Chapter 4
Richard asked Maria to take Sophie upstairs.
This time, his daughter agreed only after Thomas promised to stand outside her door.
When they were gone, Richard locked the library.
Daniel remained beside the desk.
Detective Bennett had taken Vanessa to the station, but two officers stayed behind to search the bedroom and review the security system.
Richard placed both hands on the polished wood.
“Start talking.”
Daniel sat slowly.
“The payment wasn’t for me.”
“You just admitted Catherine gave you two million dollars.”
“She transferred it to an account I controlled. I used the money to establish a protected trust.”
“For whom?”
Daniel looked directly at him.
“For Sophie.”
Richard stared.
“Sophie already has a trust.”
“One you know about.”
Anger flashed through him.
“My wife secretly moved two million dollars into an account controlled by another man.”
“She didn’t trust the people around you.”
“She trusted me.”
“She loved you. That isn’t the same as trusting your environment.”
Richard stepped back as if struck.
Daniel continued.
“At that time, Sterling Biotech was preparing to acquire Meditron Labs.”
Richard remembered the deal.
It had collapsed days after Catherine’s funeral.
“What does that have to do with my wife?”
“Meditron developed the diagnostic software used at Harrington Clinic. The system didn’t merely store Catherine’s altered test results. It made the alteration possible.”
Richard’s thoughts accelerated.
The Meditron acquisition had been championed by his chief financial officer and lifelong friend, Andrew Cole.
Richard had pulled out after Catherine died because he could not function.
Meditron was later purchased by Bellweather Holdings.
Bellweather.
The name on Catherine’s trust records.
“Who owns Bellweather?” Richard asked.
“On paper, several private investors.”
“And in reality?”
“I don’t know. Catherine believed someone inside Sterling Industries was involved.”
Richard went to the windows.
Rain began tapping against the glass.
Andrew had stood beside him at Catherine’s funeral.
He had helped carry the casket.
He had introduced Richard to Vanessa at a charity auction fourteen months later.
The memory stopped him cold.
“Vanessa and I met through Andrew.”
Daniel rose.
“Then you need to call Detective Bennett.”
Richard took out his phone.
Before he could dial, Thomas entered after knocking.
“We found something.”
He placed a tablet on the desk.
“The security archive was altered.”
Richard frowned.
“By whom?”
“Vanessa’s access code was used to delete footage from the second-floor hallway and kitchen. The deletions started eight months ago.”
“That’s when she moved in.”
“Yes. But there’s another problem. Her code didn’t authorize archive deletion.”
“Whose did?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Andrew Cole’s.”
Richard felt the last trace of certainty disappear.
“Andrew doesn’t live here.”
“His executive security credentials give him emergency access to all Sterling properties.”
Richard had approved that arrangement years earlier.
He had trusted Andrew with everything.
“Call him,” Daniel said. “Don’t accuse him. See what he knows.”
Richard dialed.
Andrew answered on the second ring.
“Richard, finally. I’ve been trying to reach you. Vanessa called me in tears.”
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“She’s with the police.”
Silence.
Then Andrew sighed.
“She said you overreacted to a discipline issue.”
“My daughter was eating from a dog bowl.”
“I’m not defending that.”
“You introduced me to Vanessa.”
“I introduced you to half the people at that charity event.”
“You specifically brought her to my table.”
Another pause.
“What is this about?”
Richard watched Thomas.
“Vanessa knew Catherine.”
“That’s impossible.”
“She worked at Harrington Clinic.”
Andrew’s breathing became faintly audible.
“I didn’t know.”
“Someone used your security credentials to erase footage from my home.”
Andrew answered too quickly.
“My credentials were probably duplicated.”
“I didn’t tell you when it happened.”
The line went silent.
Richard’s voice sharpened.
“How did you know it was recent?”
“I assumed.”
“Where are you?”
“At the office.”
Richard looked at Thomas.
Thomas silently checked the location system on his tablet, then shook his head.
Andrew’s company vehicle was not at headquarters.
“Stay there,” Richard said. “I’m coming.”
He ended the call.
“He lied,” Thomas said. “His car is moving north on Route Nine.”
Daniel walked toward the desk.
“What is north?”
Richard pictured the county.
