We left Elias Warren's office with more truth than I knew how to carry. The black binder sat inside a locked case on the floor of Samuel's car. My father's letter remained folded in my pocket. Every few minutes I touched it to reassure myself it was real.<\/p>\n
Carter sat beside me in the back this time.<\/p>\n
Neither of us had spoken since leaving the building.<\/p>\n
Samuel drove north.<\/p>\n
I finally looked at Carter.<\/p>\n
"You didn't know about the missed covenant."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"How involved are you in Sterling's finances?"<\/p>\n
"Less than I thought."<\/p>\n
His voice was bitter.<\/p>\n
"Dad gives me project operations. Vendor negotiations. Personnel. He keeps financing close."<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"I used to think because he was better at it."<\/p>\n
"And now?"<\/p>\n
He looked out the window.<\/p>\n
"Because secrets are easier when you divide the company into rooms and give everyone only one key."<\/p>\n
It was an unexpectedly precise description of Richard.<\/p>\n
I leaned back.<\/p>\n
"Carter."<\/p>\n
He turned.<\/p>\n
"You don't have to come to Vermont."<\/p>\n
"Yes, I do."<\/p>\n
"You may learn something about your father you can't undo."<\/p>\n
"I already have."<\/p>\n
"More."<\/p>\n
He looked at my cheek.<\/p>\n
"I'm done pretending not knowing is safer."<\/p>\n
I believed him.<\/p>\n
Not completely.<\/p>\n
But more than I had that morning.<\/p>\n
Samuel stopped for fuel north of the city.<\/p>\n
While he was inside the station, my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Richard.<\/p>\n
Carter saw the name.<\/p>\n
"Don't answer."<\/p>\n
I considered that.<\/p>\n
Then I answered.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
Richard's breathing came through the speaker.<\/p>\n
"Where are you?"<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Come home."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Audrey."<\/p>\n
"You've used my name enough today."<\/p>\n
His voice lowered.<\/p>\n
"You went to Elias."<\/p>\n
I looked at Carter.<\/p>\n
"How do you know?"<\/p>\n
"Because I know Elias."<\/p>\n
"That isn't an answer."<\/p>\n
"Did he show you the trust?"<\/p>\n
My pulse changed.<\/p>\n
Carter heard the silence.<\/p>\n
Richard continued.<\/p>\n
"So he did."<\/p>\n
"You knew."<\/p>\n
"Of course I knew."<\/p>\n
"That Blackwell Capital belongs to me?"<\/p>\n
"I knew Daniel created something."<\/p>\n
"Something worth forty-seven million dollars."<\/p>\n
Carter stared at me.<\/p>\n
Richard was silent.<\/p>\n
I smiled without humor.<\/p>\n
"You didn't know the amount."<\/p>\n
"Money won't help you."<\/p>\n
"Interesting thing for a man who owes me thirty million to say."<\/p>\n
His breath changed.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The reversal.<\/p>\n
This morning, I had entered his kitchen as the daughter-in-law he thought he could discipline.<\/p>\n
By afternoon, I controlled the debt threatening his company.<\/p>\n
"Audrey, listen carefully."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"This isn't a game."<\/p>\n
"I agree."<\/p>\n
"Daniel built that trust because he hated me."<\/p>\n
"My father built it because you stole his company."<\/p>\n
"That's what Elias told you."<\/p>\n
"The documents told me."<\/p>\n
"You don't understand those documents."<\/p>\n
"Then explain the forged signature."<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
"Explain Samuel being in London on the day he supposedly witnessed it."<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
"Explain why you erased my father's name."<\/p>\n
Richard finally spoke.<\/p>\n
"Daniel was going to destroy everything."<\/p>\n
"Everything meaning you."<\/p>\n
"He was reckless."<\/p>\n
"Did you hit him at the Madison House?"<\/p>\n
