Chapter 3 - HIS FATHER'S LAST WARNING
Arthur barely slept.
At six the next morning, he drove to the old Vance family estate, a property he had avoided since his father's death.
Daniel followed in another car.
Maria stayed at the house with the child.
Arthur had one reason for going back.
His father had left behind a private study that no one had touched.
Inside the desk, Arthur found a locked wooden box.
The key was hidden inside an old clock.
His father's handwriting covered the top.
FOR ARTHUR. OPEN ONLY IF ELENA CANNOT BE TRUSTED.
Arthur's hands went numb.
He opened it.
Inside was a letter.
"My son,
If you are reading this, something has gone wrong. I hope I am dead before you ever need these instructions.
Elena is intelligent, charming, and far more dangerous than she appears. I discovered that she was connected to a group of people who had been moving money through companies with no real business purpose.
I confronted her.
She denied everything.
But I never believed her.
There is one person who knows the truth. His name is Daniel Mercer.
Do not trust anyone who tells you the trust fund belongs to the family business. It was created for your child alone."
Arthur read the letter three times.
Daniel stood silently behind him.
"You knew."
"I knew your father suspected her. I didn't know how far it went."
Arthur looked up.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because your father made me promise to wait until there was proof."
Arthur found another envelope.
Inside were photographs of Elena meeting Victor.
There were dates.
The meetings had continued for years.
One photograph was taken only three weeks before Arthur's wedding.
Arthur felt sick.
Then he noticed something else.
A photograph of a newborn baby.
His son.
On the back was written:
THE CHILD CHANGES EVERYTHING.
Arthur's phone rang.
Maria.
Her voice was shaking.
"Mr. Vance, please come home."
"What happened?"
"I found someone outside the nursery."
"Who?"
"I don't know. But he ran when I saw him."
Arthur and Daniel rushed back.
When they arrived, the front door was open.
The nursery window was broken.
The baby was safe.
Maria was holding him, trembling.
Arthur immediately took his son into his arms.
For several seconds, nothing else mattered.
Then he saw the floor.
A muddy footprint.
And beside it, a small metal object.
A cuff link.
Daniel picked it up.
His face changed.
"What?"
Daniel turned it over.
Engraved on the back were the initials V.H.
Victor Hale.
Arthur clenched his jaw.
"He was here."
Daniel nodded.
"And he wanted you to know it."
Arthur looked at the sleeping child.
The fear inside him hardened into determination.
"Then we stop running."
Daniel shook his head.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because if Victor wanted the police to find this, he would have left fingerprints. He wants you angry. He wants you to make a mistake."
Arthur looked toward the hallway.
"Then we'll make no mistakes."
But none of them noticed Elena standing upstairs.
She had heard everything.
And for the first time since the documents were discovered, she was not crying.
May you like
She was smiling.
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