Chapter 9 - The House That Was Supposed to Burn
The Bell house stood at the edge of a wooded road.
Nora had expected ruins.
Instead, the house was intact.
Old.
Weathered.
But untouched.
Julian unlocked the door.
Inside were photographs covering the walls.
Nora walked slowly through the hallway.
She saw Daniel as a young man.
His brother.
Eleanor.
Her mother.
And Charles.
The four of them had once been friends.
Nora stopped at one photograph.
Charles was laughing.
Her father looked genuinely happy.
It was difficult to recognize him.
Daniel stood beside her.
People change.
Nora whispered.
Sometimes.
Sometimes they only reveal themselves.
Nora looked at him.
Did my father always hate Julian?
No.
He feared him.
Why?
Because Julian carries the Bell name.
And what does that mean?
Daniel hesitated.
It means Charles knows what happened to my brother.
Nora's heart sank.
Her husband may have spent years searching for answers about his family.
But now she realized something.
Her father had known those answers all along.
Julian entered the room carrying a box.
We found this behind the fireplace.
He opened it.
Inside were old documents.
Nora recognized the Montgomery crest.
One document had Eleanor's signature.
Another had Charles's.
A third had no name.
Only a fingerprint.
David examined it.
This is government property.
Nora looked at him.
How did my father get it?
He didn't.
Daniel answered.
Someone gave it to him.
Who?
Daniel pointed to the unsigned document.
The person who created it.
Nora unfolded it.
It contained a list of names.
Thirty names.
The same thirty veterans who had entered her wedding.
Nora looked at David.
Why are their names here?
David answered.
Because twenty years ago, they were all part of the same operation.
What operation?
We were ordered to investigate Montgomery Holdings.
Nora's face went pale.
But the investigation disappeared.
Yes.
Why?
David looked toward the window.
Because someone inside the government shut it down.
Nora stared at the list.
One name was circled.
David Bell.
Another was crossed out.
Daniel Bell.
And one name had been written recently.
Julian Vance.
Nora whispered.
Who added Julian's name?
No one answered.
Then the telephone in the hallway rang.
Everyone froze.
The house had no active phone line.
It rang again.
David walked toward it.
Nora followed.
David lifted the receiver.
A woman's voice spoke.
Bring Nora to the old station.
Alone.
David's eyes hardened.
Who are you?
The woman answered.
May you like
Someone who has been waiting for her father to die.
Then the line went dead.
