Chapter 9 - THE PERSON BEHIND EVERYTHING
Daniel placed the file in front of me.
I stared at the name.
Then I looked at him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“That can't be right.”
Daniel said nothing.
The name belonged to someone I had trusted.
Someone who had visited my family for years.
Someone who had attended my father's funeral.
Someone who had stood beside my mother while I was growing up.
Dr. Samuel Reed.
My father's doctor.
“He killed my father?”
“Evidence suggests he administered the poison.”
“And Richard?”
“His intermediary.”
I couldn't breathe.
“How did my father know?”
“He suspected Reed.”
“Then why didn't he expose him?”
“Because Reed threatened you.”
I closed my eyes.
Suddenly, my father's warning made sense.
Protect the family.
Trust no one.
I drove to the hospital where Dr. Reed still worked.
He was seventy-two now.
Retired officially.
But still consulting.
When I entered his office, he looked up.
His expression changed immediately.
“Julian.”
“Doctor.”
He slowly stood.
“I heard you were back.”
“You knew.”
He looked away.
“You knew my father was murdered.”
Silence.
“You knew my mother was involved.”
Silence.
“You knew Richard Black.”
His face tightened.
“I made mistakes.”
“Mistakes?”
I slammed the file onto his desk.
“You poisoned my father.”
He began crying.
“I didn't want to.”
“Then why?”
“Because Richard threatened my family.”
“Everyone has an excuse.”
He looked at me.
“Your father discovered the accounts.”
“I know.”
“He was going to expose them.”
“So you killed him.”
“I was told the poison wouldn't kill him immediately.”
My stomach turned.
“You watched him die.”
He covered his face.
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
For fifteen years, my father had been remembered as a man who died suddenly.
But his death had been planned.
His family had been manipulated.
His son had been sent overseas.
His money stolen.
His wife and grandson imprisoned in a shed.
All because of a trust.
A trust nobody even knew existed.
I stood.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because Richard is going to kill me.”
“Why?”
“Because you found the evidence.”
Then the doctor's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face went white.
“Who?”
He whispered:
“Richard.”
I took the phone.
“Richard.”
Silence.
Then his voice came through.
“You really should have stayed overseas.”
“I should have come home five years ago.”
“You think you've won?”
“No.”
I looked at Dr. Reed.
“I know I haven't.”
Richard laughed.
“Good.”
Then he said:
“Because your wife is no longer safe.”
The line went dead.
I immediately called Marcus.
“Where are Elena and Julian?”
No answer.
I called again.
Nothing.
My blood froze.
Then my phone received a message.
A photograph.
May you like
Elena's car.
Abandoned on a deserted road.