“The old Sterling research facility.”
The facility had been closed for five years.
It sat twelve miles from Harrington Clinic.
Richard called Bennett and explained everything.
She ordered him not to follow Andrew.
He promised he would wait.
Then he looked at Thomas.
“Prepare the car.”
Daniel blocked his path.
“You have a child upstairs who nearly lost both parents.”
“And the person responsible may be destroying evidence.”
“Let the police handle it.”
“The police don’t know that facility.”
“I do.”
Both men looked at him.
Daniel picked up his medical bag.
“Harrington stored overflow patient archives there after Meditron bought the data-management contract. Catherine followed a courier to that building.”
“You went with her?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re coming.”
Richard went upstairs first.
Sophie sat on her bed eating a grilled cheese sandwich while Maria brushed her hair.
A full bowl of tomato soup rested on the bedside table.
When Richard entered, Sophie set down the sandwich.
“Are you going away again?”
He sat beside her.
“Only for a little while.”
Her lower lip trembled.
“You said that before Chicago.”
The accusation was quiet.
It hurt more because it was true.
Richard had believed expensive schools, private tutors, and a beautiful home could compensate for his absence.
He had been building a future while failing to see his daughter’s present.
“I made a mistake,” he said. “A very big one.”
“Because you believed Vanessa?”
“Because I wasn’t here to listen to you.”
Sophie looked down.
“I tried to tell you on the phone.”
His chest tightened.
“When?”
“The night she broke Mommy’s music box. I said I needed to tell you something, but she took the phone.”
Richard remembered that call.
Vanessa had said Sophie was tired and emotional.
He had accepted the explanation.
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No.” He gathered her carefully into his arms. “Never for telling the truth.”
“She said you would send me away if I made you choose.”
Richard held her tighter.
“There is no choice. You are my daughter. You come first.”
“Before work?”
“Yes.”
“Before Vanessa?”
“Always.”
“Before everything?”
“Before everything.”
Sophie studied his face, deciding whether she could believe him.
Finally, she reached beneath her pillow.
“I found this in Mommy’s music box before Vanessa broke it.”
She gave him a small brass key.
A paper label was tied to it with faded string.
On the label was a handwritten number: 317.
Daniel examined it from the doorway.
“I’ve seen keys like that.”
“Where?” Richard asked.
“At the old research facility. The archive lockers.”
Richard closed his fist around the key.
“Which floor?”
“Basement.”
Sophie touched his hand.
“Mommy told me the red book was sleeping where the machines couldn’t hear it.”
Daniel’s face sharpened.
“The basement archive was never connected to Meditron’s electronic system.”
The journal might still be there.
Richard kissed Sophie and made her a promise.
“I’m coming back tonight.”
Thomas assigned four guards to the house.
Then Richard, Daniel, and Thomas drove north through heavy rain.
Detective Bennett called twice, ordering them to stay away from the facility until officers arrived.
Richard agreed to wait at the gate.
But when they reached the property, the gate stood open.
Andrew’s black sedan was parked outside the main building.
Smoke rose behind its windows.
“He’s burning it,” Daniel said.
Thomas stopped the vehicle.
“You both stay here.”
Richard was already opening his door.
The three men ran through the rain.
A side entrance had been forced open.
Inside, the air smelled of smoke and melting plastic.
The main corridor was empty.
A fire alarm flashed silently.
Someone had disabled the sound.
Thomas called emergency services.
Daniel pointed toward a stairwell.
“The archives are below.”
They descended.
Smoke thickened around them.
At the basement landing, Andrew appeared.
His tailored suit was wet.
A red gasoline container hung from one hand.
He stopped when he saw Richard.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Andrew dropped the container.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
Richard stared at the man he had called a brother for twenty-seven years.
“Did you kill Catherine?”
Andrew’s face twisted.
“No.”
“Did Vanessa?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
A metal door slammed somewhere deeper in the basement.
Andrew looked toward the sound.
Richard saw fear in his eyes.
Not fear of the police.
Fear of someone still inside.
“Who else is here?” Richard demanded.
Andrew stepped backward.
May you like
Before he could answer, a gunshot cracked through the corridor.
The bullet struck the wall inches from Richard’s head.
