Chapter 6 - The Phone Emily Left Behind)
Daniel called Marcus before entering the basement.
"Claire cleared the room."
"Don't touch anything."
"She's gone."
"Do you know where?"
"No."
Daniel looked at the empty shelves.
Every folder had disappeared.
The portable safe was gone.
Emily's broken laptop was gone.
Even the shelving unit had been moved.
Marcus arrived forty minutes later.
He photographed the room.
"She knows."
"Obviously."
"No. She knows you know enough to be dangerous."
Daniel paced.
"She mentioned a picture. Sophie said Emily was on a phone."
Marcus looked toward the floor.
"Did Emily have an old phone?"
"Several."
"Any stored here?"
"I don't know."
They searched.
Nothing.
At midnight, Daniel checked Sophie's drawings again.
One picture showed the steel door.
Another showed flowers.
Another showed Claire and Victor.
Then Daniel noticed something.
In every drawing of the basement room, Sophie had colored a small blue square near the floor.
A box.
He returned downstairs.
The blue square corresponded to an old electrical access panel.
Marcus removed the screws.
Behind it was a narrow cavity.
Inside lay an old smartphone wrapped in plastic.
Daniel recognized it immediately.
Emily's.
The screen was cracked.
The battery was dead.
But the memory card remained inside.
Marcus took it to his office.
By three in the morning, they recovered most of the data.
Photographs.
Emails.
Voice memos.
And one video.
The date was two days before Emily's death.
Daniel clicked play.
Emily appeared on screen.
She was sitting in the hidden room.
Her hair was tied back.
She looked exhausted.
"If you're watching this, something happened."
Daniel stopped breathing.
Emily continued.
"Victor Whitmore has been moving money through shell charities connected to hospital construction contracts. I found payments tied to inspectors, consultants, and public officials."
Marcus looked at Daniel.
The video continued.
"But that's not why I'm afraid."
Emily glanced toward the door.
"Victor knows I found the records."
She lowered her voice.
"He came here tonight."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Emily continued.
"He offered me money. Then he threatened Daniel."
Daniel's hands shook.
"He said if I exposed him, Daniel would lose everything. He said accidents happen to families that refuse to understand warnings."
Marcus whispered, "Jesus."
Emily looked directly into the camera.
"I've sent copies to someone I trust. If anything happens to me, find Teresa Grant."
Daniel opened his eyes.
Teresa.
The witness from the crash.
Emily continued.
"Teresa worked for Victor. She saw enough to destroy him."
Then Emily said something that changed everything.
"Claire knows."
Daniel felt as if the room tilted.
Emily's face filled the screen.
"Victor's daughter knows what he has done. I don't know if she helped him, but she knows."
The video ended.
Daniel stared at the frozen image of his wife.
Marcus was the first to speak.
"Your fiancee knew before she met you."
Daniel said nothing.
"Daniel."
"She knew who I was."
"Looks that way."
"She came to the foundation gala on purpose."
"Maybe."
"She got close to Sophie."
Marcus did not answer.
Daniel stood.
"I need to get my daughter farther away."
"Agreed."
They moved Sophie and Rachel to a hotel registered under Marcus's company.
Daniel told Claire Sophie had developed a cold.
Claire returned home the next afternoon.
She acted as if nothing had happened.
Daniel met her in the living room.
"Where did you go?"
"My father's."
"Why did you empty the basement?"
Claire removed her coat.
"Because I was tired of watching you destroy yourself."
"You stole Emily's files."
"I removed things that were poisoning this house."
"Where are they?"
"Gone."
Daniel stared at her.
Claire walked toward him.
"Cancel the wedding if you want."
He did not speak.
"Go ahead."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Tell everyone I'm some terrible criminal because my father had business problems with your wife."
Daniel wanted to tell her about the recovered phone.
He did not.
Instead he said, "I don't want to cancel."
Claire's expression changed.
"What?"
"I want to marry you."
For the first time, she looked genuinely surprised.
Daniel forced himself to continue.
"I spent two years trapped in grief. I'm not letting Emily's unfinished investigation destroy the family we built."
Claire stared at him.
Then she began to cry.
She wrapped her arms around him.
Daniel held her.
Over her shoulder, he saw her reflection in the dark television screen.
She was not crying anymore.
She was smiling.
That night, Claire made a phone call from the garden.
She believed Daniel was asleep.
He recorded it from the upstairs window.
"I told you he found the room."
Pause.
"No, he still wants the wedding."
Pause.
"Yes."
Longer pause.
"I'll handle the girl."
Daniel's hand tightened around the phone.
Claire lowered her voice.
"No mistakes this time."
Then she ended the call.
Daniel replayed the recording once.
He immediately called Marcus.
May you like
The wedding was no longer a trap only for Claire.
Now it would be a trap for everyone involved.
