Chapter 5 - What Thomas Left Behind
Daniel arrived in Vermont three hours later.
Emily had not called him.
Rachel had.
When Daniel entered Carol’s kitchen, he looked as though he had not slept.
He ignored everyone else and went directly to Emily.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“The baby?”
“Fine.”
Only then did he notice the envelope on the table.
Rachel gave them space.
Carol followed her into the living room.
Daniel sat opposite Emily.
“You opened it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“It says your name.”
His eyes moved to the handwriting.
“That’s Thomas’s.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Emily pushed the envelope toward him.
Daniel did not touch it immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
She looked at him.
“For what?”
“For asking if you targeted me.”
“You had a reason to wonder.”
“No.”
“You did.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I had a reason to ask questions. I didn’t have a reason to make you feel like four years meant nothing.”
Emily’s throat tightened.
“It didn’t feel like nothing.”
“It looked that way on your face.”
Neither moved.
Finally Daniel picked up the envelope.
The seal opened easily.
Inside were three things.
A USB drive.
A handwritten letter.
And a key.
Daniel unfolded the letter.
Emily watched his eyes move across the page.
“What does it say?”
He did not answer.
“Daniel?”
He handed it to her.
Daniel,
If this reaches you, then either I failed to prove what happened or I am no longer alive to try.
Your father did not steal the Vale predictive logistics system.
Neither did you.
The theft came from inside both companies.
Someone manipulated records to convince me the Carters were responsible. I believed the evidence because I was angry and because it made sense to me at the time.
I was wrong.
By the time I discovered the real source, I had already destroyed our friendship and publicly accused your family.
The person responsible is still close to you.
I stored evidence in a secure location.
The key is enclosed.
Do not trust the digital files alone. They can be altered.
There is a paper ledger.
Find it.
Most importantly, do not tell Victoria until you know everything.
Thomas
Emily looked up slowly.
Daniel had gone motionless.
“Do not tell Victoria,” she repeated.
Daniel took the letter back.
His voice was barely audible.
“He knew.”
“Knew what?”
Daniel looked at the wall as if seeing something years away.
“That Victoria was involved.”
Emily felt the room shrink.
“Maybe he meant not to tell her because she’d panic.”
Daniel gave her a look.
Neither believed that.
They inserted the USB drive into Carol’s old laptop.
It contained folders.
Financial transfers.
Internal emails.
Security logs.
Most files were corrupted.
Some had clearly been modified.
But one folder opened.
Its name was simply V.
Inside were photographs.
Victoria entering a hotel.
Victoria meeting a man Emily did not recognize.
Victoria handing him a folder.
The dates were five years old.
Daniel stared at each image.
“I know him.”
“Who?”
“Martin Kessler.”
Emily waited.
“He was Thomas’s chief financial officer.”
“What happened to him?”
“He disappeared after Thomas resigned.”
“Disappeared?”
“Moved overseas.”
Daniel clicked another file.
A scanned bank transfer appeared.
Three million dollars.
Recipient company: Rook Holdings.
Authorized by: V. Carter.
Emily’s stomach twisted.
“Victoria paid him?”
Daniel did not answer.
He searched the file.
Then another.
A corporate registration document appeared.
Rook Holdings was registered in Delaware.
Beneficial ownership hidden.
Daniel leaned back.
“This could be fake.”
“Thomas said the digital files could be altered.”
“The ledger.”
Emily looked at the key.
A tiny engraved number appeared on one side.
417.
Daniel knew immediately.
“Union Station.”
“What?”
“There are private safe deposit lockers beneath the old terminal. My grandfather used one.”
Emily stared at him.
“You think Thomas hid the ledger there?”
“I think he wanted me to think that.”
Daniel stood.
Rachel reentered.
“You’re going somewhere.”
“Yes.”
“You’re taking Emily?”
“No,” Daniel said.
Emily simultaneously said, “Yes.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You’re staying here.”
She stared back.
“No.”
“You’re eight months pregnant.”
“I was eight months pregnant yesterday when your sister made me carry dinner plates.”
“That isn’t an argument.”
“It is to me.”
Rachel sighed.
“You two are adorable when your marriage is collapsing.”
Neither responded.
Daniel finally exhaled.
“You stay beside me.”
Emily stood.
“Agreed.”
“You do not wander off.”
“I’m not six.”
“Emily.”
“Fine.”
As they headed toward the door, Carol called after them.
“There’s something else.”
Emily turned.
Her mother was holding the original metal box.
“I didn’t tell you because I thought it was nothing.”
She reached beneath a stack of old papers.
There was a photograph.
Emily recognized herself.
Her father stood beside her.
The picture had been taken when she was seventeen.
Behind them was another man.
Richard Carter.
Daniel’s father.
Daniel stared.
“When was this taken?”
Carol looked between them.
“The summer before Emily’s father died.”
Emily felt suddenly unsteady.
“My father knew Richard?”
May you like
Carol’s face showed years of hesitation.
“Your father worked for him.”
