Chapter 15
William Chen.
I stared at the name in Margaret's journal, my mind reeling.
Sarah Chen's father.
The man who had stood by us during the Vale trial.
Who had defended me against Marcus's loyalists on the board.
Who we had considered a friend.
A murderer.
A conspirator.
The man who had helped Richard Vale kill Alexander's mother.
The man who had killed Margaret Vale to keep his secret.
"We need to get out of here," Alexander said, his voice tight with tension. "Now."
He was right.
If William Chen was as dangerous as Margaret claimed, he might already know we were here.
We gathered the files and hurried out of the house.
As we drove back to Chicago, I called Diane.
I told her everything.
About Detective Mendez.
About Margaret's files.
About William Chen.
Diane was quiet for a long moment when I finished.
"William Chen," she said slowly. "I've heard of him. He's one of the wealthiest men in the Midwest. He made his fortune in manufacturing and real estate. He's got connections everywhere—politics, law enforcement, business. If what Margaret says is true... if he's really a murderer... he's going to be very hard to take down."
"We have the evidence," I said. "Margaret's files. Her journal. Whatever else is in these documents."
"Evidence can be destroyed," Diane said. "Witnesses can be bought or killed. William Chen has had thirty years to cover his tracks. He's not going to go down easily."
She paused.
"And Sarah? What does she know? Is she involved?"
I thought about Sarah.
She had always seemed so sincere.
So honest.
Had she been playing us this whole time?
"I don't know," I said. "But we need to find out. And we need to be careful. If William Chen even suspects that we know about him... he'll come after us. Just like Margaret said."
When we got back to Chicago, we met Diane at Alexander's house.
We spread Margaret's files out across the dining room table.
The evidence was overwhelming.
Letters between Richard Vale and William Chen, discussing Elena Rodriguez and how to "deal with her."
Bank records showing large payments from Richard to William around the time of Elena's death.
Photographs of William meeting with the man who had been Elena's doctor—the man who had signed her death certificate, listing the cause of death as breast cancer.
And in Margaret's journal, detailed accounts of everything she had witnessed.
William Chen had been Richard Vale's right-hand man.
He had helped Richard build his empire.
He had helped him launder money.
He had helped him cover up his crimes.
And when Elena Rodriguez had threatened to expose Richard, threatening to tell the world about Alexander and about Richard's illegal activities, William had volunteered to "take care of the problem."
He had bribed Elena's doctor to poison her.
To make it look like cancer.
He had covered up every detail.
And he had gotten away with it for thirty years.
When Margaret had found out the truth and threatened to expose him, he had killed her too.
Making it look like her cancer had finally taken her.
He was the monster behind the monsters.
The puppet master who had pulled the strings of the Vale family for decades.
"What do we do now?" Alexander asked.
Diane looked at the files, her expression grim.
"We can't go to the police. Not yet. William Chen has too many connections. He might have people in law enforcement. If we tip him off, he'll destroy the evidence. He'll kill us. He'll disappear."
She thought for a moment.
"We need to verify this evidence independently. We need to find witnesses who are still alive. We need to build a case that even William Chen's connections can't destroy. And we need to do it quietly. Without him suspecting anything."
I nodded.
"And Sarah? What about her?"
Diane looked at me.
"We need to find out what she knows. If she's involved... she's just as dangerous as her father. If she's not... she might be our most valuable asset."
The next day was the monthly board meeting.
I sat at the head of the table, my heart pounding as Sarah Chen took her seat.
She smiled at me.
Friendly.
Warm.
Trusting.
Or was it an act?
The meeting proceeded normally.
We discussed quarterly earnings.
We voted on new initiatives.
Sarah was her usual intelligent, insightful self.
She asked good questions.
She made thoughtful suggestions.
If she was involved in her father's crimes, she was an excellent actress.
After the meeting, I asked her to stay behind.
"Sarah, I need to talk to you about something. Something personal."
She looked concerned.
"Of course, Emma. What is it?"
I took a deep breath.
"I know about your father, Sarah. I know what he did. To Elena Rodriguez. To Margaret Vale. To all those people."
Sarah's face went white.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb," I said, though my voice wavered. "I have the evidence. Margaret Vale's files. Her journal. Letters between your father and Richard Vale. Bank records. I know everything."
Sarah stared at me for a long moment.
Then she closed her eyes.
And when she opened them, they were filled with tears.
"You know," she whispered. "Oh my God. You know."
She sat down heavily, her hands shaking.
"I've suspected for years," she said, her voice breaking. "I've had... dreams. Memories. Things I saw when I was a child. Conversations I overheard between my father and Richard Vale. But I never wanted to believe it. He's my father. How could he be... that?"
She looked up at me, her eyes pleading.