Carter's eyes closed.<\/p>\n
Richard said nothing.<\/p>\n
"Did you?"<\/p>\n
"He attacked me."<\/p>\n
"That's not what Elias said."<\/p>\n
"Of course not."<\/p>\n
"Did you strike him with a lamp?"<\/p>\n
"Audrey."<\/p>\n
"Yes or no?"<\/p>\n
"What difference does it make?"<\/p>\n
The answer was yes.<\/p>\n
My grip tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n
"What happened at Lake Briar?"<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Not ordinary silence.<\/p>\n
Dead silence.<\/p>\n
Carter turned fully toward me.<\/p>\n
I repeated the question.<\/p>\n
"What happened at Lake Briar in October 2018?"<\/p>\n
Richard breathed in slowly.<\/p>\n
"Who told you that?"<\/p>\n
"My father."<\/p>\n
That landed.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, there was nothing on the line.<\/p>\n
Then Richard said, "Daniel is dead."<\/p>\n
My heartbeat stumbled.<\/p>\n
Carter reached for my hand.<\/p>\n
I pulled away without meaning to.<\/p>\n
"How do you know?"<\/p>\n
Richard's voice hardened.<\/p>\n
"Because I know."<\/p>\n
"Did you see him die?"<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
"Richard."<\/p>\n
"Come home."<\/p>\n
"Did you see my father die?"<\/p>\n
"You need to stop."<\/p>\n
"Did you kill him?"<\/p>\n
Carter flinched.<\/p>\n
Richard's voice cracked.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
The answer came with too much force.<\/p>\n
"Then what happened?"<\/p>\n
"I tried to help him."<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
"Like you helped him at the hotel?"<\/p>\n
"He was sick."<\/p>\n
"What kind of sick?"<\/p>\n
"You don't know anything."<\/p>\n
"Then tell me."<\/p>\n
"He wasn't the man you remember."<\/p>\n
"I barely remember him at all because you spent twenty-two years making sure of that."<\/p>\n
Richard exhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
"Daniel had become paranoid."<\/p>\n
"Samuel says you were having me followed when I was twelve."<\/p>\n
"Daniel believed that."<\/p>\n
"Elias showed me the photographs."<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
"School. Bicycle. My aunt's house."<\/p>\n
Richard said nothing.<\/p>\n
"You weren't his paranoia."<\/p>\n
"Audrey\u2014"<\/p>\n
"You were the reason for it."<\/p>\n
His voice became quieter.<\/p>\n
"You think Elias is innocent?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
That seemed to surprise him.<\/p>\n
"I think everyone who knew the truth and left me ignorant owes me an explanation."<\/p>\n
"Then ask Elias why Daniel stopped trusting him."<\/p>\n
I looked at Carter.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
Richard continued.<\/p>\n
"Ask your precious lawyer why Daniel disappeared from him in 2018."<\/p>\n
"He already told me he doesn't know."<\/p>\n
Richard laughed softly.<\/p>\n
"And you believed him."<\/p>\n
"What do you know?"<\/p>\n
"More than Elias wants you to."<\/p>\n
"Then tell me."<\/p>\n
"Come home."<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Then we're finished."<\/p>\n
"We were finished when you hit me."<\/p>\n
"I'm not talking about family."<\/p>\n
"What are you talking about?"<\/p>\n
"The debt."<\/p>\n
I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
"You don't get to decide that."<\/p>\n
"You think because your name sits on a trust you're suddenly a financier?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"You'll accelerate the loan and destroy hundreds of jobs."<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
A new tactic.<\/p>\n
Not authority.<\/p>\n
Guilt.<\/p>\n
"Those workers didn't forge my father's signature."<\/p>\n
"They'll still lose their paychecks."<\/p>\n
"Then perhaps you should have considered that before hiding thirty million dollars of debt."<\/p>\n
Carter looked away.<\/p>\n
Richard heard the change in my breathing.<\/p>\n
