Chapter 6 - THE PERSON BEHIND EVERYTHING
The name Margaret Hale appeared everywhere.
Bank transfers.
Old photographs.
My father's records.
But there was one thing that didn't make sense.
Margaret had supposedly disappeared twenty years ago.
Vanessa found her address.
A private residence in Santa Barbara.
We drove there with a lawyer and a police detective.
The house was empty.
But the garage wasn't.
Inside, we found boxes.
Documents.
Photographs.
Letters.
And one video cassette.
My father's handwriting was written across it.
IF YOU FIND THIS, WATCH IT.
The detective located an old player.
The screen flickered.
My father's face appeared.
He looked tired.
Terrified.
“Thane,” he said.
I froze.
“If you're watching this, I'm dead.”
Alora squeezed my hand.
My father's voice continued.
“I need you to understand something. The woman you call your mother is not responsible for Evelyn's death.”
I looked at Kareen's confession.
My father continued.
“She was manipulated.”
The video skipped.
Then:
“Margaret wasn't alone.”
My father's expression became grim.
“She had help from someone inside my company.”
The name was distorted by static.
I leaned closer.
Then the audio returned.
“Daniel.”
I froze.
Daniel was my father's attorney.
He had remained my family's lawyer for twenty years.
My father's voice continued.
“Daniel forged documents. He moved money. He helped Margaret erase Evelyn's existence.”
The screen went black.
Nobody spoke.
Then Vanessa whispered:
“Daniel is still your attorney.”
I nodded.
“Not anymore.”
My phone rang.
Daniel.
I answered.
“Thane.”
“How did you know I was here?”
Silence.
Then:
“You need to stop digging.”
I stood.
“Where are you?”
“Doesn't matter.”
“It matters to me.”
“Your father made the same mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“Thinking the truth would save him.”
The call ended.
Seconds later, my phone received a photograph.
It showed Alora leaving the hospital.
Taken from across the street.
My blood ran cold.
A second message appeared.
You have forty-eight hours.
Then another.
After that, your wife loses the baby.
I stared at the screen.
Alora saw my face.
“What happened?”
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
Because for the first time that night, the danger wasn't inside my family.
May you like
It was outside.
And someone was watching us.
