Chapter 7 - Maria Didn't Disappear
Maria came downstairs alone.
She looked nothing like the frightened woman in the old photograph.
She was older now.
Stronger.
Her hair was shorter.
Her expression was hard.
Robert raised his hand.
“Don't move.”
Maria stopped.
“I know who you are.”
“So do I.”
“Then you know why I'm here.”
Robert nodded.
“Damian?”
“He's upstairs.”
Chloe stepped forward.
“You worked for him.”
Maria looked at her.
“For six months.”
“What happened?”
Maria laughed once.
“He convinced me I was special.”
Chloe lowered her eyes.
“He did that to me too.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because he did it to every woman.”
Maria walked toward the shelves.
“I escaped nine years ago.”
“Why didn't you report him?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“He destroyed my reputation.”
“How?”
“He told everyone I stole from him.”
Robert frowned.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Then why didn't anyone believe you?”
“Because he had documents.”
The same documents we were now holding.
Maria looked at the cabinet.
“He keeps everything.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows secrets are more valuable than money.”
She pointed toward one box.
“Open that.”
Robert did.
Inside were audio recordings.
Hundreds of them.
Conversations.
Phone calls.
Meetings.
Private discussions.
Maria explained:
“Damian recorded people without their knowledge.”
“Why?”
“Insurance.”
Robert looked at the files.
“Against whom?”
“Everyone.”
Then Maria looked at me.
“Especially your husband.”
I felt cold.
“What did Daniel know?”
Maria hesitated.
“Richard Prescott was laundering money.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You don't know the worst part.”
“What?”
“Richard wasn't doing it alone.”
“Who was helping him?”
Maria looked at Chloe.
“Your husband.”
My daughter froze.
“Damian?”
“Yes.”
“That can't be.”
“He was eighteen.”
“He was a teenager.”
“He was already involved.”
I stared at Maria.
“Why would he know anything about my husband?”
“Because Daniel discovered them.”
My hands began to shake.
“Then what happened?”
“Daniel threatened to expose Richard.”
“And Damian?”
“Damian protected his father.”
“How?”
Maria's voice dropped.
“He found Daniel's weakness.”
“What weakness?”
“You.”
I couldn't breathe.
“He knew Daniel would do anything to protect his family.”
Maria reached into her coat.
She pulled out an old envelope.
“This belonged to Daniel.”
I recognized his handwriting immediately.
My name.
My hands trembled as I took it.
Inside was another letter.
But this one had never been sent.
Margaret,
If you're reading this, I failed to protect you.
I couldn't continue.
Chloe read it aloud.
“Richard knows about the money. Damian knows too. If anything happens to me, don't trust anyone connected to the Prescott family.”
Her voice broke.
Then she turned the page.
There was one final sentence.
The person you should fear most isn't Richard.
Below it was a name.
Damian.
The room went silent.
Chloe started crying.
“He was involved when I was six?”
Maria nodded.
“He knew your father.”
“But why would he wait twenty-six years?”
“He didn't.”
“What?”
“He didn't wait.”
Maria pointed toward Chloe.
“He spent years preparing.”
“Preparing for what?”
“To finish what his father started.”
A sound came from upstairs.
A door slammed.
Maria looked toward the stairs.
“We have to leave.”
Robert nodded.
“Why?”
“Because Damian is coming down.”
We heard footsteps.
Fast.
Then the basement lights went out.
Darkness swallowed us.
Chloe grabbed my hand.
Someone screamed.
A flashlight flashed.
Robert shouted:
“Stay together!”
Then we heard Damian's voice.
“You really should have stayed out of my business, Margaret.”
I froze.
His footsteps approached.
“You took my wife.”
I heard Chloe breathing beside me.
Damian continued.
“You found my files.”
Then a pause.
“And now you're going to discover why nobody leaves me.”
A gunshot exploded somewhere upstairs.
Everyone screamed.
The investigators moved.
Robert pulled Chloe behind a concrete pillar.
Then the basement door slammed shut.
Damian was gone.
May you like
But Maria was missing.
And so was the folder containing Daniel's final letter.
