Chapter 7: The Secret Buried with Emily
For several seconds, I couldn't process what Rachel had said.
Paul Whitmore.
The same man who had handled my father's estate. The same man who had stood beside me at Emily's funeral. The same man who had just admitted that Emily's death might not have been what everyone believed.
And Rachel was telling me he had followed her.
"Rachel, listen carefully," I said.
"Are you telling me Paul was responsible for Emily's death?""
"I don't know everything, Marcus.""
"Then tell me what you know.""
I heard her crying.
"Emily called me three days before she died. She was terrified. She said someone had been watching the house and that Paul had been asking questions about Noah's inheritance.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because she made me promise.""
"She was my wife!""
"I know!""
Rachel's voice cracked.
"She said if I told you, you would confront him. And if you confronted him before she secured the evidence, he would know she had discovered everything.""
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
"Where did she hide the key?""
"At the old family cemetery.""
I stared at Daniel.
He had stopped typing.
"What cemetery?"" I asked.
"Where your father and Emily are buried.""
My father and Emily were buried in separate sections of the same cemetery, beneath two large oak trees.
I remembered visiting Emily's grave every anniversary.
I'd brought flowers, sat beside her, and told her about Noah.
I'd never once suspected there was something hidden nearby.
"Rachel, I'm coming.""
"No, Marcus. Not yet.""
"Why?""
"Because Vanessa is here.""
I froze.
"What?""
"She's outside my building. She's been sitting in her car for almost twenty minutes.""
I looked at Daniel.
"Call the police.""
Rachel continued.
"Marcus, there's something else. When Emily gave me the key, she said the person who eventually opened the archive would have to know what was inside before touching anything.""
"What does that mean?""
"I don't know. She gave me an envelope too.""
"Where is it?""
"In my apartment.""
"Get it.""
"I can't. Vanessa is outside.""
"Stay inside. Lock the door.""
Then I heard a loud knock through the phone.
Rachel gasped.
"She's coming upstairs.""
"Rachel!""
The call ended.
I immediately called her back.
No answer.
Daniel was already moving.
"I'm sending security to her building.""
"Do it.""
I grabbed my jacket.
Daniel caught my arm.
"Marcus, wait. We need to think.""
"My sister is alone with a woman who has been threatening my son.""
"Then we go together.""
We drove across town.
During the journey, I called Rachel seven times.
On the eighth attempt, she answered.
Her voice was barely audible.
"Marcus?""
"Are you okay?""
"She's gone.""
I exhaled.
"What happened?""
"She knocked until I opened the door. Then she demanded the key.""
"Did you give it to her?""
"No.""
"Where's the envelope?""
Rachel hesitated.
"I moved it.""
"Where?""
"In Noah's old room. At your house.""
I gripped the steering wheel.
"Why would you put it there?""
"Because Vanessa never goes into that room anymore.""
I almost laughed at the irony.
The room she'd tried to empty of Emily's memories was now protecting the evidence Emily had left behind.
"Stay inside," I told Rachel.
"I'm sending someone to you.""
When we reached my house, I went straight upstairs.
Noah's bedroom door was open.
The room looked exactly as it had when Vanessa had tried to remove his belongings.
His mother's photographs were still on the desk.
The cardboard box was beneath the bed.
I searched inside.
Nothing.
Then I noticed a small tear in the lining of the box.
I pulled it open.
An envelope slipped out.
My name was written across the front in Emily's handwriting.
My knees nearly gave way.
I sat on Noah's bed and opened it.
Inside was a folded letter and a small photograph.
The photograph showed Emily standing beside Rachel outside our old house.
On the back were three words.
The day I knew.
I unfolded the letter.
Marcus,
If you're reading this, then Rachel has finally trusted you with what I left behind.
I wish I could explain everything face-to-face. I wish I could sit beside you and watch Noah grow older. But I have to prepare for the possibility that I won't get that chance.
I stopped.
My eyes burned.
Your father discovered that someone had been using the company to create false property records. He believed the money was being moved through several storage facilities.
At first, I thought Vanessa was helping him investigate. She had access to information that nobody else could obtain.
Then I found a document bearing Noah's name.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
Someone had created a legal arrangement using our son's future inheritance as security for a debt. If the debt wasn't repaid, Noah would lose the rights to the Carter family archive.
I confronted Paul.
I looked up.
Daniel was standing in the doorway.
"Is that Emily's letter?""
I nodded.
He came closer.
I continued reading.
Paul told me I was misunderstanding the documents. But when I asked him to explain why my son's name had been used without my permission, he threatened to have me declared unstable.
My chest tightened.
I made a copy of everything. The original records are hidden in Unit 408. The silver key Rachel has will open the secondary cabinet.
Then came the sentence that made me stop breathing.
Marcus, I need you to understand something. Vanessa didn't enter our lives by accident.
I read it again.
She knew your father before you met her. She knew about Noah's inheritance. And she knew exactly how to make you trust her.
I stared at the page.
The room seemed to shrink around me.
At the bottom, Emily had written one final paragraph.
If Vanessa has already packed Noah's suitcase, it means she believes the transfer is about to happen. Do not let her reach his eighteenth birthday with the archive under her control.
The letter ended.
I sat motionless.
Then Daniel spoke.
"Marcus, there's something else.""
I looked up.
He was holding his phone.
"Security just sent me a photograph from your front entrance.""
"Why?""
"Because someone entered the house while we were at Rachel's.""
My stomach tightened.
"Who?""
Daniel turned the screen toward me.
The photograph showed a woman standing in the hallway.
Vanessa.
She was holding Noah's cardboard memory box.
And she was looking directly at the security camera.
In her other hand was a small silver key.
The same key Emily had given Rachel.
I stood up.
"How did she get that?""
Daniel's phone rang.
He answered, listened, and then looked at me.
"Marcus, your wife just left.""
"Where?""
He checked the security report.
"Eastbrook.""
I looked down at Emily's letter.
May you like
Vanessa had the key.
And she was heading straight toward the one place Emily had spent her final days trying to protect.
