Chapter 13: The Last Thing My Father Left Behind
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
The note trembled between my fingers.
*YOU'RE NEXT, JUST LIKE DANIEL.*
Arthur read it over my shoulder.
"Nobody leaves this room alone," he said.
Thomas was already checking the windows.
Samuel took the note and placed it inside a plastic evidence sleeve.
"Don't touch anything else.""
I stared at the empty pocket in my handbag.
The watch had been there.
I remembered putting it inside. I remembered checking the clasp twice because it had belonged to my father.
Someone had taken it.
Someone had been close enough to open my bag.
"How?"" I whispered.
Thomas looked around the room.
"Someone came into this house.""
Arthur's face hardened.
"Then someone will explain how.""
He called his security chief and ordered the building locked down. Within minutes, two guards were checking the entrances while another reviewed the camera footage.
But Thomas looked unconvinced.
"Whoever did this knew exactly where we were going to be.""
He turned toward Mason.
"Did anyone know we were coming here?""
Mason shook his head.
"Only the people in this room.""
My eyes moved toward him.
"Are you sure?""
He looked hurt.
"Yes.""
Samuel stood.
"We need to leave. Now. The police should secure this property.""
My mother was still shaking.
"Claire is dead.""
Arthur took her hand.
"I'm sorry.""
"She was my sister," Elena whispered.
"Whatever happened between us, she was still my sister.""
I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn't stop thinking about the woman on the screen.
Claire had known something about my father's final night.
She had been there.
And now she was dead.
Thomas received a message.
He read it, then looked at Samuel.
"The police have confirmed Brooks's death. They found her in her office. No sign of forced entry.""
"Cause of death?""
"Not released.""
"And the watch?""
Thomas hesitated.
"Investigators say it was placed on the desk beside her.""
I looked at him.
"Then someone took it from my bag and carried it there.""
"That's what it appears.""
"Why?""
Thomas didn't answer.
Then Mason spoke.
"Because the watch contains something.""
Arthur turned sharply.
"What?""
Mason looked at the empty pocket in my bag.
"Daniel told me once that he had hidden a second storage device inside it.""
My heart started pounding.
"Why didn't you tell us?""
"I didn't know if it was still there. I thought he'd removed it.""
Samuel stepped closer.
"Where?""
Mason shook his head.
"Inside the back plate. There's a tiny compartment.""
Thomas immediately called the police.
But before he could finish, his phone rang.
He listened.
Then his face went pale.
"What is it?"" I asked.
He ended the call.
"The police found a memory card inside the watch.""
"Can they read it?""
"They're trying.""
Samuel looked toward the door.
"We need to get there.""
"No," Thomas said.
"We need to be careful. If someone planted that watch at Brooks's office, they may have wanted the police to find it.""
Arthur's expression darkened.
"Then what do you suggest?""
Thomas looked at me.
"We find the archive before they destroy it.""
Mason nodded.
"I can take you there.""
Samuel objected immediately.
"We are not going anywhere with someone whose name appears in a bribery record.""
Mason accepted the accusation without protest.
"Then let me give you something first.""
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
My father stood outside a hospital entrance.
Beside him was a younger Evelyn Brooks.
And behind them stood Richard.
But there was someone else.
A little girl.
Maybe eight years old.
She wore a red coat.
I stared at the picture.
"Who is that?""
Mason swallowed.
"Claire's daughter.""
My mother stepped forward.
"Claire never had a daughter.""
"She did. Her name was Lily.""
Elena shook her head.
"No. Claire told me she lost the baby.""
Mason looked at her.
"That's what everyone was told.""
My mind raced.
"Where is she now?""
Mason glanced at Samuel.
"That's the problem. According to the foundation's records, Lily was the first participant in the program.""
I looked again at the photograph.
The little girl was holding my father's hand.
A date was printed on the back.
Six years before the accident.
"Why would my father be with her?""
Mason answered quietly.
"Because Daniel believed Lily had been harmed by the foundation. He was trying to get her out.""
My mother sat down.
"Claire's child...""
Thomas studied the photograph.
"Does Lily have a current address?""
Mason shook his head.
"No. But I know someone who might.""
He gave us a name.
Dr. Samuel Price.
A retired neurologist who had worked with Evelyn.
Thomas recognized it immediately.
"He was listed as a witness in the foundation investigation.""
"Where is he?""
Mason looked at his phone.
"At a private care facility outside the city.""
Arthur stood.
"Then we're going.""
Samuel shook his head.
"Arthur, we need the police involved.""
"We will involve them. But I won't wait while another person disappears.""
We left through the underground garage.
This time, Thomas checked every vehicle before allowing anyone inside.
The drive took almost an hour.
I watched the city pass through the window, trying to remember the little girl in the photograph.
Lily.
Claire's daughter.
The person my father had tried to protect.
When we reached the facility, a nurse led us to a quiet room.
Dr. Price was thinner than I expected. His hands trembled as he adjusted the blanket over his knees.
When he saw the photograph, he closed his eyes.
"I wondered when someone would come asking.""
Samuel sat beside him.
"We need to know what happened to Lily.""
The old doctor looked at me.
"Your father saved her life.""
"From what?""
"The foundation.""
He explained that Lily had been enrolled in the experimental program as a child after a serious neurological injury.
The treatment had been presented as a breakthrough.
But something went wrong.
Lily suffered a severe reaction.
Instead of stopping the program, Evelyn falsified the results.
Claire had discovered what happened and threatened to expose the foundation.
Richard intervened.
He offered Claire money and promised to arrange treatment for her daughter.
But he had another plan.
He wanted to use Lily's medical records to pressure Claire into silence.
"Daniel found out," Dr. Price continued.
"He took the records to the hospital and demanded that the program be stopped.""
"Was Lily alive?"" I asked.
The doctor nodded.
"Yes. But she was moved to another facility under a false identity.""
My mother covered her mouth.
"Where?""
Dr. Price looked at me.
"Your father knew.""
He reached beneath his blanket and pulled out a small envelope.
"Daniel left this with me. He told me to give it to his daughter if she ever came looking.""
Inside was a photograph of a young woman.
She had dark hair and a familiar smile.
On the back, my father had written:
Lily is alive. She knows what happened that night.
Below that was an address.
And a warning.
Do not trust anyone who tells you she died.
Thomas took the address.
Then his phone rang.
He answered and listened.
His expression changed.
"What?""
He looked at me.
"The police recovered the memory card from the watch.""
I leaned forward.
"What did they find?""
Thomas swallowed.
"A video.""
"Of what?""
May you like
He looked at Samuel.
"Your father's final minutes.""
