Chapter 8 - THE SECURITY CHIEF'S CONFESSION|
Victor arrived at the estate that evening expecting to give Adrian an update about the missing files.
Instead, he found Adrian waiting in the study with the photograph from Maine.
I stood beside the fireplace.
Victor saw the image and stopped.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Adrian said, "Tell me about the fire."
Victor closed the door.
"I wondered when you would find out."
"That's not an answer."
Victor removed his jacket and placed it over a chair.
Twenty-five years earlier, he had worked as a junior security officer for Richard Cole. He had been assigned to monitor a warehouse where confidential shipping records were stored.
One night, a fire broke out.
A worker died.
Several boxes of financial documents disappeared.
Victor had reported that the fire was an accident.
It had not been.
"Who started it?" Adrian asked.
Victor looked at me.
"Your mother discovered that the warehouse was being used to hide evidence of financial crimes. She told Richard she intended to report it."
"Then why was she killed?"
"Because someone else learned what she knew."
Victor explained that he had been ordered to follow my mother on the night she died. He claimed he had been instructed to protect her, not harm her.
He had watched her leave a meeting and followed her car through the rain.
Then another vehicle appeared behind them.
The crash happened minutes later.
Victor stopped.
"What happened next?" I demanded.
"I called for an ambulance."
"Did you see who was driving the other car?"
He hesitated.
"Yes."
"Who?"
Victor looked at Adrian.
"Your father's younger brother."
Adrian went completely still.
He had never known Richard had a brother.
"Name."
"Michael Cole."
Adrian's face hardened.
"He's been dead for twenty years."
"That's what the records say."
"Where is he now?"
Victor shook his head.
"I don't know."
Adrian stepped closer.
"You watched a woman die, concealed the truth, and worked for me for years without telling me."
"I was afraid."
"So was she."
Victor lowered his eyes.
"I know."
The admission did not soften Adrian's anger.
"Why did you keep the photograph?"
"Because I thought one day someone would need proof that I had been there."
Adrian looked at the image.
"And why did you allow Vanessa access to the files?"
Victor's expression changed.
"I didn't."
"The access log says otherwise."
"Someone cloned my credentials."
"Who?"
Victor hesitated.
Then he named Adrian's personal assistant, Daniel Price.
Daniel had worked for the Cole family for eleven years. He managed correspondence, coordinated appointments, and maintained access to confidential records.
Adrian had trusted him with almost everything.
"Where is Daniel now?" Adrian asked.
"At the estate."
"Bring him here."
Victor left.
I remained beside the fireplace, trying to absorb what I had heard.
My mother's death had been connected to a family feud, a warehouse fire, and a man whose existence I had never known.
I turned toward Adrian.
"Did your father know?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think he ordered the fire?"
Adrian looked at me.
"I think he knew something terrible had happened, and he chose not to ask enough questions."
That answer was more honest than any reassurance he could have offered.
The study door opened.
Victor returned alone.
"Daniel's gone."
Adrian's expression became deadly calm.
"When?"
"Twenty minutes ago. He left through the service entrance and took a company vehicle."
Adrian reached for his phone.
"Find him."
Victor nodded.
Then the security chief hesitated.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Daniel wasn't acting alone. We found a second access card hidden in his desk. It belongs to Vanessa."
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
"Bring her down."
Vanessa arrived under escort.
She looked composed until she saw the photograph of Victor.
Then she went pale.
"You knew about the fire," I said.
She turned toward me.
"Of course I did."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Explain."
Vanessa laughed nervously.
"My father told me years ago that the Cole family had buried a scandal. I never knew all the details."
"Then why did you search Nora's files?"
"Because I was told she possessed something valuable."
"What?"
Vanessa looked at me.
"Your grandmother's letters."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Who told you?"
She hesitated.
Then she whispered, "Michael Cole."
Adrian stared at her.
"Michael is dead."
Vanessa shook her head.
"That's what everyone believes."
Before anyone could speak, every light in the study went out.
A gunshot echoed from the hallway.
Victor shouted for everyone to get down.
May you like
When the emergency lights came on, Vanessa was gone.
And beside the open window lay a single white envelope bearing my name.
