Daniel looked older beneath fluorescent police-station lights.
The confidence he had carried into the basement was gone.
A bruise darkened one cheek where Nolan had struck him.
His hands rested flat on the interview table.
Ortiz sat beside me.
Rebecca remained behind the glass.
Daniel had agreed to speak with police present.
That mattered.
It did not make me trust him.
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“You were at the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“You watched my father die.”
His eyes lowered.
“Yes.”
“Then start there.”
He inhaled slowly.
“Charles called me from Kessler’s car.”
“After leaving his office?”
“Yes.”
“He knew he was sick?”
“Yes.”
“He told me to meet them at the hospital.”
“Why?”
“He had given Kessler the Voss file, but he still had copies of other records.”
“The insurance?”
“Among them.”
“Did he know you received money?”
“Not yet.”
I studied him.
“When did you learn about the policy?”
“That night.”
“Before or after he died?”
“Before.”
My stomach tightened.
“Tell me what happened.”
Daniel looked at Ortiz.
She nodded.
“When Charles arrived, he was conscious but weak. Kessler helped him inside.”
“Why didn’t they use the emergency entrance?”
“Kessler said Voss had arranged a private room.”
“Voss was there?”
“He arrived minutes later.”
“And Nolan?”
“Not yet.”
“What did Dad tell you?”
“That he had been poisoned.”
The words were direct.
No softening.
“He knew?”
“Voss had found digitalis.”
“Did Dad accuse Nolan?”
“Yes.”
“Was he certain?”
“No.”
That mattered.
“What did he ask you to do?”
“Take the records.”
“Why?”
“He thought Nolan would try to get them.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Is that why you had the storage unit?”
“That became part of it.”
“What else?”
Daniel looked down.
“Charles asked me to make sure you received everything if he died.”
Anger rose.
“You waited twelve years.”
“I know.”
“You had one job.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because ten minutes later I learned something that made me question what Charles had given me.”
“What?”
“Nolan arrived.”
I waited.
“He had a copy of an insurance policy.”
“The five million.”
“Yes.”
“He accused me of arranging it.”
I stared at him.
“Why you?”
“Because D.M. Strategic Holdings was listed to receive part of the proceeds.”
“Were you?”
“Yes.”
“You knew?”
“No.”
“You expect me to believe Nolan secretly arranged to give you three quarters of a million dollars?”
“No.”
“Then explain it.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“D.M. Strategic was not originally mine.”
I frowned.
“Whose was it?”
“My father’s.”
“What?”
“David Mercer.”
D.M.
Not Daniel Mercer.
David Mercer.
Their father.
“My father created it decades ago. After he died, Nolan took control of several dormant entities.”
“Then how did it become yours?”
“I reclaimed it.”
“When?”
“After Charles died.”
“So the insurance payment went into an account Nolan controlled.”
“Yes.”
“And you later took the company.”
“Yes.”
“With the money still inside?”
“Some of it.”
“How much?”
“Seven hundred fifty thousand.”
Exactly what the records showed.
“Why keep it?”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“Because it was originally money Nolan stole from our father’s company.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make.”
“No.”
“You knew it came from insurance on my father.”
“Yes.”
“And you kept it.”
“Yes.”
The admission sat between us.
No justification could clean it.
“What did Dad ask you to do at the hospital?”
Daniel looked toward the observation glass.
Then back at me.
“Not the records.”
“What then?”
“He asked me to get you.”
My chest tightened.
“He wanted me?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you call?”
“I did.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“I called your house.”
“I was home.”
“Nolan answered.”
The room went still.
“What did he say?”
“That you were asleep.”
“I wasn’t.”
“He said you had taken medication because you were distraught.”
“I hadn’t.”
“I know that now.”
“What else?”
“He said bringing you to the hospital would make things worse.”
“And you listened to him?”
“No.”
Daniel’s voice sharpened.
“I drove to your house.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“I reached your street around twelve thirty.”
“I never saw you.”
“Your lights were off.”
“They weren’t.”
“I knocked.”
“No one knocked.”
“I did.”
My mind searched the memory.
That night.
I had been waiting for news about Dad.
Nolan had told me Dad was being evaluated.
Then Nolan called again after midnight and told me to try to sleep.
I remembered making tea.
I remembered sitting on the sofa.
Then—
Nothing.
A blank stretch.
I looked at Ortiz.
“What?”
She saw it.
“I don’t remember part of that night.”
Daniel watched me.
“Nolan told me you were sedated.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Could he have given you something?”
The question chilled me.
Tea.
Nolan had prepared it before leaving.
I remembered that.
Chamomile.
Honey.
A strange bitter taste I blamed on an old tea bag.
“I fell asleep.”
“What time?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t wake until morning?”
“No.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I should have broken the door down.”
“Yes.”
He accepted it.
“What happened when you returned to the hospital?”
“Charles was worse.”
“Was Nolan there?”
