Chapter 13: The First Death
"Your uncle Michael didn't die in an accident.""
My mother's words seemed to drain the air from the room.
I stared at her.
"Say that again.""
She gripped the edge of the desk.
"Michael discovered what Richard was doing before your father did. He found evidence that money was being moved through several companies. He wanted to take it to the police.""
"And Richard killed him?""
"I don't know that.""
"Then what do you know?""
My mother looked at Daniel.
He shook his head slightly, but she continued.
"Michael called me the night before he died. He said he had something important to tell Robert. He was frightened. He said someone had followed him home.""
I remembered Uncle Michael as a warm, funny man who brought ridiculous birthday presents and let Lauren eat dessert before dinner.
He had died when I was twelve.
The family story had always been simple: a wet road, a speeding truck, a tragic accident.
Lauren had been in the car with him.
She survived with a broken arm and a scar above her eyebrow.
For years, she had blamed herself because she had begged him to drive faster so they wouldn't miss a school event.
Now my mother was telling me the accident might have been something else.
"Why didn't Dad investigate?""
"He did. But the police had already closed the case.""
"And you knew?""
She nodded.
"Robert suspected Richard. He never had enough proof.""
I looked at the message on Daniel's phone.
"Where is Lauren now?""
"Her phone is switched off," Daniel said.
"I'm contacting the officer handling her case.""
Vanessa stepped forward.
"There's something else. When Lauren was in the hospital, she told me her father had hidden a document in an old family storage unit. She said it was the reason Richard wanted her involved in the trust.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because she asked me to wait until she was ready.""
I was beginning to understand how many people had been protecting secrets in the name of protecting me.
And how much damage those secrets had caused.
Daniel took his coat.
"We need to find Lauren before Richard does.""
Marcus moved toward the door.
"I'm coming.""
I turned sharply.
"No.""
He stopped.
"I know where she might go.""
"That doesn't mean I trust you.""
"I don't expect you to.""
"Then why should I let you help?""
He looked at me.
"Because I know my father. And if he's contacted Lauren, he won't stop at threatening her.""
I wanted to refuse.
But he was right about one thing.
Richard had spent years turning fear into a weapon.
I wasn't going to let him use it on Lauren again.
"Fine," I said.
"But you don't make decisions for me.""
Marcus nodded.
"Understood.""
Lauren's apartment was empty.
The front door stood slightly open.
A lamp had been knocked over in the hallway, and her handbag lay on the floor beside the sofa.
Daniel called the police.
Vanessa searched the kitchen while Marcus checked the bedrooms.
I noticed a framed photograph lying face down on the carpet.
It showed Lauren and me at a family barbecue.
We were teenagers, standing beside Uncle Michael.
He had one arm around each of us.
I picked it up.
Something had been written on the back.
For my girls. Never let anyone tell you that family means keeping quiet.
My throat tightened.
"Look at this," I said.
Daniel took the photograph.
His expression changed.
"Michael wrote this?""
"Yes.""
He examined the frame.
"There may be something inside.""
The back panel had been loosened.
I removed it carefully.
A small folded piece of paper slipped out.
It contained an address and a set of numbers.
The address belonged to an old storage facility outside town.
"That's where Lauren said her father kept something," Vanessa said.
Marcus looked toward the window.
"Then we need to move.""
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Everyone turned.
A woman stood in the doorway.
Lauren.
Her hair was disheveled, and her face was pale. She held a phone in one hand and a small backpack in the other.
"Don't call the police," she said.
I walked toward her.
"Are you hurt?""
She shook her head.
"Not yet.""
I wanted to hug her.
I also wanted to shake her.
Instead, I stood still.
"Why did you disappear?""
"Richard called me. He said he had proof that my father wasn't killed by him.""
"And you believed him?""
"I believed he knew something.""
Lauren looked at Marcus.
"Where is he?""
"Not here," Marcus answered.
She laughed without humor.
"He's never far away.""
I held up the note.
"What's at the storage unit?""
Lauren looked at it.
"My father's evidence.""
"What evidence?""
"An audio recording. A police report he copied before it disappeared. And a letter he wrote to my mother.""
I frowned.
"Your mother?""
Lauren nodded.
"She died two years after Dad. She never believed it was an accident. Before she died, she told me she had received a call from Richard the night Dad crashed.""
The room went silent.
"What did he say?"" I asked.
Lauren's eyes filled.
"He told her my father had been drinking. He told her not to question the police report. He said if she made trouble, he would make sure she lost custody of me.""
My chest tightened.
"Why did you help him?""
Lauren looked down.
"Because he offered to pay my debts. He told me he could make sure I never had to worry about money again. And because I was angry.""
"At me?""
She nodded.
"You had everything. Your father trusted you. Your mother protected you.
Everyone talked about how special you were. I was just the girl whose father died in a car crash.""
I swallowed.
"That wasn't my fault.""
"I know that now.""
She wiped her eyes.
"I also know I can't undo what I did.""
"No," I said.
"You can't.""
Lauren nodded.
"But I can tell you what I found.""
She opened her backpack and removed a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of a dark sedan parked outside a roadside diner.
A man stood beside it.
Richard.
Beside him was another man.
My father.
And between them stood Uncle Michael.
The photograph was dated two days before the accident.
On the back, Uncle Michael had written:
Richard says the problem is solved. Robert says it isn't.
Lauren handed me another photograph.
This one showed the same sedan, but its rear license plate was clearly visible.
"That was the car that followed Dad," she whispered.
Daniel examined it.
"This could be important.""
Lauren reached into her bag again.
"There's something worse.""
She gave me a folded letter.
It was written by Uncle Michael.
Robert,
I know what Richard has done. I also know Patricia signed the authorization. But neither of them knows about the second account. The money was moved through a company owned by someone in the family.
I looked at the final line.
If anything happens to me, ask Evelyn Reed why she was at the roadside diner.
Marcus went completely still.
"My mother?""
Lauren nodded.
"She was there.""
Before anyone could speak, my phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
It was from Evelyn.
*Nia, please. You need to hear my side before you decide what kind of person I am. Your father asked me to keep one final promise.*
May you like
Then another message arrived.
*Come alone.*
