Chapter 14 - The Father Who Attended No Funeral
Richard Mercer had disappeared from Evelyn’s life ten years earlier.
He had resigned as chief executive of Mercer Crown after a public illness, transferred his remaining shares to Adrian, and moved overseas. When Adrian and Clara died, Richard did not attend the funeral.
Marianne told Evelyn he was too sick to travel.
Standing inside the lighthouse, Richard looked older but far from helpless.
Evelyn stared at him.
“You knew.”
Richard looked toward Sophie.
“I knew Adrian was investigating the accounts.”
“Did you help Marianne?”
“I created the system Marianne later used.”
Sophie gripped Evelyn’s hand.
Richard removed the bird-shaped ring and placed it on the stairs.
“The symbol belonged to the original Northstar group. We moved money through hotels, foundations, and government projects. At first, I told myself it protected the company during unstable years.”
“You stole from people.”
“Yes.”
His honesty made the confession worse.
“Did you kill Adrian and Clara?”
Richard’s face tightened.
“No.”
“Did you know they were in danger?”
“Yes.”
“And you did nothing.”
“I warned Adrian to stop.”
“You abandoned him.”
“I tried to negotiate with Marianne.”
Ortiz stepped closer.
“Why are you here now?”
“Because Grant’s arrest triggered the final protocol. Northstar will begin releasing account records at midnight.”
“That is good,” Mara said.
“No. The system was changed. Instead of sending the records to investigators, it will transfer the full reserve to hundreds of private accounts and erase the ledger.”
Evelyn looked toward the video camera.
“Can Clara’s recording stop it?”
“The final section contains the access sequence.”
“Then why did you try to stop us from playing it?”
Richard looked at Sophie.
“Because the sequence requires her voice.”
Sophie stepped forward.
“What do I have to say?”
“You are not saying anything,” Evelyn answered.
Richard continued.
“The account was created with biometric authorization linked to Clara and Sophie. Clara is dead. Sophie is the only remaining key.”
“Then we authorize the release to the government,” Evelyn said.
“It is not that simple. Marianne changed the destination years ago. If Sophie activates it now, the money may go to the people who built the network.”
“Who can correct the destination?”
“Adrian.”
The lighthouse became silent.
Evelyn stared at her father.
“Adrian is dead.”
Richard looked toward the camera.
“Play the rest.”
Damon restarted the recording.
Clara’s image returned.
A shadow moved behind her.
Then Adrian spoke.
“If the accident plan succeeds, everyone will believe we died together.”
Evelyn reached for the table.
Sophie whispered, “Daddy?”
The recording continued.
Clara looked into the lens.
“Only one of us can disappear. Someone must remain close enough to protect Sophie without Marianne finding them.”
Adrian took Clara’s hand.
“We have not decided who.”
The recording ended abruptly.
Evelyn turned toward Richard.
“Who survived?”
“I never saw the bodies,” Richard said.
“You signed the identification documents.”
“Marianne provided them.”
For four years, Evelyn had believed she buried her brother and his wife.
Now she could not be certain either coffin contained the person named on it.
Ortiz received a call from the mainland.
She listened, then looked at Evelyn.
“Marianne has escaped custody.”
“How?”
“A transport vehicle was intercepted. No officers were seriously harmed, but Marianne is gone.”
Richard moved toward the lighthouse window.
“She is going to the Northstar control site.”
“Where is it?”
He pointed across the water.
Far beyond the island, lights glowed on an old offshore hotel platform once owned by Mercer Crown.
“I can take you there,” Richard said.
Evelyn blocked his path.
“You are not taking Sophie anywhere.”
“Without her, the evidence disappears at midnight.”
“Without her, Marianne cannot activate it either.”
Richard shook his head.
“Marianne has been preparing another biometric key.”
“Whose?”
“A child Clara gave birth to before Sophie.”
Sophie stared at him.
“I have a sister?”
Richard looked away.
“I do not know whether the child survived.”
A horn sounded from the water.
A black boat approached the island without lights.
Damon checked his watch.
Eleven eighteen.
Richard picked up the bird-shaped ring.
“Marianne has forty-two minutes to erase twenty years of crimes.”
Evelyn looked at Sophie, the unfinished video, and the approaching boat.
May you like
The wedding conspiracy had ended.
The truth behind it had only begun.