“Yes.”
“Voss?”
“Yes.”
“Kessler?”
“Yes.”
“What did Dad say?”
“He asked where you were.”
My throat tightened.
“What did you tell him?”
“That I couldn’t wake you.”
Pain crossed Daniel’s face.
“He understood.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“What were his exact words?”
Daniel swallowed.
“He said, ‘Then Nolan got to her first.’”
I looked away.
For twelve years, I had believed I missed my father’s final hours because death moved faster than anyone expected.
Now I knew someone may have made sure I slept through them.
“What happened next?”
“Charles started having trouble breathing.”
“Did hospital staff help?”
“Voss kept other staff away.”
“How?”
“He said Charles was his private patient.”
“Could he do that?”
“Apparently.”
“What treatment did he give?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you see injections?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Two.”
“What were they?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Dad improve?”
“After the first one, briefly.”
“And the second?”
Daniel’s face changed.
“No.”
My hands became cold.
“How soon after the second injection did he die?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
Ortiz leaned forward.
“Did you see who administered it?”
“Voss.”
“Was Nolan present?”
“Yes.”
“Did Nolan instruct Voss?”
“I didn’t hear him.”
“Did they speak privately?”
“Yes.”
“What about Kessler?”
“He left before the second injection.”
That matched the timeline.
“What did you do?”
“I confronted Voss.”
“And?”
“He told me Charles was dying from cardiac complications caused by digitalis.”
“Did you believe him?”
“At first.”
“What changed?”
“After Charles died, Nolan gave Voss something.”
“What?”
“An envelope.”
“Money?”
“I assumed.”
“Did you see inside?”
“No.”
“What happened to Dad’s statement?”
“I took it.”
“Why?”
“Because Voss tried to destroy it.”
My father’s handwritten statement.
The one found in Daniel’s storage unit.
“So you protected evidence.”
“Yes.”
“And then hid it for twelve years.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Nolan threatened Evelyn.”
I stared at him.
“What did he say?”
“That if I went to police, he would prove she helped forge the insurance documents.”
“She did sign them.”
“Yes.”
“He also said he would prove she poisoned Charles.”
My pulse changed.
“Could he?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Did you suspect her?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She had access to the water.”
“So did you.”
“Yes.”
“Did you poison my father?”
“No.”
“Did Evelyn?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Nolan?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then who?”
Daniel rubbed his face.
“There is one thing I never told anyone.”
Ortiz sat straighter.
“What?”
“Before the meeting at the Mercer house, I arrived early.”
“How early?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“Who was there?”
“Evelyn.”
“Nolan?”
“Not yet.”
“My father?”
“Not yet.”
“What happened?”
“Evelyn was preparing coffee and water.”
My stomach tightened.
“She filled a pitcher.”
“Yes.”
“Did you see her put anything in it?”
“No.”
“Then what matters?”
“She left the room.”
“And?”
“Kessler came inside.”
I stared at him.
“Kessler was at the house?”
“For less than two minutes.”
“Why?”
“He said Voss sent him with documents.”
“Did he touch the pitcher?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes.”
My pulse accelerated.
“What did he do?”
“He took something from his pocket.”
“What?”
“I couldn’t see.”
“And?”
“He leaned over the counter.”
“Did you ask him?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I thought he was taking medication himself.”
I stared at Daniel.
“You saw the man who later worked for Voss standing over the water my father drank, and you never told anyone?”
“I didn’t connect it until after Charles died.”
“And then?”
“Kessler disappeared.”
“He didn’t disappear. He drove Dad to the hospital.”
“I mean afterward.”
“Did you confront him?”
“Years later.”
“What did he say?”
Daniel’s eyes met mine.
“He said the digitalis was never meant for Charles.”
The room became completely silent.
“Who was it meant for?”
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
“Did you believe him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Charles wasn’t supposed to drink from that glass.”
My heart thudded.
“What glass?”
“The water Evelyn poured was for someone else.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the observation window.
Then back at me.
“Nolan.”
I stared at him.
“You’re saying someone tried to poison Nolan.”
“That is what Kessler claimed.”
“And Dad drank it by mistake?”
“Possibly.”
“Who would want Nolan poisoned?”
Daniel gave a tired, bitter laugh.
“By then?”
He looked at me.
“The list was long.”
Ortiz’s phone vibrated.
She read the message.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She stood.
“Forensics got a preliminary match on the blood from Daniel’s car.”
Daniel looked up.
“It isn’t mine.”
“No.”
“Kessler?”
“No.”
My stomach tightened.
Ortiz looked directly at Daniel.
“It belongs to Elias Voss.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 12: Voss Returned After Nine Years Abroad, and the Reason He Came Back Finally Connected My Father’s Death to Evelyn’s Fall
While Evelyn Fought for Breath, My Husband Ignored Thirty Calls and Left Me Facing the Worst Night Alone
Part 11 of 24
