Henry sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew about the photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands were shaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you see it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore we married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Matthew's files.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
I was beginning to understand how many times the truth had been placed in front of me only to be hidden again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after the photograph was taken?\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry took a long breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father met Matthew's father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor business?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Victor was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were discussing money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel spoke quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot just money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were discussing the accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat accounts?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ones Victor later used.\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked Henry whether my father had been involved.<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatthew didn't believe he was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why was he there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your father was trying to get out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel explained that years earlier, Victor's family business had been moving money through several smaller companies.<\/p>\n
My father's company had been one of them.<\/p>\n
But according to Matthew's notes, my father eventually discovered what was happening.<\/p>\n
He wanted to withdraw.<\/p>\n
Victor threatened him.<\/p>\n
My father closed the company.<\/p>\n
At least, that was what everyone believed.<\/p>\n
But the accounts remained open.<\/p>\n
And someone continued using them.<\/p>\n
I thought about my father's final years.<\/p>\n
His caution.<\/p>\n
His reluctance to discuss business.<\/p>\n
The way he became visibly tense whenever certain names appeared on television.<\/p>\n
I had always thought those were ordinary memories.<\/p>\n
Now they seemed like pieces of something I had never been allowed to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Matthew know my father was trying to leave?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father contacted him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral months before the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explained why Matthew had become involved.<\/p>\n
He wasn't only investigating Victor.<\/p>\n
He was trying to protect me from something connected to my family.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid my father know you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe met me once.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore your wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart sank.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou met my father before I introduced you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked to speak with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked me to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words echoed the promise Matthew had made.<\/p>\n
Everyone seemed to be asking someone else to protect me.<\/p>\n
But no one trusted me with the truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Victor was still using the old accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know about Matthew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was afraid Matthew had become involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's not disappearing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died suddenly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered the official explanation.<\/p>\n
Heart failure.<\/p>\n
Unexpected.<\/p>\n
No warning.<\/p>\n
I had been devastated.<\/p>\n
But I had never suspected anything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you saying Victor killed my father too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry's answer was immediate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is one thing we haven't told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father wasn't the only person trying to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMatthew's father.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
I thought about the old photographs.<\/p>\n
The family business.<\/p>\n
The financial records.<\/p>\n
The missing money.<\/p>\n
Everything was connected.<\/p>\n
But then I remembered something Matthew had written.<\/p>\n
If something happens to me, look at the accounts.<\/p>\n
I asked Daniel whether the accounts could show who had accessed them after my father's death.<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can obtain the complete records.\u201d<\/p>\n
The police eventually did.<\/p>\n
The records showed something unexpected.<\/p>\n
A transfer had been made from my father's old company account one day after his death.<\/p>\n
Another transfer had been made three days before Matthew's accident.<\/p>\n
Both went to an account controlled by Victor.<\/p>\n
But the account had also been accessed using a second authorization.<\/p>\n
The name attached to it was Daniel's.<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy was your name on this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't authorize those transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry looked at the records.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere may be another explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone used his identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n
The police began tracing the authorization.<\/p>\n
The result came back the next day.<\/p>\n
The access originated from a computer in Victor's office.<\/p>\n
Daniel's identity had been copied.<\/p>\n
So had my father's.<\/p>\n
Victor had been using other people's names to move money.<\/p>\n
But there was still no proof that he had ordered the truck attack.<\/p>\n
Then the police found the missing driver.<\/p>\n
Not physically.<\/p>\n
His records.<\/p>\n
The truck driver had died in prison several months after the accident.<\/p>\n
Before his death, he had written a statement.<\/p>\n
The police obtained a copy.<\/p>\n
He claimed that Victor had paid him to frighten Matthew.<\/p>\n
But he also wrote that Victor had warned him someone else would be present.<\/p>\n
Someone who would make sure Matthew never reached the police.<\/p>\n
I read that line repeatedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry looked at me.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
The officer said they didn't know.<\/p>\n
Then another piece of evidence arrived.<\/p>\n
A call record.<\/p>\n
Victor had called a number shortly before the accident.<\/p>\n
The number belonged to someone who had worked for my father's company.<\/p>\n
Someone I knew.<\/p>\n
Someone who had attended my father's funeral.<\/p>\n
Someone who had sent flowers when Matthew died.<\/p>\n
My uncle.<\/p>\n
I felt numb.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy uncle?\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was on the call.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the document.<\/p>\n
My uncle had always been kind to me.<\/p>\n
He had helped my family after my father's death.<\/p>\n
He had attended my wedding.<\/p>\n
He had held my hand during Matthew's funeral.<\/p>\n
I couldn't understand it.<\/p>\n
Henry said quietly, \u201cDon't assume guilt yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
But I heard something in his voice.<\/p>\n
Fear.<\/p>\n
Not surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why aren't you surprised?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel suddenly stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is another recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat recording?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne Matthew left with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you tell us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
That word.<\/p>\n
Daniel pulled out his phone.<\/p>\n
He had saved the recording separately.<\/p>\n
Matthew's voice came through.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know who I can trust anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he said a name.<\/p>\n
Not Victor.<\/p>\n
Not Daniel.<\/p>\n
Not my uncle.<\/p>\n
He said Henry's name.<\/p>\n
I looked at my husband.<\/p>\n
Matthew continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything happens, Henry knows where the evidence is.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording ended.<\/p>\n
I stared at Henry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn't answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face was pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatthew gave me something the night before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA key.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hid it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Henry reached into his pocket.<\/p>\n
Then he placed the small metal key on the table.<\/p>\n
It was marked with the same number.<\/p>\n
217.<\/p>\n
Henry sat down. \u201cI knew about the photograph.\u201d My hands were shaking. \u201cWhen did you see it?\u201d \u201cBefore we married.\u201d \u201cWhere?\u201d \u201cIn Matthew's files.\u201d \u201cAnd you never told me.\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6709,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693\/revisions\/6709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}