Chapter 4 - Arthur stared at the photograph until the screen blurred.The girl looked about seven.
Dark hair.
Pale face.
Large frightened eyes.
But there was something else.
A tiny scar above her eyebrow.
Arthur remembered it.
Not from a photograph.
From a dream.
For years, he had experienced recurring memories of holding a baby girl.
Isabella had always told him they were grief hallucinations.
He had believed her.
Now he wasn't sure what was real.
“Where is she?”
The police officer took the phone.
“We'll trace the number.”
Arthur shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed to the photograph.
“Whoever sent this wants me to know she's alive.”
The waitress looked closely.
“Wait.”
Arthur turned.
“What?”
She pointed toward the background.
“Look at that.”
Behind the girl was a wallpaper pattern.
Blue flowers.
Arthur recognized it immediately.
“The old lake house.”
The officer looked confused.
“What lake house?”
Arthur didn't answer.
He was already walking.
The old Vale lake house had been abandoned for years.
It sat nearly two hours outside the city.
Arthur had never brought Isabella there.
At least, he thought he hadn't.
Isabella suddenly stood.
“Arthur, don't go.”
He turned.
“You know it.”
“I know what?”
“You know where she is.”
Isabella's voice trembled.
“I don't.”
Arthur moved toward her.
“Then why are you afraid?”
She backed away.
“Because you don't understand what happened.”
“Explain it.”
“It started before Ethan was born.”
Arthur stopped.
Before Ethan.
That meant years of lies.
He signaled the officer.
“Take her into custody.”
Isabella's eyes widened.
“You can't!”
The officer approached.
She suddenly screamed,
“Arthur!”
He ignored her.
Then she said the words that stopped him.
“Emily wasn't supposed to survive.”
Arthur slowly turned.
“What?”
Isabella's voice cracked.
“We were told she was dead.”
Arthur stepped toward her.
“Who told you?”
She looked at the ground.
“A doctor.”
“Which doctor?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear.”
She cried harder.
“After Emily was born, someone came to me and said she had a condition.”
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
“What condition?”
“She was sick.”
“Where was I?”
“On a business trip.”
“When I came back, you said the baby died.”
“I believed she died.”
Arthur stared.
“And then?”
Isabella couldn't answer.
The officer pulled her toward the door.
She fought against him.
“Arthur, please!”
He didn't move.
“Tell me the truth.”
She looked at him.
“Someone paid the doctor.”
Arthur's face went cold.
“Who?”
Isabella whispered,
“Your father.”
Arthur froze.
“My father has been dead for twelve years.”
“I know.”
“Then why would you say that?”
“Because the money came from his old private account.”
The officer released Isabella for a moment.
Arthur's mind raced.
His father had died before Ethan was born.
Could his father have been hiding something?
The waitress interrupted.
“Arthur.”
He turned.
She held a second envelope.
“I found this underneath the floor panel.”
He took it.
No return address.
Inside was one sentence:
YOUR FATHER DIDN'T ORDER EMILY'S DEATH. HE ORDERED HER PROTECTION.
Arthur stared at the message.
Then another photograph slipped out.
This one showed Emily inside the old lake house.
Standing beside a man.
Arthur recognized him.
His father's former attorney.
Daniel Mercer.
Dead for eight years.
Arthur looked up.
“That man died before Emily disappeared.”
The waitress looked at the photograph again.
“So why is he standing beside her?”
A sound came from the kitchen.
Something hit the floor.
Everyone turned.
A shadow moved behind the doorway.
The officer drew his weapon.
“Police!”
The shadow ran.
Two guards chased after him.
A door slammed.
Arthur followed.
The intruder escaped through the service entrance.
But on the floor lay a leather folder.
Arthur picked it up.
Inside was one document.
A private trust agreement.
Beneficiary:
EMILY VALE.
Trust value:
$18,400,000.
Arthur looked toward the mansion.
Then at Isabella.
His wife had not merely hidden a child.
May you like
She had been hiding a fortune.
And somewhere outside, the person protecting Emily was still watching.
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