Chapter 14 - The Last EnemyThe caller gave me an address.
An old office building downtown.
I went alone.
Inside, I found a man sitting beside a window.
He looked familiar.
Then I realized.
He was in the photograph with Dad.
Victor Hale.
“You survived.”
He smiled.
“So did you.”
“Why did you call me?”
“Because your father never trusted the courts.”
“What did he trust?”
“Exposure.”
Victor explained that Northbridge had been involved in crimes far beyond financial fraud.
Money laundering.
Bribery.
Blackmail.
He had documented everything because he knew the company would eventually turn on itself.
“Then why didn't he release it?”
“Because he was killed before he could.”
I stared at him.
“By Mom?”
“Indirectly.”
“What does that mean?”
“She gave Steve the order. But someone else carried it out.”
“Who?”
Victor looked at me.
“Harold.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He killed your father.”
I refused to believe it.
“Why?”
“Because your father planned to sacrifice you.”
“What?”
“Your father knew the company was collapsing. He knew investigators were closing in. The only way to protect himself was to transfer everything into your name.”
“So I would take the blame.”
Victor nodded.
I felt sick.
“That's why the trust exists.”
“Yes.”
“He made me the shield.”
“And your mother tried to steal the shield.”
I sat down.
Everything I believed about Dad was falling apart.
He hadn't been a hero.
He had been playing the same game.
He just played it for my benefit.
Or so I wanted to believe.
“What about Lucy?”
“She was never part of the original plan.”
“And the four million?”
Victor smiled.
“Insurance.”
“For what?”
“Her silence.”
I stood.
“Who paid her?”
He handed me another document.
The transfer came from an account belonging to…
Me.
My own trust.
I stared.
“Someone used my account.”
Victor nodded.
“The money was moved before the arrest.”
“By who?”
“Your mother.”
“But she couldn't access it without authorization.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“She could.”
I felt a chill.
“Because she still has the original trustee key.”
I stared at him.
“Where?”
Victor leaned forward.
“Inside your house.”
I rushed home.
Daniel was waiting outside.
“What's wrong?”
“Mom left something here.”
We searched everything.
Drawers.
Cabinets.
Bookshelves.
Nothing.
Then I remembered Dad's letter.
The library.
The third floorboard.
But we had already searched it.
I looked again.
This time I noticed a tiny groove in the wood.
I pressed it.
The floor opened.
Inside was a metal key.
Attached to it was a note.
The trustee who holds this key controls everything.
I looked at Daniel.
“Mom has the power to take everything back.”
A noise came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
We froze.
Someone was in the house.
Daniel whispered:
“Who?”
I held the key tightly.
Then a woman's voice called from the second floor.
May you like
“Jenny?”
My mother.
