Chapter 7 - The Grave That Had Never Been Empty)
Arthur's mother, Eleanor Blackwood, died when he was sixteen.
Daniel was twenty.
Her grave stood in a private family cemetery behind St. Matthew's Chapel.
Arthur hadn't visited in years.
By dusk, he, Samuel, Grace, Helen, Maya, and Noah stood beneath the old oak trees surrounding the cemetery.
Grace pointed toward Eleanor's stone.
"Daniel told me if everything failed, the truth would be with his mother."
Arthur crouched near the base.
Nothing.
No visible compartment.
No loose stones.
No markings.
Noah walked around the grave.
"What did your mom like?"
Arthur looked at him.
"What?"
"If Dad hid something for her, maybe he put it somewhere she liked."
Arthur glanced at the headstone.
Engraved beneath Eleanor's name was a line he had forgotten.
SHE ALWAYS FOLLOWED THE NORTH STAR.
Daniel had chosen the inscription.
Arthur looked north.
Behind the grave stood a smaller stone marker shaped like a star.
He pulled it.
The top came loose.
Inside was a waterproof metal cylinder.
Grace exhaled.
Arthur opened it.
There was a memory card.
And a letter in Daniel's handwriting.
Arthur,
If you're reading this, then I failed.
I know you're going to be angry.
Good.
Stay angry long enough to finish what I couldn't.
Do not trust Father.
Do not trust Vale.
And whatever happens, do not let them turn you against Caroline.
She knows where the original records are.
Arthur stared at the line.
"Daniel knew Vale."
Samuel read over his shoulder.
"He named him."
Arthur continued.
If Caroline disappears, find her before you believe she's dead.
She made one copy of everything.
The last line was underlined.
THE WEXLER HOUSE NEVER BURNED.
Grace whispered, "That's impossible."
Arthur looked at her.
"What?"
"The Wexler family home burned before Caroline met Daniel."
Samuel turned.
"Maybe he didn't mean the literal house."
The memory card contained a video.
Caroline appeared on screen.
She looked pale.
Bruised.
A hospital bracelet encircled her wrist.
The recording had been made after Daniel's crash.
Maya moved closer.
"That's her."
Grace nodded through tears.
"Yes."
Caroline looked into the camera.
"My name is Caroline Wexler Blackwood. Daniel is dead."
She stopped to breathe.
"If anyone finds this, my children are alive."
Maya began crying.
Arthur put an arm around her.
Caroline continued.
"Charles Blackwood knew Daniel was investigating Project Orphan. Richard Vale ordered Daniel's surveillance."
Arthur's jaw clenched.
"Victoria Hale assisted Vale."
Hale.
Victoria's maiden name.
"Victoria copied Daniel's files and placed a tracker on our car."
Grace covered her mouth.
"She denied it."
"Of course she did," Samuel whispered.
Caroline continued.
"I don't know whether they caused the crash. But after I woke at St. Agnes, Victoria came into my room."
Arthur felt sick.
"She told me Arthur had ordered the children killed."
Arthur closed his eyes.
Maya looked at him.
He forced himself to remain composed.
Caroline's voice cracked.
"I believed her for eleven minutes."
She looked directly at the camera.
"Then Victoria made a mistake."
Caroline lifted a phone.
"She received a call."
The audio changed.
A man's voice played.
Richard Vale.
Arthur recognized it instantly.
"Did she sign?"
Victoria answered, "Not yet."
Vale said, "Then remind her what happens to the children."
Caroline looked back at the camera.
"They wanted me to sign away the Wexler claims and Daniel's trust rights."
Samuel paused the recording.
"The Wexler claims."
Arthur frowned.
"What claims?"
Samuel looked at Grace.
She shook her head.
Caroline continued.
"I escaped the clinic with help from a nurse. I cannot return for my children without leading Vale to them."
Her eyes filled.
"Grace, if you see this, forgive me."
Grace sobbed.
"I never came back because I believed hiding was the only way to keep them alive."
Maya whispered, "She left us to protect us?"
Grace hugged her.
"Yes."
Caroline continued.
"Daniel found proof that the Blackwood infrastructure division was built partly on Wexler assets obtained through fraud. The Wexler estate retains a legal reversion clause."
Samuel's eyes widened.
"If that's valid..."
"What?"
"The sale Victoria is forcing tomorrow could be invalidated."
Arthur leaned closer.
Caroline spoke one final sentence.
"The original Wexler records are stored in the house that never burned."
The recording ended.
No location.
No explanation.
Samuel checked the time.
Three hours until the board vote.
Arthur looked at the letter.
THE WEXLER HOUSE NEVER BURNED.
Noah stared at the screen.
Then said, "Maybe it's a dollhouse."
Everyone turned.
He shrugged.
"Maya has a dollhouse and calls it a house."
Maya shook her head.
"But Mom has a wooden house too."
Grace frowned.
"What wooden house?"
"The one in the laundry room."
Grace went still.
Arthur looked at her.
"What?"
Grace whispered, "Caroline gave me a music box shaped like her childhood home."
Arthur stared.
"Where is it?"
Grace looked horrified.
May you like
"Blackwood Manor."
The house currently controlled by people working for Richard Vale.
