Chapter 7 - The Red Folder
Julian did not rise from Evelyn’s chair.
He looked at Vanessa as though she were a stranger who had entered the wrong room.
“You should not be here,” he said.
Vanessa placed the red folder on the table.
“You created the trust document six months ago.”
“That is a lie.”
“You told me it was an emergency succession plan.”
One of the investigators introduced himself as Special Agent Warren Blake. He asked the board members to remain seated while he collected the document Julian had presented.
Julian’s attorney objected.
Agent Blake placed it in an evidence sleeve.
Vanessa opened the folder. Inside were invoices from a private document restoration company, payments to a retired notary, and drafts of the trust agreement saved under different dates.
“The paper came from an unused box of Charles Mercer’s stationery,” Vanessa said. “The signature was copied from a genuine trust document.”
Clarissa studied Julian’s face.
At the hospital, he had panicked when he saw Evelyn’s key. At Larkspur Station, he had tried to frighten Clarissa with her father’s past. Now, faced with the collapse of his final claim, he displayed only contempt.
“You signed the invoices,” he told Vanessa.
“Because you said they were for an anniversary archive.”
“You approved the payment.”
“And now I have given the records to the investigators.”
Julian’s smile returned. “You think cooperation will save you?”
“No,” Vanessa said. “I think the truth might save someone else from becoming me.”
The investigators asked Julian to accompany them for questioning.
He was not arrested. Not yet.
As he left, he stopped beside Clarissa.
“Vanessa will turn on you the moment she is offered enough money.”
“She learned that from you.”
“You still don’t understand my mother. She did not give you control because she loved you.”
Clarissa held his gaze.
“She gave it to me because she knew I would stop you.”
“That is what she wanted you to believe.”
He leaned closer.
“Ask yourself why your father’s watch contained the key. Ask why Daniel never used the evidence. Ask why he allowed you to grow up believing he was a failure.”
Clarissa’s confidence wavered.
Julian noticed.
“He knew the truth would hurt you more than the lie.”
Agent Blake led him away.
The board voted again. With the false trust removed, Evelyn’s codicil took effect. Clarissa became temporary chair and trustee of the Mercer Family Trust pending court confirmation.
It should have felt like victory.
Instead, Julian’s words followed her into Evelyn’s office.
Why did Daniel never use the evidence?
Thomas joined her near the windows.
“Your father contacted me before he died,” he said.
Clarissa turned. “You knew him?”
“Only through letters. I was a junior accountant then. He asked me to watch the foundation accounts if Julian ever entered the company.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Evelyn asked me not to. She said Daniel wanted you kept outside the conflict.”
“Everyone keeps saying they protected me by lying.”
Thomas lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Clarissa walked to Evelyn’s desk.
The drawers had been emptied for the investigation, but one object remained: a framed photograph of the first Mercer housing development. Evelyn stood beside Daniel and Charles during the opening ceremony.
Daniel was smiling.
Charles looked toward the camera.
Evelyn was looking at Daniel.
Miriam entered carrying the red folder.
“The investigators found references to Aster in Julian’s files,” she said.
“What is it?”
“They do not know. The encrypted drive is missing.”
“Vanessa said Julian carried it.”
“He did. But it was not on him when he left.”
Clarissa remembered the hospital.
Vanessa had moved toward the door before Julian ordered her to stay. She had been close to his coat.
“Vanessa,” Clarissa said.
They found her in a small interview room.
When Clarissa mentioned Aster, Vanessa’s face became guarded.
“You took Julian’s drive at the hospital,” Clarissa said.
“No.”
“You were standing beside his coat.”
“I gave the investigators everything I had.”
“Everything you wanted them to have.”
Vanessa looked toward the observation window.
Clarissa closed the door.
“What is on the drive?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why hide it?”
“Because Evelyn told me not to give it to Julian, the police, or you.”
Clarissa stared at her.
“When did Evelyn tell you that?”
“The night she came to my apartment.”
Vanessa reached beneath the lining of her coat and removed a black encrypted drive.
“She said there was only one person who could open it.”
“Who?”
Vanessa placed the drive in Clarissa’s palm.
“Daniel Vale.”
“My father has been dead for fifteen years.”
“I told her that.”
“What did Evelyn say?”
May you like
Vanessa’s voice dropped.
“She said, ‘Then Clarissa will have to find the person who taught him the password.’”
