Chapter 4 - The Man Who Testified Against MeRichard Vale sat in Evelyn's conference room with his hands folded on the table.
He looked older than I remembered. Three years ago, he had appeared before the jury in a perfectly tailored suit and described me as a greedy young man who had betrayed his father's trust.
Now his collar was stained with sweat.
“Tell me what happened,” I demanded.
Vale glanced at Evelyn.
“Your father discovered the transfers in February. He confronted Reagan, and she told him the problem was already being handled. Then he disappeared from the company's daily operations.”
“You testified that I stole the money.”
“I know.”
“You looked straight at me and told twelve strangers I was guilty.”
“I know.”
“Then give me one good reason not to break your jaw.”
Vale didn't flinch.
“Because your father is still alive.”
The room fell silent.
He slid the photograph across the table. My father sat in a hospital bed, pale and exhausted, with an oxygen tube beneath his nose. A newspaper rested beside him.
Its headline announced my father's death.
The picture had been taken four days after the public funeral.
“How is that possible?” I asked.
“Camden arranged a plan with a doctor he trusted. He believed someone was trying to poison him, and he wanted to disappear long enough to identify the people behind the fraud.”
“Why didn't he come to me?”
“Because you had already been arrested. By the time he learned you were going to trial, Reagan had convinced everyone that he was too ill to communicate. Then she made sure he couldn't.”
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
“Where is he now?”
“I don't know his current location. He was moved between private medical facilities under an assumed name. The last place I saw him was Briarwood Recovery Center.”
“Recovery from what?”
Vale swallowed.
“A stroke. Possibly from the medication they were giving him.”
My hands curled into fists.
“Who authorized the medication?”
“Reagan's personal physician.”
For a moment, I could barely breathe. The woman who had smiled at me from the doorway had stolen my home, destroyed my reputation, and possibly kept my father imprisoned while I mourned a man who hadn't even been allowed to say goodbye.
“Why are you helping us?” Evelyn asked.
Vale stared at the table.
“Because Reagan is preparing to sell Dennis Enterprises. The deal closes in nine days. Once it goes through, she'll move the money offshore, and whatever evidence remains will disappear.”
He reached into his briefcase and placed a small memory card beside the photograph.
“I copied a list of the transactions before they fired me. It contains the names of everyone who received money from the shell companies.”
“Why should we trust you?” I asked.
“You shouldn't. Verify everything.”
Evelyn took the card.
Before she could inspect it, my phone vibrated. I had replaced the SIM card, but I'd kept the phone itself.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
COME HOME, FINNLEY. ALONE. I HAVE SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO YOU.
It included a photograph of the Dennis mansion.
Carter stood on the front steps, holding my mother's music box.
Beside him was a handwritten sign.
BRING THE KEY. OR DAD'S SECRET DIES WITH ME.
I showed Evelyn.
She immediately shook her head.
“It's a trap.”
“Probably.”
“Finnley, they shot Silas. They may have killed him.”
“I know.”
“You cannot walk into that house.”
I slipped the brass key into my pocket.
“I'm not going there to talk.”
Vale stood abruptly.
“If you go, you'll never get out.”
I looked him in the eye.
“Three years ago, they sent me into a prison cell expecting me to disappear quietly. I'm done disappearing.”
I left before Evelyn could stop me.
But I never reached the mansion.
Halfway there, a black SUV blocked the road.
Two men stepped out.
The first punched me in the stomach before I could move. The second twisted my arms behind my back and forced me against the vehicle.
A familiar voice spoke from the darkness.
“Still making terrible decisions, little brother?”
Carter emerged from the passenger seat, holding my father's photograph.
May you like
He smiled.
“Let's go for a drive.”
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