My father's briefcase.
I stared at it.
"What's inside?""
Michael answered.
"The original trust certificate.""
Daniel struggled against the investigator.
"That belongs to me!""
I turned slowly.
"Why would my father's trust certificate belong to you?""
He said nothing.
Richard moved toward the laptop.
"Michael, where did you get these?""
"From the estate investigator.""
"Who was the investigator?""
Michael hesitated.
Then he gave a name.
"Thomas Bennett.""
My father's younger brother.
My uncle.
I hadn't seen him since the funeral.
Richard looked stunned.
"Thomas handled the estate?""
Michael nodded.
"Yes. He signed the death paperwork and arranged the transfer of the personal belongings.""
I felt a cold wave move through me.
"Where is he now?""
Michael closed the laptop.
"He's living in Connecticut.""
I reached for my phone.
"I want to speak to him.""
Mr. Collins stopped me.
"Not yet. We need to verify the recording and secure the evidence.""
Daniel suddenly began laughing.
Everyone turned.
"You think this will save you?"" he asked.
I stared at him.
"What?""
"You think finding an old recording means you understand everything?""
He looked directly at me.
"Your father was involved in things you know nothing about. He wasn't the innocent man you remember.""
"Don't you dare talk about him.""
"Ask your uncle why he arranged the funeral so quickly. Ask him why your mother's name was removed from the estate documents. Ask him who actually received the insurance money.""
I turned toward Richard.
He looked devastated.
"Emily, your father did have a life insurance policy," he said quietly.
"How much?""
"Five million dollars.""
I felt my stomach drop.
"Who received it?""
Richard hesitated.
Then he looked at Michael.
Michael answered.
"The beneficiary was changed three months before your father's death.""
"To whom?""
He turned the laptop around.
A scanned insurance document appeared.
The original beneficiary was Catherine Bennett.
The amended beneficiary was Thomas Bennett.
My uncle.
But there was something else.
At the bottom of the document was a witness signature.
I leaned closer.
My vision blurred.
It was Daniel's.
I looked at him.
He wasn't smiling anymore.
"Did you help my uncle change the beneficiary?""
Daniel looked away.
And that was when I understood.
My father's death, the missing trust certificate, the stolen company, and the accident might not have been separate events.
They might have been parts of the same plan.
My phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
I answered.
A man's voice spoke immediately.
"Emily, this is Thomas.""
My uncle.
I looked at the others.
He sounded frightened.
"I know you've found the documents.""
"Where are you?""
"That doesn't matter. Listen carefully. Daniel is telling you only half the truth.""
I gripped the phone.
"What half?""
My uncle took a shaky breath.
"Your father didn't leave the trust certificate with Richard. He gave it to someone else.""
"Who?""
There was a long silence.
Then Thomas whispered:
"Your mother.""
I closed my eyes.
"Where is she?""
"She's been living under another name for twelve years. And there's a reason she never came back.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"What reason?""
My uncle's answer shattered everything I thought I knew.
"Because the night your father died, Catherine was in the house with him.""
I stared at the photograph of my father.
Then Thomas added:
"And she was the last person to see him alive.""
The call disconnected.
I looked at Daniel.
For the first time, he seemed genuinely terrified.
May you like
Because whatever had happened in my father's house twelve years earlier, he knew something my uncle had just revealed.
And he knew I was finally close enough to uncover it.