"Ask Carter."<\/p>\n
I went still.<\/p>\n
"Ask him what happens if Sterling collapses."<\/p>\n
I looked at my husband.<\/p>\n
Richard continued.<\/p>\n
"Ask him how many families depend on that company."<\/p>\n
"Don't use your employees as human shields."<\/p>\n
"I built their livelihoods."<\/p>\n
"With stolen assets."<\/p>\n
"That is not proven."<\/p>\n
"It will be."<\/p>\n
Richard's voice turned cold.<\/p>\n
"Not if you keep driving north."<\/p>\n
My blood chilled.<\/p>\n
Carter saw my face.<\/p>\n
"How do you know we're driving north?"<\/p>\n
Richard said nothing.<\/p>\n
I looked through the rear window.<\/p>\n
Cars moved behind us.<\/p>\n
None obvious.<\/p>\n
"Are you following us?"<\/p>\n
"Come home."<\/p>\n
I ended the call.<\/p>\n
Carter immediately looked behind us.<\/p>\n
"Samuel."<\/p>\n
He returned from the gas station.<\/p>\n
"What?"<\/p>\n
"Richard knows we're heading north."<\/p>\n
Samuel froze with one hand on the driver's door.<\/p>\n
"How?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
He looked across the parking lot.<\/p>\n
Then beneath the car.<\/p>\n
"What are you doing?"<\/p>\n
"Checking."<\/p>\n
"For what?"<\/p>\n
"A tracker."<\/p>\n
Carter got out.<\/p>\n
Samuel crouched near the rear bumper.<\/p>\n
Thirty seconds later, he reached beneath the chassis and pulled free a small black device.<\/p>\n
Carter stared.<\/p>\n
"Jesus."<\/p>\n
Samuel held it between two fingers.<\/p>\n
"Magnetic GPS."<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
"Richard put that there?"<\/p>\n
"Someone did."<\/p>\n
"When?"<\/p>\n
Samuel thought.<\/p>\n
"Could've been at the house."<\/p>\n
Carter looked furious.<\/p>\n
"Give it to me."<\/p>\n
Samuel handed it over.<\/p>\n
Carter walked toward a delivery truck parked beside the station.<\/p>\n
"What are you doing?"<\/p>\n
He crouched and stuck the tracker beneath its rear bumper.<\/p>\n
The truck pulled away two minutes later heading east.<\/p>\n
Samuel almost smiled.<\/p>\n
"Maybe you are your mother's son after all."<\/p>\n
Carter returned to the car.<\/p>\n
"How far is Lake Briar?"<\/p>\n
"Three and a half hours."<\/p>\n
"Let's go."<\/p>\n
We drove.<\/p>\n
The city disappeared.<\/p>\n
Traffic thinned.<\/p>\n
Forests replaced concrete.<\/p>\n
My father's letter sat open on my lap.<\/p>\n
If Richard tells you I am dead, ask him what happened at Lake Briar.<\/p>\n
Richard had done exactly that.<\/p>\n
Daniel is dead.<\/p>\n
I tried to help him.<\/p>\n
The words circled endlessly.<\/p>\n
By late afternoon, clouds had gathered over the hills.<\/p>\n
Samuel told us what little he knew.<\/p>\n
Daniel had purchased a small cabin near Lake Briar under another name in 2012. Samuel had visited only once. Elias apparently knew of the property but claimed never to have gone there.<\/p>\n
"What name did Daniel use?" I asked.<\/p>\n
"David Bell."<\/p>\n
"Why Bell?"<\/p>\n
"Your grandmother's maiden name."<\/p>\n
Another detail stolen from me.<\/p>\n
Carter rested his arm against the window.<\/p>\n
"Did my mother know?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"She knew about the hotel."<\/p>\n
"That doesn't mean Daniel told her everything."<\/p>\n
Carter nodded.<\/p>\n
His phone buzzed repeatedly.<\/p>\n
Madison.<\/p>\n
He answered on speaker.<\/p>\n
"Carter?"<\/p>\n
"We're okay."<\/p>\n
"Dad's losing it."<\/p>\n
I sat forward.<\/p>\n
"What is he doing?"<\/p>\n
"He locked himself in the study."<\/p>\n
"Is Mom safe?"<\/p>\n
"She's with me."<\/p>\n
Eleanor's voice came faintly from the background.<\/p>\n
"Audrey?"<\/p>\n
"I'm here."<\/p>\n
"Where are you?"<\/p>\n
I looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
"Driving."<\/p>\n
"To Vermont?"<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
"How do you know?"<\/p>\n
Eleanor went silent.<\/p>\n
"Mom?" Carter said.<\/p>\n
