Chapter 8: The Safe Beneath the Old Office
Richard arrived twenty minutes later.
His silver hair was disheveled, and his walking cane struck the floor harder than usual.
He looked at Daniel first.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Then he whispered, “I knew it.””
Daniel gave him a tired smile.
“Hello, Richard.””
The attorney shook his head.
“Your father would have been furious that you waited this long.””
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“He would have understood.””
Richard turned toward Vanessa.
“Where is Robert's safe?””
Vanessa gripped the brass key.
“I don't know.””
Daniel folded his arms.
“Stop lying.””
She looked at Marcus.
“Your brother doesn't understand what my father was capable of.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“Then help us understand.””
Vanessa hesitated.
“My father had an office in the original Harper Development building. He kept a private safe behind the old accounting room.””
Richard frowned.
“That's been sealed for years.””
“Not anymore,” Vanessa replied.
She handed him the key.
“After my father died, I went there once. The safe was still intact.””
Richard examined the key.
“Then we should go.””
The accounting room was at the end of a narrow corridor.
Daniel led the way.
He knew exactly where to find it, which made Marcus increasingly uncomfortable.
“You've been here before,” Marcus said.
Daniel nodded.
“I worked here for years.””
“After you disappeared?””
“Before.””
Marcus stopped walking.
“Then you were alive while I was attending your funeral.””
Daniel looked back.
“Yes.””
Marcus's voice cracked.
“You could have called me.””
Daniel looked away.
“I tried once.””
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
Marcus stared.
“What happened?””
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, “Someone answered your phone.””
Marcus frowned.
“Who?””
Daniel looked at Vanessa.
She went pale.
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“You called Marcus, and Vanessa answered?””
Daniel nodded.
“She told me Marcus wanted nothing to do with me.””
Marcus looked at his wife.
“Did you?””
Vanessa started crying.
“I thought I was protecting you.””
“From my own brother?””
“From what he knew!””
Daniel opened the accounting-room door.
“Enough. We need the records.””
The room was dark and smelled of damp paper.
An old filing cabinet stood against one wall. Behind it was a rectangular metal safe built into the concrete.
Vanessa inserted the key.
It turned.
Inside were several envelopes, a small digital recorder, and a thick black ledger.
Richard picked up the ledger.
“Robert's original transaction book.””
He opened it.
Rows of payments filled the pages.
Some were marked with initials.
Others had handwritten notes.
Marcus leaned over his shoulder.
“What's Northbridge's account number?””
Richard found it.
Then his finger stopped on a second entry.
“Wait.””
He turned the page.
There were regular transfers from Northbridge to another company.
*Miller Family Consulting.*
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Daniel looked at her.
“Your father wasn't just stealing money from Harper Development. He was paying himself through Northbridge.””
Richard nodded.
“And someone was helping him conceal the payments.””
Marcus pointed at the ledger.
“Who authorized them?””
Richard read the name.
“Claire Harper.””
I felt dizzy.
“No.””
Richard examined the signature.
“This is not your handwriting.””
“Obviously.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Your identity was used to make the transactions appear legitimate. But the person who submitted the paperwork had to know your personal information.””
Vanessa looked down.
I stepped toward her.
“What did your father have on me?””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie to me.””
She finally looked up.
“He had a copy of your passport, your birth certificate, and your signature from an old college application.””
My skin went cold.
“How?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“He said he got them from Marcus.””
I turned toward my husband.
Marcus looked horrified.
“I never gave Robert anything.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“He said you had a file with all the family's personal documents.””
Marcus rubbed his face.
“Dad kept those documents in his study.””
Daniel suddenly looked up.
“Wait.””
He removed an envelope from the safe.
It was addressed to me.
My father's handwriting was unmistakable.
For Claire, when the time is right.
I opened it carefully.
Inside was a letter and a photograph of a young woman standing beside my father outside a hospital.
I recognized her immediately.
My mother.
But the date on the photograph was eleven years earlier.
The hospital was the same one where my father had supposedly been taken after his accident.
I looked at Mom.
“Why are you in this photograph?””
She stared at it.
Then she sat down.
“Because I was there.””
Marcus frowned.
“You were at the hospital?””
Mom nodded.
“Your father was still alive when the ambulance brought him in.””
I couldn't breathe.
“What?””
Mom began crying.
“He had severe injuries, but he was conscious. He asked for me.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
Richard pulled out a chair.
“What did he say?””
Mom looked at me.
“He told me that if he didn't survive, I had to protect Claire.””
“Protect me from whom?””
She swallowed.
“From the person who had been using your identity.””
Marcus stared.
“Was it Robert?””
Mom shook her head.
“No.””
Silence filled the room.
Then she continued.
“Your father told me that Robert was only the middleman.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Who was above him?””
Mom looked toward Marcus.
Then at me.
And finally at Vanessa.
“He said the person behind everything was someone who had been part of our family long before Vanessa married Marcus.””
I felt my knees weaken.
Richard opened the final envelope.
Inside was a handwritten note.
It contained a single sentence.
If the money trail leads to Robert Miller, look at the person who introduced him to our family.
Marcus read it twice.
“Who introduced Robert to Dad?””
Mom's lips trembled.
“Your uncle.””
Marcus went completely still.
“My uncle David?””
Mom nodded.
“Your father's younger brother.””
Daniel stared at the ledger.
“David Harper.””
Marcus looked at me.
“But Uncle David died twelve years ago.””
Richard slowly shook his head.
“I'm afraid that's not what the records show.””
He opened his laptop.
A search result appeared.
David Harper.
<text color="secondary" size="sm">Former director, Harper Development.</text>
Below it was a photograph.
The man standing beside my father in the old bank picture.
May you like
Alive.
And currently living under another name in Florida.
