Chapter 15 - The Secret Behind the Furnace|
The house was surrounded by police before dawn.
Maureen's bedroom had been searched twice, the desk drawer emptied, and every cabinet opened. Yet the hidden panel behind the furnace remained untouched until Chelsea showed the detectives where to look.
A metal box was concealed inside the wall.
It contained the missing will, several bank records, and a small digital recorder wrapped in a handkerchief.
I recognized the handkerchief.
My father had carried it in his pocket whenever he worked the espresso machine. It had been stained with coffee years ago, and I had once offered to wash it for him.
He had laughed and told me it was his lucky cloth.
Now it lay inside an evidence bag.
Evelyn examined the will first.
“This appears to be the original,” she said. “We'll need to verify the signatures and the chain of custody, but it matches the copy we have.”
The will confirmed that the café and apartment belonged to me, subject to the settlement of legitimate debts. It also named Daniel Mercer as the independent accountant responsible for reviewing the estate.
The recorder was more difficult.
Its battery compartment had corroded, and the device showed signs of deliberate damage. A technician worked for several hours before managing to extract a partial file.
When the audio began, my father's voice was faint but recognizable.
“Maureen, I need you to tell me the truth.”
A woman answered.
“I have told you everything.”
“No. You told me what Victor wanted you to say.”
I pressed my hands together.
The recording continued.
“You signed the transfer,” my father said. “You knew it wasn't valid.”
“I was trying to save the business.”
“You were trying to save yourself.”
“I had no choice.”
“There's always a choice, Maureen.”
Her voice broke.
“You don't understand what he threatened to do.”
“Then tell me.”
A long silence followed.
Finally, she spoke.
“He said he would destroy Chelsea. He said he knew about her debts and the people she owed money to. He said if I didn't cooperate, she would be hurt.”
I looked at Chelsea.
She had gone pale.
The recording continued.
My father sounded exhausted.
“Then we go to the police together. We tell them what happened.”
“No.”
“Maureen—”
“You don't understand. Victor knows people in the department. He knows the medical examiner. He knows everything.”
“Then we find someone he doesn't control.”
The woman began to cry.
“I can't.”
My father's voice softened.
“I never wanted you to be afraid of me.”
“You don't scare me, Quinn.”
“Then why are you shaking?”
The recording ended abruptly.
I stared at the device.
It didn't contain the final moments of my father's life. It didn't establish whether he had been poisoned. But it proved that Maureen had helped falsify the property transfer and that Victor had threatened her.
It also revealed something I hadn't expected.
Maureen had been afraid for Chelsea.
I looked at my stepsister.
“Did you know people were threatening you?”
Chelsea shook her head.
“I knew I owed money. I didn't know Victor was involved.”
“Who did you owe?”
She hesitated.
“People I met through a business partner. I invested in a boutique that failed. Then I borrowed money to cover the losses. Mother found out and offered to help.”
“By stealing from Dad's estate?”
“I didn't know that was what she was doing.”
I wanted to believe her, but I had learned how easily people could turn ignorance into an excuse.
Evelyn closed the evidence folder.
“We still need Daniel Mercer. He can explain the financial records and identify the person who altered the reports.”
Adrian received a call from the detective.
He listened, then turned toward us.
“Victor has agreed to cooperate.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because he believes he can reduce his sentence by giving us someone more important.”
“Who?”
Adrian's expression darkened.
“He says the person who ordered the financial fraud was not him.”
I stared at the recorder.
“Then who was it?”
Adrian looked at me.
“Someone who had authority over my father's company before I took control.”
“Your father?”
“No.”
He paused.
“My father's older brother. Richard Cole.”
The room fell silent.
May you like
Adrian's uncle had died eight years earlier.
And according to the official records, he had never been involved in the company's finances.