She whispered, "Lake Briar."<\/p>\n
Carter looked at me.<\/p>\n
"You knew?"<\/p>\n
"I knew Daniel had a cabin."<\/p>\n
"Why didn't you tell us?"<\/p>\n
"Because Richard made me promise."<\/p>\n
Carter laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
"Mom, you have to stop saying that."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
"Did you go there?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Did Dad?"<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
"Eleanor," I said.<\/p>\n
"Did Richard go to Lake Briar in 2018?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n
"How do you know?"<\/p>\n
"He disappeared for two days."<\/p>\n
"That's not proof."<\/p>\n
"When he came home, there was blood on his coat."<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
I heard only the tires against pavement.<\/p>\n
Carter whispered, "Whose blood?"<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
"Did you ask?"<\/p>\n
"Yes."<\/p>\n
"What did he say?"<\/p>\n
"That he'd hit a deer."<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at me in the mirror.<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
Eleanor continued.<\/p>\n
"I washed the coat."<\/p>\n
"Mom."<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
Carter closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
"Why?"<\/p>\n
"Because I was afraid."<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
Eleanor started crying.<\/p>\n
I took the phone.<\/p>\n
"What happened after?"<\/p>\n
"Richard burned a pair of shoes."<\/p>\n
Samuel cursed softly.<\/p>\n
"And then?"<\/p>\n
"He barely slept for weeks."<\/p>\n
"Did he say Daniel's name?"<\/p>\n
"Once."<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
"What did he say?"<\/p>\n
"He was talking in his sleep."<\/p>\n
"What words?"<\/p>\n
Eleanor hesitated.<\/p>\n
"Daniel, don't make me do this again."<\/p>\n
The car filled with silence.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
The hotel.<\/p>\n
The cabin.<\/p>\n
Two confrontations separated by nineteen years.<\/p>\n
"Did you tell Elias?" I asked.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Samuel?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
"Anyone?"<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
I looked at the trees rushing past.<\/p>\n
"Thank you for telling me now."<\/p>\n
"I'm sorry."<\/p>\n
"I know."<\/p>\n
I ended the call.<\/p>\n
We reached Lake Briar shortly before dusk.<\/p>\n
The road narrowed to gravel beneath dark pines.<\/p>\n
Samuel drove from memory.<\/p>\n
"Cabin should be another mile."<\/p>\n
Rain started lightly.<\/p>\n
Carter leaned forward.<\/p>\n
"There."<\/p>\n
A small mailbox stood crooked beside the road.<\/p>\n
No number.<\/p>\n
Only faded letters.<\/p>\n
D. Bell.<\/p>\n
My breath stopped.<\/p>\n
Samuel turned down the lane.<\/p>\n
The cabin appeared through the trees.<\/p>\n
Single story.<\/p>\n
Dark wood.<\/p>\n
Green roof.<\/p>\n
Lake water visible beyond it.<\/p>\n
No lights.<\/p>\n
No car.<\/p>\n
We parked.<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
Twenty-two years of absence waited behind one ordinary wooden door.<\/p>\n
I got out first.<\/p>\n
The air smelled of wet earth and pine.<\/p>\n
Carter followed.<\/p>\n
Samuel carried a flashlight.<\/p>\n
The porch boards creaked beneath my shoes.<\/p>\n
I reached the door.<\/p>\n
Locked.<\/p>\n
Samuel searched above the frame.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then Carter pointed.<\/p>\n
"Under the planter."<\/p>\n
A small brass key sat beneath a clay pot.<\/p>\n
My hands shook as I picked it up.<\/p>\n
The lock turned.<\/p>\n
The door opened inward.<\/p>\n
Dust.<\/p>\n
Cold air.<\/p>\n
Darkness.<\/p>\n
Samuel found a switch.<\/p>\n
A lamp came on.<\/p>\n
The cabin looked abandoned but not empty.<\/p>\n
Books lined one wall.<\/p>\n
