Chapter 5: The Secret Buried Six Years Ago
The envelope sat on the desk for almost a full minute.
Nobody touched it.
Not because we didn’t want answers.
Because we were afraid of what those answers would cost us.
Emma was still asleep in the car outside with Sarah watching over her. Derek had insisted she stay away from the rescue station until we understood what was happening.
I stared at the envelope Richard left behind.
“He wanted you to find this,” Derek said.
I nodded.
“That means he wanted a reaction.””
Sarah looked at the door.
“Or he wanted to scare you.””
I picked up the envelope.
The paper felt heavier than it should have.
Inside was a single photograph.
I looked at it.
Then my entire body froze.
It was a picture of me.
Six years earlier.
I was standing outside a hospital.
Holding a tiny baby carrier.
Emma.
The memory came rushing back.
The happiest day of my life.
The day I became a father.
But there was something written on the back of the photograph.
A sentence.
“He knows the truth about what happened that night.””
My heart started beating faster.
“What truth?”” Derek asked.
I turned the picture around.
“I don’t know.””
Sarah looked confused.
“James, what happened six years ago?””
I looked at the photograph again.
For years, I had buried that night deep in my mind.
Because it was the night everything changed.
Emma’s mother, Rachel, had died shortly after giving birth.
The official story was complications.
An accident nobody could have prevented.
But now Richard was suggesting there was something else.
Something hidden.
I sat down.
“I was told Rachel had a medical emergency.””
Derek frowned.
“Are you saying you don’t know everything?””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Sarah looked at the documents on the desk.
“Maybe Martin wasn’t trying to take Emma because of you.””
I looked at her.
“What do you mean?””
“Maybe he was trying to control the story.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
The story.
The one Martin had been building.
The one where he was the hero.
The one where I was the danger.
I grabbed the phone and called Rachel’s old lawyer.
An hour later, we were sitting in his office.
His name was Thomas.
He was older now, with gray hair and tired eyes.
When he saw the documents, his expression changed.
“Where did you get these?””
“Martin’s office.””
Thomas slowly removed his glasses.
“I was afraid this would happen.””
My chest tightened.
“You knew?””
He looked down.
“I suspected.””
Derek leaned forward.
“Suspected what?””
Thomas opened a locked drawer.
Inside was a file.
“I kept this because Rachel asked me to.””
My hands stopped moving.
“Rachel?””
Thomas nodded.
“She came to me weeks before she died.””
The room went silent.
“Why?””
Thomas looked at me.
“Because she was afraid someone was trying to take Emma away.””
I couldn’t breathe.
“Who?””
Thomas opened the file.
The first page had one name.
Martin.
My eyes widened.
“Rachel knew about him?””
“She knew Martin and Richard were working together.””
Derek looked at me.
“James…”
Thomas continued.
“Rachel discovered financial records showing money being moved through the rescue station. She believed they were using the organization for something illegal.””
My mind raced.
“Why didn’t she tell me?””
Thomas hesitated.
“She tried.””
The words hit me.
“What?””
“She called you that night.””
I looked at him.
“No. She didn’t.””
Thomas opened another document.
A phone record.
A missed call.
My number.
The date was the night she died.
My hands trembled.
“I was driving home that night.””
Thomas nodded.
“You didn’t answer.””
I closed my eyes.
I remembered.
The dead phone battery.
The long drive.
The hospital call.
I had always blamed myself for not being there sooner.
But now I realized something.
Someone had wanted me to miss that call.
Derek stood.
“Who?””
Thomas looked toward the window.
“Rachel wrote down one final message before she died.””
He handed me a piece of paper.
My fingers shook as I opened it.
Three words were written.
“Trust no one.””
I looked up.
“Who else saw this?””
Thomas didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
May you like
The fear on his face told me everything.
Someone had already found him.