"I didn't know for sure, Emma. Not really. I had suspicions. Doubts. But I never had proof. I never had the courage to find out the truth. I'm so sorry. For what he did. For not saying something sooner. For being his daughter."
I studied her face.
I saw pain there.
Shame.
Regret.
And fear.
I believed her.
"I know you didn't know," I said softly. "I can see it in your eyes. And I don't blame you for what your father did. You're not responsible for his crimes."
I sat down beside her.
"But I need your help, Sarah. We need to take him down. Before he hurts anyone else. Before he comes after us."
Sarah wiped the tears from her eyes.
A look of determination replaced the fear.
"Whatever you need. Whatever it takes. He's my father. But he's also a monster. And I won't let him destroy any more lives."
Sarah became our most valuable ally.
She knew her father better than anyone.
She knew his routines.
His habits.
His weaknesses.
She gave us access to his personal files, his emails, his communications.
She helped us identify the people who worked for him, the people who had helped him cover up his crimes for thirty years.
And she helped us find the one witness who could bring him down.
Elena's doctor.
The man William had bribed to poison her and falsify her death certificate.
He was still alive.
Living in a small town in Florida, retired, wealthy from the hush money William had paid him over the years.
Diane and Detective Mendez—who we had decided to trust after carefully vetting him—traveled to Florida to talk to him.
At first, he denied everything.
But when Diane presented him with the evidence—Margaret's files, the bank records, the proof of his involvement—he broke.
He confessed everything.
How William had approached him.
How much he had been paid.
How he had poisoned Elena with a slow-acting toxin that mimicked the symptoms of breast cancer.
How he had falsified her medical records and her death certificate.
How William had threatened to kill his family if he ever told anyone.
He agreed to testify against William.
In exchange for immunity.
We had our witness.
We had our evidence.
We were ready.
But William Chen was no fool.
He must have sensed that something was wrong.
That Sarah was acting differently.
That people were asking questions about the past.
He made his move on a Tuesday morning.
I was in my office, going over the final preparations for William's arrest, when my assistant burst in.
"Ms. Hartwell! You need to see this!"
She turned on the television.
A press conference was being broadcast live.
William Chen stood at a podium, flanked by lawyers.
His face was serious.
Sorrowful.
"Today," he began, his voice carrying through the television speakers, "I come forward with a heavy heart. For years, I have carried a terrible secret. A secret that has destroyed lives and torn families apart."
He paused, appearing to compose himself.
"Thirty years ago, my good friend Richard Vale came to me in a state of desperation. He told me he had accidentally caused the death of a woman named Elena Rodriguez. He was distraught. Terrified. And I made the worst mistake of my life. I helped him cover it up."
The room erupted in questions from reporters.
William held up a hand for silence.
"I am not here to make excuses for what I did. I was wrong. Terribly wrong. And I am ready to face the consequences of my actions. I have already contacted the authorities, and I will be turning myself in to answer for my crime."
He looked directly into the camera.
"But I am also here today to clear the name of an innocent woman. Margaret Vale was not murdered. She died of cancer, as the doctors said. The rumors that she was killed to cover up my secret are simply not true. And the claims that I had anything to do with the death of Eleanor Hartwell... those are lies. Vicious lies spread by people who want to destroy my family and my reputation."
He paused.
"I know that my actions have caused pain to many people. To Elena Rodriguez's family. To her son, Alexander. To Margaret Vale's family. And for that, I am truly sorry. I only hope that one day, they can find it in their hearts to forgive me."
He stepped away from the podium.
His lawyers announced that he would be surrendering to federal authorities that afternoon.
I stared at the television, stunned.
He had beaten us to the punch.
He had confessed to a single crime—the manslaughter of Elena Rodriguez, which he was calling an accident that he helped cover up.
He had denied everything else.
Margaret's murder.
His involvement with the Vales.
His other crimes.
And he had positioned himself as a remorseful man who was finally taking responsibility for his mistakes.
The public would eat it up.
He would get a light sentence.
Maybe five or ten years.
He would be out in no time.
And he would be free to continue his life of crime.
To get his revenge.
"That son of a bitch," Alexander said from the doorway.
He had been watching too.
"He's getting away with it," I whispered.
"Not if we can help it," Diane said, entering the office. "He thinks he's outsmarted us. But he made a mistake. He confessed to covering up Elena's death. That's a start. And we still have the evidence of his other crimes. We still have the doctor's testimony. We can prove that Elena was murdered, not killed accidentally. We can prove that William ordered her death. We can prove that he killed Margaret. And we can make sure he spends the rest of his life in prison."
She looked at us, her eyes fierce.
"He thinks this is over. But it's just beginning. We're going to take William Chen down. For everything."
The battle lines were drawn.
William Chen had made his move.
May you like
Now it was our turn.
And this time, there would be no mercy.
