Chapter 13 - THE DAUGHTER OF THE MAN WHO OWNED THE TRUTH|
Rebecca Sloane lived under an assumed name in a small town near Burlington, Vermont.
She refused to meet Theodore until Nadia sent her a photograph of the original adoption list. An hour later, Rebecca called and agreed to speak at a roadside diner outside town.
She arrived wearing a dark coat and a baseball cap. Her face was thinner than in the old photographs, and a faint scar crossed her chin.
She sat with her back to the wall.
“You shouldn't have come,” she said.
Nadia placed the photograph on the table.
“Your father kidnapped my sister. He forged my records. He may have arranged the deaths of my adoptive parents. I think I have every reason to come.”
Rebecca's eyes moved toward Theodore.
“You look exactly like Richard.”
“I've heard that before.”
“Then you should understand why I'm afraid of you.”
Theodore remained calm.
“I'm not my father.”
“That's what he used to say about his own father.”
Rebecca ordered coffee but did not drink it.
She explained that Victor had worked with Richard for years, managing the foundation's accounts and arranging confidential payments. When Rebecca discovered that the charity was being used to hide stolen assets, Victor threatened to destroy her.
She had tried to report him.
The night Nadia's adoptive parents died, Rebecca had been driving behind their car. She witnessed the collision and saw another vehicle force them off the road.
She had followed the second car.
It belonged to a private security company controlled by Victor.
“I went to the police,” Rebecca said. “My father found out before I finished the statement. He told me that if I testified, he would have me committed and make sure nobody believed a word I said.”
“So you disappeared,” Nadia whispered.
“I tried to protect myself. I was twenty-four and terrified.”
“Did you know my parents were in that car?”
Rebecca nodded.
“I knew the driver was connected to Victor. I didn't know who your parents were until years later.”
Nadia's eyes filled with anger.
“You could have told someone.”
“I did. A lawyer. A journalist. Two detectives. Every time, the evidence vanished.”
Theodore leaned forward.
“Do you have proof?”
Rebecca reached into her bag and produced a small flash drive.
“The original dash-camera recording. I copied it before Victor had the car destroyed.”
Marcus had arranged for a secure laptop. Theodore inserted the drive.
The video showed a dark sedan following Nadia's parents through a rain-soaked intersection. The sedan accelerated, struck their rear quarter panel, and forced them into the path of an oncoming truck.
The footage ended as the sedan drove away.
Nadia stared at the screen.
Her parents' deaths had been deliberate.
She felt Theodore's hand close around hers.
Rebecca watched them carefully.
“There's more. Your father was trying to stop Victor from taking control of the family business. He had discovered that Victor was using the adoption agency to establish false identities for people who could be placed in key positions.”
“Why would he do that?” Theodore asked.
“To control inheritance disputes. To silence witnesses. To create people who could be manipulated.”
Rebecca took a breath.
“Richard planned to expose him. Then Richard died. Victor told everyone it was a heart attack.”
Theodore went still.
“My father died of a heart attack at fifty-eight.”
“He was fifty-seven. And the medical report was signed by a doctor who received money from the foundation.”
Nadia looked at the flash drive.
“Can we prove murder?”
“Not from this recording,” Rebecca said. “But I kept a second file. It contains the doctor's emails and a copy of the original toxicology report.”
“Where is it?”
Rebecca's expression changed.
“Somewhere safe.”
Before she could say more, her phone vibrated.
She looked at the screen and went pale.
May you like
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
You have five minutes to leave the diner. The man behind you is armed.
