Chapter 9: The Woman He Trusted
Daniel stared at the empty doorway.
“Lenora.””
She didn't answer.
“Where is Marcus?””
Her eyes shifted toward the staircase.
“I don't know.””
Daniel tightened his grip around the Black Ledger.
“My mother is gone. My wife is gone. My daughter is somewhere in this house.
Marcus disappeared. And you're telling me you don't know what's happening?””
Lenora's expression hardened.
“I’m telling you that you should stop shouting and start thinking.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“You were holding a gun ten minutes ago.””
“I put it down.””
“Why?””
“Because I don't need it to kill you.””
The words landed between them.
Daniel froze.
Lenora immediately shook her head.
“That's not what I meant.””
“Then what did you mean?””
“I meant that if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't still be standing.””
Daniel stared at her.
“Who took them?””
Lenora looked at the ledger.
“Someone who wants what your father spent twenty years hiding.””
“You said Calvin was my biological father.””
“He is.””
“You said my father trusted you.””
“He did.””
“My father also wrote that I shouldn't trust you.””
Lenora's jaw tightened.
“Your father wrote many things.””
“He was right about some of them.””
“He was.””
She reached into her coat.
Daniel instinctively raised the ledger like a shield.
Lenora slowly pulled out a key.
“Your mother gave me this years ago.””
Daniel recognized it immediately.
A small brass key.
Different from the engraved one.
“What does it open?””
“The safe in your father's old office.””
“You said the office was gone.””
“The room is gone.””
She held the key up.
“The safe isn't.””
Daniel stared at it.
“What’s inside?””
“The original medical file.””
His chest tightened.
“My mother's treatment?””
“No.””
Lenora looked directly at him.
“Your birth.””
Daniel went still.
“Why would that matter now?””
“Because your father didn't simply discover Calvin was your biological father.””
She paused.
“He discovered your birth was part of the plan.””
Daniel felt a chill move through him.
“What plan?””
Lenora glanced toward the empty hallway.
“The organization believed Calvin's bloodline gave them access to certain properties, trusts, and accounts that James could not reach.””
“That makes no sense.””
“It will when you see the file.””
Daniel looked down at the ledger.
“I'm supposed to walk into a trap carrying this.””
“Yes.””
“Then why are you helping me?””
Lenora's voice softened.
“Because I owe your father a debt.””
“What debt?””
“He saved my life.””
She looked away.
“Then I betrayed him.””
Daniel said nothing.
“That is what your father meant when he told you not to trust me.””
“Then why should I trust you now?””
“You shouldn't.””
She took a step toward the kitchen.
“Trust the evidence.””
Daniel followed.
They moved quickly through the mansion.
Every light was still on.
The birthday decorations were untouched.
A balloon drifted lazily against the ceiling.
The contrast was almost unbearable.
A cake waited in the dining room, frosting slowly collapsing beneath the warmth.
Daniel looked at the candles.
They had burned out.
He noticed something on the table.
A smear of blood.
Not much.
Just a few drops beside the recorder.
He crouched.
“Whose?””
Lenora looked at it.
“Marcus.””
Daniel stood.
“How do you know?””
“I recognize the blood.””
He stared at her.
She didn't explain.
They reached the kitchen.
The service door stood open.
Outside, rain had begun falling.
Daniel looked across the driveway.
Two vehicles were still parked there.
The black SUV.
The sedan.
But the garage door was open.
“Where would they take them?””
Lenora pointed toward the old road behind the property.
“There’s a maintenance road to the east.””
“Why?””
“Because it leads to the original office building.””
Daniel looked at her.
“The one you said was gone?””
“It burned.””
“When?””
“The night your father died.””
Daniel's expression hardened.
“And now?””
“The basement survived.””
They hurried to the car.
Daniel drove.
Lenora sat beside him.
He kept the Black Ledger on his lap.
For several minutes neither spoke.
Finally Daniel asked, “Did Vanessa marry me because of my father?””
Lenora stared through the windshield.
“Yes.””
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“Did she love me?””
Lenora remained silent.
“That wasn't a difficult question.””
“It isn't my question to answer.””
Daniel looked at her.
“She was with me for twelve years.””
“I know.””
“She raised Lily.””
“I know.””
“She saved my mother.””
“I know.””
Daniel swallowed.
“Then why did she lie?””
Lenora finally turned toward him.
“Because she was ordered to.””
“By Calvin?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
Lenora said nothing.
Daniel hit the steering wheel once.
“Everyone keeps saying they know the truth. Nobody tells me.””
“You'll have it soon.””
“That’s what my father said in the letter.””
Lenora looked at him.
“What letter?””
“The one in the archive.””
Her expression changed.
“You found it.””