A jacket hung near the door.<\/p>\n
A coffee mug sat upside down beside the sink.<\/p>\n
I stepped inside.<\/p>\n
On the mantel was a photograph.<\/p>\n
Me.<\/p>\n
Age twelve.<\/p>\n
Purple backpack.<\/p>\n
The same day someone working for Richard had photographed me leaving school.<\/p>\n
But this photograph was different.<\/p>\n
Closer.<\/p>\n
Taken from another angle.<\/p>\n
On the back, in my father's handwriting, were four words.<\/p>\n
Still safe. Thank God.<\/p>\n
My knees weakened.<\/p>\n
Carter caught my elbow.<\/p>\n
Then Samuel called from the bedroom.<\/p>\n
"Audrey."<\/p>\n
Something in his voice made us run.<\/p>\n
A desk stood beneath the window.<\/p>\n
Its drawers were open.<\/p>\n
Papers had been scattered across the floor.<\/p>\n
On the wall above it was a dark brown stain.<\/p>\n
Old.<\/p>\n
Carter stared.<\/p>\n
"Is that blood?"<\/p>\n
Samuel didn't answer.<\/p>\n
I saw something half hidden beneath the desk.<\/p>\n
A metal box.<\/p>\n
We pulled it out.<\/p>\n
Inside were several notebooks.<\/p>\n
A recorder.<\/p>\n
And a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n
The envelope had my name on it.<\/p>\n
Another letter.<\/p>\n
But this one was dated October 14, 2018.<\/p>\n
The day after Richard returned home with blood on his coat.<\/p>\n
I tore it open.<\/p>\n
Audrey,<\/p>\n
If you ever reach this cabin, then Richard has either failed to stop you or finally decided the truth costs him less than another lie.<\/p>\n
My hands trembled.<\/p>\n
The next line made me stop breathing.<\/p>\n
I am leaving tonight because Richard found me again. If I do not contact Elias within seventy-two hours, assume Richard knows where I went.<\/p>\n
I looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n
"Did he contact Elias?"<\/p>\n
Samuel's face had gone white.<\/p>\n
"No."<\/p>\n
I kept reading.<\/p>\n
Do not assume that means I am dead.<\/p>\n
Below that was an address.<\/p>\n
Not in Vermont.<\/p>\n
Not Boston.<\/p>\n
Not Canada.<\/p>\n
A town in Maine.<\/p>\n
And beside it, a name.<\/p>\n
Thomas Vale.<\/p>\n
Carter leaned over my shoulder.<\/p>\n
"Who's Thomas Vale?"<\/p>\n
Samuel stared at the page.<\/p>\n
"I don't know."<\/p>\n
Then we heard an engine outside.<\/p>\n
Headlights swept across the cabin windows.<\/p>\n
Carter switched off the lamp.<\/p>\n
All three of us froze.<\/p>\n
A car stopped near the porch.<\/p>\n
A door opened.<\/p>\n
Footsteps crossed wet gravel.<\/p>\n
Samuel whispered, "Richard?"<\/p>\n
I gripped the metal box.<\/p>\n
The footsteps climbed the porch.<\/p>\n
One step.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Someone tried the door.<\/p>\n
Carter moved in front of me.<\/p>\n
The handle turned.<\/p>\n
The door opened.<\/p>\n
A man stood in the rain.<\/p>\n
He was thin, gray-haired, and leaning heavily on a cane.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
The stranger looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n
Then at Carter.<\/p>\n
Finally, his eyes found me.<\/p>\n
The cane slipped from his hand and struck the floor.<\/p>\n
He whispered my name.<\/p>\n
"Audrey."<\/p>\n
I had never seen his older face.<\/p>\n
But I knew his eyes.<\/p>\n
They were the same eyes I saw every morning in the mirror.<\/p>\n
My father had just walked through the door.<\/p>\n
We left Elias Warren's office with more truth than I knew how to carry. The black binder sat inside a locked case on the floor of Samuel's car. My father's … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9090","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\/9090","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=9090"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9110,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9090\/revisions\/9110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}