Chapter 9: The Last Piece of Evidence
“Put the gun down, Victoria.””
Nathaniel stood between us, his hands slightly raised.
Victoria laughed.
“You still think you can give me orders?””
Margaret backed toward the wall.
“Victoria, sweetheart, this isn't necessary.””
Victoria turned toward her.
“Don't call me that.””
Margaret stopped.
The room seemed to shrink around us.
I could hear the ticking of a grandfather clock in the hallway.
Nathaniel spoke carefully.
“Whatever you want, we can discuss it.””
“I want the trust transferred.””
“You already stole the documents.””
“Not the original authorization.””
Nathaniel glanced at the folder in his hand.
Victoria followed his gaze.
“You think those copies mean anything? The original evidence is inside the locket.””
I swallowed.
“Why are you so afraid of what's inside?””
Her eyes moved toward me.
“Because your mother was smarter than she looked.””
I took one cautious step forward.
“Did you know her?””
Victoria's expression changed.
“My grandmother told me everything.””
“Then you know she was murdered.””
Victoria didn't answer.
I continued.
“Was that your family's doing?””
Margaret gasped.
“Rose, don't be ridiculous.””
Victoria looked at her grandmother.
“You should tell her.””
Margaret shook her head.
“No.””
Victoria laughed bitterly.
“You've spent twenty-six years pretending you were protecting me. But you were protecting yourself.””
Nathaniel's eyes narrowed.
“Victoria, what happened to Catherine?””
Victoria lowered the gun slightly.
“Your father discovered the missing money. He was going to expose Adrian and my grandmother. Catherine had copies of everything.””
“Then?””
“Then she died.””
I felt my legs weaken.
“Who killed her?””
Victoria looked toward Margaret.
My grandmother's face had become colorless.
“Grandmother?””
Margaret closed her eyes.
“I never wanted anyone to die.””
Victoria laughed.
“That's not an answer.””
Margaret began trembling.
“Adrian said he would frighten her. He promised he would recover the documents.””
Nathaniel's voice was dangerously quiet.
“What did he do?””
“He arranged the accident.””
The words struck me harder than any physical blow.
I gripped the edge of the table.
My mother hadn't died because of a careless driver.
Someone had arranged her death.
And Margaret had known.
“Why?”” I whispered.
Margaret looked at me.
“Your mother refused to hand over the documents. She said she would give them to Edward.””
“So you killed her?””
“No! I didn't know he was going to—”
Victoria interrupted.
“Enough, Grandmother.””
Margaret stared at her.
“You said it would never come to this.””
Victoria raised the gun again.
“Because you never should have let Eleanor survive.””
Nathaniel moved closer.
“You're admitting you pushed my mother.””
Victoria looked at him.
“I wanted the locket. Eleanor refused to tell me where she'd hidden the second half of the evidence.””
“So you pushed her?””
“She grabbed my wrist. I lost my balance.””
“You pushed her.””
Victoria's eyes flashed.
“Yes!””
The room went silent.
Then she added, “And I would have done it again.””
Nathaniel's expression became terrifyingly calm.
“Marcus is recording this conversation.””
Victoria looked toward the doorway.
Her face changed.
“What?””
I saw her glance toward the hallway.
Nathaniel had deliberately positioned himself between her and the exit.
“Put the gun down.””
She laughed.
“You think a recording will save you?””
“No. But it will help the police understand why they should arrest you.””
Victoria suddenly turned toward me.
“Give me the locket.””
“I don't have it.””
“Don't lie!””
“I told you. You stole it.””
She stepped closer.
Nathaniel moved.
But Margaret suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Victoria's arm.
“Stop this!””
The gun fired.
The sound exploded through the room.
Margaret collapsed.
“Grandmother!””
Victoria stumbled backward.
Nathaniel lunged toward the weapon, but Victoria struck him across the face with the leather case.
He fell against the table.
I ran toward Margaret.
Blood was spreading across her sleeve.
“Mrs. Callaway!””
She grabbed my wrist.
“Listen…”
Her breathing was shallow.
“Your mother… she didn't hide everything in the locket.””
I leaned closer.
“What?””
“Your father… Edward…”
She coughed.
“He knew Victoria would come after you.””
Victoria was moving toward the front door.
Nathaniel struggled to stand.
Marcus and two security officers rushed into the room.
“POLICE! DROP THE WEAPON!””
Victoria froze.
For one second, she looked toward Nathaniel.
Then she threw the gun onto the carpet.
The officers tackled her before she could move.
She screamed as they handcuffed her.
“You have no idea what you're doing! That company belongs to me!””
Nathaniel ignored her.
He was kneeling beside Margaret.
“Call an ambulance!””
