Chapter 13 - THE CHRISTMAS TREE
We returned to the house.
Kane's men were everywhere.
But they hadn't found the tree.
It stood in the living room.
Lights still glowing.
Ornaments from my childhood.
I touched one.
A wooden star.
Grandpa had carved it.
I remembered him telling me:
"Never trust a shiny thing, Michael. Look underneath."
I lifted the tree skirt.
Nothing.
Then I saw the base.
A small metal plate.
The brass key opened it.
Inside was a flash drive.
I plugged it into the laptop.
A single video appeared.
Grandpa.
He looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this, the archive has been compromised."
He explained that the documents were only half the evidence.
The real proof was stored somewhere else.
A financial ledger.
It contained every payment Kane had ever made.
And one person had access to it.
My father.
Dad looked stunned.
"I thought it was destroyed."
Grandpa continued:
"The ledger is hidden in the one place no one would search."
The video ended.
Vanessa whispered:
"Where?"
I looked at Dad.
He was crying.
"Your father's workshop."
We searched.
Nothing.
Then Mom noticed the fireplace.
"Your father rebuilt this chimney in 2011."
Dad stared.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't remember."
We removed several bricks.
Behind them was a steel cylinder.
Inside was the ledger.
Names.
Dates.
Amounts.
Bank accounts.
And one final page.
It contained a list of people who had been paid to protect Kane.
At the bottom was:
Sheriff Miller.
I photographed everything.
Then I uploaded copies to three separate cloud accounts.
Kane could destroy the originals.
He couldn't destroy all copies.
But before I could finish, the front door opened.
Sheriff Miller walked in.
His gun was raised.
"Step away from the computer."
I didn't move.
"You killed my parents?"
"No."
"Then who?"
He hesitated.
Kane stepped into the doorway behind him.
"Your sister."
Vanessa froze.
Kane smiled.
"She gave me the location."
Vanessa shook her head.
"No."
Kane looked at her.
"You gave me the house."
"I didn't give you the workshop."
"You gave me enough."
He raised his gun.
May you like
And fired.
Vanessa collapsed.
