Release Everything
Chapter 03 - Release Everything
Rachel connected Grace's phone to the church's presentation screen. Ethan rushed forward, but one of the investigators stepped between them. The screen brightened, revealing a video Grace had recorded in her home office one week before her death.
She looked tired, yet her voice was steady.
"My name is Grace Bennett Cole. I am recording this because my husband, Ethan, and my assistant, Vanessa Hale, have been altering foundation accounts and preparing documents that would declare me mentally unfit. If I suddenly die, disappear, or lose control of my company, examine every file in the folder marked North Star."
Vanessa covered her mouth. Ethan stared at the screen as if he could silence it by force.
The next files showed bank transfers routed through a consulting company owned by Vanessa. There were emails discussing forged signatures, drafts of a false medical declaration, and a recording from Grace's office. In it, Ethan promised Vanessa that once Grace was gone, they would sell the family estate and move the foundation's remaining money overseas.
Margaret's knees nearly gave way. Daniel caught her before she fell. The congregation sat frozen as Grace's final message continued.
She revealed that she had discovered the scheme after a routine audit. She had not confronted Ethan because she wanted evidence strong enough to protect her mother, her employees, and the families who depended on the foundation. Her collapse occurred the night she planned to meet Rachel and transfer the archive.
Then came the most disturbing detail: Grace's prescribed heart medication had been replaced with harmless look-alike tablets. The substitution had not directly caused her death, according to the preliminary medical review, but it had left her condition untreated. Rachel explained that Grace had secretly submitted one tablet for laboratory testing before she collapsed.
Vanessa suddenly pointed at Ethan. "He changed the pills. I only handled the accounts!"
Ethan turned on her. "You bought the replacements!"
Their alliance shattered in front of everyone.
The investigators separated them and requested that both surrender their phones. Ethan refused. In his struggle to pull away, an envelope slipped from his jacket and landed beside the casket. Daniel picked it up.
It contained a deed transferring Margaret's home to Ethan—and the signature dated two days after Grace's death.
Rachel examined it, then looked toward the officers.
May you like
"Now we have fraud committed after death," she said. "And this funeral is officially a crime scene."
But the final file on Grace's phone held one more secret, and it was addressed only to Margaret.
