Chapter 11 - THE DEAD MANLucas had been dead for two years.
That meant someone had been pretending to be him.
Someone had been sending messages.
Someone had been watching me.
The detective showed us the evidence.
A burner phone.
A surveillance notebook.
Photographs of me.
Rachel.
Emily.
Even Daniel.
The dates went back four years.
Long before I ever tried to leave Derek.
I felt sick.
“How long were we being watched?”
The detective answered carefully.
“At least four years.”
Daniel looked at me.
“This goes deeper.”
The notebook contained names.
Some were crossed out.
Some were marked with numbers.
My name had one word beside it.
INHERIT.
Emily's had something else.
KEY.
I stared at it.
“What does that mean?”
No one knew.
Then the detective found a final page.
A handwritten sentence.
She doesn't know what the key opens.
I thought about the brass key.
Vault 15.
My father's recordings.
The trust.
The money.
It all seemed connected.
Then I remembered something.
The fifteen dollars.
I told Daniel.
“The number fifteen.”
He frowned.
“What about it?”
“Derek gave me fifteen dollars.”
“So?”
“My father's vault was 15.”
Rachel looked at me.
“You think that was intentional?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Probably coincidence.”
But I wasn't convinced.
Derek had spent seven years controlling every dollar I touched.
Why fifteen?
Why that night?
Why then?
The detective brought Derek in for questioning.
He requested to speak to me.
Daniel objected.
I agreed.
We sat across from each other through glass.
Derek looked exhausted.
For the first time, I saw fear in his face.
“What do you want?”
“You need to listen carefully.”
“I've listened to you for three years.”
“You've listened to what I told you.”
“That's enough.”
“No.”
He leaned forward.
“Someone is going to come for Emily.”
I stared at him.
“Who?”
“The people behind Mercer.”
“You're one of them.”
“I was.”
My heart stopped.
“You admit it?”
“I did things.”
“What things?”
“Things I thought were necessary.”
“To control me?”
“To protect you.”
I laughed.
“You keep using that word.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
He looked at me.
“I didn't marry you for the money.”
I said nothing.
“I married you because your father asked me to protect you.”
My breath caught.
“What?”
Derek nodded.
“He knew someone wanted you dead.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
He looked down.
“That's the problem.”
“What problem?”
“By the time I realized who the real enemy was, I had already become part of it.”
I leaned closer.
“Who?”
He looked toward the surveillance camera.
Then back at me.
“Your mother.”
My blood froze.
I stood.
“You're lying.”
“She didn't fake her death to protect you.”
“What did she do?”
“She disappeared because she was running.”
“From whom?”
“From the man who controls Mercer.”
“Who?”
Derek looked directly into my eyes.
Then whispered:
“Samuel Reed.”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
“He has been using your family trust for decades.”
“Why?”
“To fund something your father tried to destroy.”
“What?”
Derek's face became expressionless.
“A network.”
“What kind?”
He looked toward the door.
“I can't say.”
“Why?”
“Because they are listening.”
I stared at the glass.
Then I noticed something.
A tiny red light.
A recording device.
Derek saw me notice it.
He smiled.
Then he mouthed:
RUN.
The lights went out.
Someone screamed in the hallway.
A gunshot exploded.
The interview room door burst open.
Derek grabbed my arm.
“Now!”
We ran.
Behind us, alarms screamed.
Rachel pulled Emily into her arms.
Daniel shouted for everyone to get down.
Another shot.
Then silence.
When the emergency lights came on, Samuel Reed stood at the end of the hallway.
He wasn't holding a gun.
He didn't need to.
He looked at me.
Then at Derek.
Then smiled.
May you like
“Anna,” he said calmly.
“I think it's time you learned who your husband was protecting you from.”
