Chapter 19 - The Woman Who Knew Everything|
The woman in the photograph was named Patricia Shaw.
She had worked for Margaret Calloway for nearly twenty years before disappearing after a fire at her apartment. The family had been told she died in the blaze, but no body had ever been identified.
Investigators located a recent bank account connected to Patricia and traced it to a small property in New Hampshire.
Anna insisted on being present for the meeting, but Rachel reminded her that the investigation was not a personal expedition.
“You can be involved without placing yourself in unnecessary danger,” Rachel said.
Anna agreed to attend only after investigators confirmed the meeting would take place at a secure public location.
Patricia arrived wearing a gray coat and carrying a canvas bag. She looked older than the photographs, but her eyes were sharp.
She sat across from Anna and immediately said, “You look like Elena.”
Anna folded her hands.
“Why did you help Victor?”
Patricia shook her head.
“I didn't help him. I gave him the envelope because he threatened my daughter.”
“Where is your daughter?”
“Safe. I hope.”
The answer chilled Anna.
Patricia explained that Margaret Calloway had discovered Victor's financial crimes years before the warehouse fire. She had tried to persuade Edward to remove him from the organization, but Edward hesitated because Victor controlled too many of the family's business relationships.
Margaret then began collecting evidence independently.
“She knew she might be watched,” Patricia said. “She made copies of everything and hid them in different places.”
“Did she know about my mother?”
“Yes. She knew Elena survived the accident. She helped arrange the money that allowed her to live under another name.”
Anna felt a surge of anger.
“Then why didn't she tell me?”
“Because she believed Victor would use you to force Elena into silence. Margaret wanted to protect you, but she also wanted to protect Daniel. She was afraid that if the family collapsed, he would be destroyed with it.”
“Everyone was protecting someone,” Anna said. “Nobody thought to ask what I wanted.”
Patricia nodded.
“Margaret knew that was wrong. She wrote you a letter before she died.”
She removed a sealed envelope from her bag.
Anna recognized the handwriting from the will.
Inside was a short letter.
Anna, I cannot undo the choices this family made. I can only tell you that I knew who you were, and I watched from a distance because I was afraid. Fear became my excuse for silence. Please don't make the same mistake.
The final ledger is not with Edward, Victor, or Daniel. It is with the person who has spent years pretending to be dead.
Anna looked up.
“Patricia?”
Patricia shook her head.
“Not me.”
“Then who?”
Patricia's face tightened.
“Michael Avery was never the only person who survived the warehouse fire.”
Anna felt the room go cold.
“The unidentified man?”
“Yes. He was a bookkeeper named Samuel Price. He had been preparing to testify against Victor. Catherine helped him escape before the fire, but someone later told the family he had died.”
“Where is he now?”
“I don't know. Margaret believed he was living under a different name, somewhere in the Midwest.”
“Why would he have the ledger?”
“Because he was the one who compiled it.”
Rachel took the letter and asked Patricia to provide a formal statement. Investigators would verify her claims before acting on them.
Before the meeting ended, Patricia turned toward Anna.
“There's one more thing. Victor didn't go to the airfield to escape.”
“Then why?”
“To meet someone.”
“Who?”
Patricia hesitated.
“Someone who promised him a safe return to Chicago.”
Anna's phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
The family has been looking in the wrong place. Samuel Price is closer than you think.
Attached was a photograph of a man standing outside a Chicago hospital.
Anna recognized the face from the damaged warehouse picture.
May you like
Samuel Price was alive.
And he was looking directly at the camera.