“Yes.””
“What did he say?””
Daniel hesitated.
Then he repeated the line.
Vanessa is the reason you are still alive.
Lenora's face went pale.
She whispered, “Then we're running out of time.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because they know you've read it.””
The car went silent.
A phone vibrated.
Daniel reached into his pocket.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Where are they?””
A man's voice replied.
“Turn around.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“What?””
“Look at the back seat.””
Daniel's blood ran cold.
He glanced into the mirror.
There was nothing there.
Then a child's voice whispered through the speaker.
“Daddy.””
Daniel nearly lost control of the car.
“Lily?””
“Daddy, don't come.””
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you.””
“Baby, listen to me. Are you hurt?””
“No.””
“Where's Grandma?””
A pause.
“She's asleep.””
Daniel gripped the wheel.
“Who is with you?””
Silence.
Then Lily whispered:
“Mommy.””
Daniel closed his eyes briefly.
“Put her on.””
Vanessa's voice came on.
“Daniel.””
“What happened?””
“I’m okay.””
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you.””
“Why are you doing this?””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“Because if you come here, they'll kill Lily.””
Daniel's chest tightened.
“Who?””
“You already know.””
“No.””
He looked at Lenora.
“Tell me.””
Vanessa whispered, “The man who raised you.””
Daniel froze.
“What?””
“James wasn't the only person who knew about your birth.””
“What are you saying?””
“He didn't die alone.””
Daniel's breathing became shallow.
“Vanessa.””
“You have to listen.””
The line crackled.
Then another voice came onto the phone.
Male.
Older.
Calm.
“You're almost there.””
Daniel recognized it.
Calvin.
“Where is my mother?””
“Safe.””
“My daughter?””
“Also safe.””
“Let me hear them.””
A moment later Lily said, “Daddy, I'm okay.””
Daniel nearly broke.
“I'm coming.””
Calvin laughed.
“That’s exactly what I wanted.””
The call ended.
Daniel slammed the brakes.
The car stopped on the wet road.
Lenora stared at him.
“What?””
Daniel looked at her.
“The road.””
“What about it?””
“They know where we're going.””
Lenora's eyes sharpened.
“Because of me?””
“No.””
Daniel looked down at the Black Ledger.
“Because of this.””
He opened it.
Several pages had been removed.
He froze.
“When did that happen?””
Lenora leaned closer.
“What?””
“The ledger.””
Daniel flipped through it.
“Pages are missing.””
Lenora stared.
“You had them when we left.””
“I know.””
She looked toward the glove compartment.
“Did you put it there?””
“No.””
Daniel's eyes moved to the back seat.
Empty.
Then he looked at Lenora.
“Who touched it?””
“I didn't.””
“I didn't either.””
Lenora's face changed.
“Then somebody was in the car.””
Daniel looked around.
The rain hammered the windshield.
His heart began racing.
Lenora whispered, “Stop.””
“What?””
She pointed toward the rearview mirror.
A second vehicle had stopped fifty yards behind them.
Its headlights were off.
Daniel recognized the shape.
Black SUV.
The same one from the old photographs.
The driver's door opened.
A man stepped out.
Daniel couldn't see his face.
Then another person got out.
A woman.
She stood beside the vehicle.
Daniel stared.
Even through the rain, he knew her.
His mother's dress.
Her gray hair.
Eleanor.
Daniel reached for the door handle.
Lenora grabbed his wrist.
“Don't.””
“That's my mother.””
“No.””
“I can see her.””
“You can see someone wearing her clothes.””
Daniel stared.
The woman slowly lifted her head.
She smiled.
Then removed the gray wig.
Underneath was Vanessa.
Daniel's blood went cold.
The phone rang again.
He answered.
Calvin spoke.
“You finally understand.””
Daniel stared at Vanessa standing in the rain.
“What did you do with my mother?””
Calvin's voice became almost gentle.
“Ask the woman sitting beside you.””
Daniel turned slowly toward Lenora.
She was holding something in her hand.
A small digital recorder.
The same one that had been beside Eleanor's birthday cake.
Daniel looked at her.
“You had it.””
Lenora's face went blank.
“I can explain.””
Daniel backed away.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“You were the one who took the missing pages.””
Lenora closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
Daniel felt something inside him collapse.
“And Vanessa?””
“She wasn't supposed to survive tonight.””
The phone remained pressed against his ear.
Calvin spoke one final sentence.
“Now, Daniel, look beneath Lenora's seat.””
Daniel slowly reached down.
His fingers touched metal.
He pulled out a handgun.
It wasn't Lenora's.
It was his father's.
May you like
And taped to the grip was a note.
*THE PERSON BESIDE YOU PULLED THE TRIGGER.*