Marcus was already on the phone.
I pressed a napkin against Margaret's wound.
“Stay with me.””
Her eyes fluttered.
“Rose…”
“I'm here.””
“Your mother… she left you something.””
“What?””
Margaret reached weakly toward her necklace.
A small gold pendant hung from her chain.
I had never seen it before.
She struggled to remove it.
Inside was a tiny folded piece of paper.
I opened it carefully.
There was a handwritten message.
The truth is not in the money. It is in the children.
Beneath it was a name.
*Samuel Whitmore.*
Nathaniel looked at me.
“Samuel?””
I nodded.
“He said the original document was with Eleanor.””
Margaret shook her head.
“No. Samuel knows where your father hid the original recording.””
Nathaniel leaned closer.
“What recording?””
Margaret looked toward the hallway.
“Edward recorded everything. Every meeting. Every transfer. Every conversation with Adrian.””
“Where is it?””
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
“Your father gave it to Catherine. She hid it before she died.””
I stared at the pendant.
“Where?””
Margaret looked directly at me.
“In the only place nobody would think to search.””
Then her eyes moved toward Nathaniel.
“Your nursery.””
Nathaniel went still.
“My nursery?””
Margaret nodded faintly.
“Behind the wooden horse.””
I looked at Nathaniel.
He looked at me.
We had spent the entire morning searching for documents, keys, and photographs.
And the evidence that could prove everything had been hidden in the room where he had spent his childhood.
Two hours later, Victoria was taken into police custody.
Margaret survived the shooting and was transported to the hospital under police guard.
Nathaniel and I returned to the estate with Marcus.
The old nursery was on the second floor.
The walls were painted pale blue. A wooden rocking horse stood beside a bookshelf.
Nathaniel stared at it.
“I haven't been in here since I was a child.””
He knelt and examined the base.
There was a small metal latch hidden underneath.
Marcus helped him remove the wooden panel.
Inside was a narrow compartment.
A black cassette recorder rested beside a sealed envelope.
Nathaniel lifted both items.
The envelope had two names written on it.
For Nathaniel and Rose.
My heart began racing.
He opened it.
Inside was a letter from Edward.
Nathaniel read the first paragraph aloud.
“My beloved children. If you are reading this, then I have failed to protect your mother and the truth has finally caught up with our family.””
He stopped.
His voice broke.
I took the letter.
The next paragraph explained that Edward had known about the theft, the forged signatures, and the threats against Catherine.
He had gathered evidence against Adrian Cross and Margaret Callaway.
But there was something else.
Something that made my hands shake.
Victoria is not Margaret's biological granddaughter.
I looked at Nathaniel.
“What?””
He continued reading.
She was adopted into the family after her parents died. Her biological father was Adrian Cross.
Nathaniel stared at the page.
I read the next sentence.
And her mother was the woman who helped Adrian arrange Catherine's death.
A sudden noise came from behind us.
Marcus turned toward the doorway.
A uniformed officer stood there.
“Mr. Callaway?””
“Yes?””
“We've just received confirmation from the police department.””
Nathaniel folded the letter.
“What confirmation?””
The officer looked uncomfortable.
“Adrian Cross was found dead in his apartment this morning.””
I felt cold.
“How?””
The officer glanced at the cassette recorder.
“Before he died, he sent a message to the police. He claimed that he was being blackmailed by someone inside the Callaway family.””
Nathaniel looked at the letter again.
“Who?””
The officer hesitated.
Then he answered.
“Your wife, sir.””
I stared at the nursery door.
Victoria had been arrested.
Adrian was dead.
Margaret was in the hospital.
And the woman who had organized everything might still be free.
Nathaniel pressed the recorder's power button.
A man's voice crackled through the old speaker.
Edward Callaway.
“If anyone is listening to this, then I need you to understand one thing…”
There was a long pause.
Then his voice returned.
“Margaret did not act alone. The person who helped her was someone I trusted with my own life.””
Nathaniel looked at me.
The recording continued.
“And that person is…”
The tape suddenly clicked.
The machine stopped.
Marcus stared at it.
“Sir, there's another cassette.””
He reached into the compartment and pulled out a second recording.
This one had a date written on the label.
The day before Edward Callaway died.
Nathaniel pressed play.
A woman's voice filled the nursery.
Eleanor's voice.
“Edward, I know what Margaret did. But there's something you don't know about your daughter.””
Then a man's voice answered.
“Which daughter?””
Eleanor whispered:
“Rose isn't the only child Catherine gave birth to.””
I turned toward Nathaniel.
My entire body went cold.
May you like
Because the woman who had saved Eleanor's life had just discovered that even the truth about her own birth was incomplete.
And the final recording was about to reveal why.
