PART 7 – Her Mother’s Attorney Arrived at the Locker, Carrying a Warning That Made Mara Question Which Side He Had Been On

Mara remained still.

Daniel moved in front of her.

The voice came again.

“Mara, I know you're inside.”

She looked at Daniel.

He shook his head.

“Don't answer.”

The man outside sighed.

“Your mother asked me to find you before anyone else did.”

Mara recognized the voice now.

Jonathan Reed.

Her mother's attorney for nearly twenty years.

She had met him at family dinners. She had trusted him enough to call him Uncle Jonathan.

Daniel whispered, “He's lying.”

Mara didn't know whether to believe him.

She looked at the documents scattered around the locker.

Then she picked up her phone and silently dialed emergency services.

Before she could speak, Jonathan said something that stopped her.

“Thomas is alive.”

Mara's hand froze.

Jonathan continued.

“And Eleanor knows where he is.”

Daniel's eyes widened.

Mara opened the locker door.

Jonathan stood several feet away with both hands visible.

He looked exhausted.

His gray hair was soaked from the rain.

“You should not have come here,” he said.

Mara stepped out.

“You knew my father was alive?”

Jonathan closed his eyes.

“Yes.”

The answer landed harder than any denial could have.

“For six years?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because he wanted you protected.”

Mara laughed bitterly.

“Protected from what?”

“From him.”

Daniel moved forward.

“That's enough.”

Jonathan looked at him.

“You're the last person who should be speaking.”

Daniel stiffened.

Mara turned.

“What does that mean?”

Jonathan reached into his coat.

Daniel immediately stepped back.

But Jonathan only removed an envelope.

He handed it to Mara.

“Your mother wrote this six months ago.”

Mara opened it.

Inside was a single photograph of Thomas standing beside a black sedan.

On the back, Eleanor had written:

*He came back because he believes I still have the ledger.**

Mara looked up.

“What ledger?”

Jonathan answered.

“The records in that box.”

She glanced toward the locker.

“Those?”

“No. The original records were taken years ago.”

“By whom?”

Jonathan looked at Daniel.

“His brother.”

Mara stared.

Daniel's face had gone rigid.

“You knew,” Jonathan said.

Daniel shook his head.

“I knew there was a ledger. I never knew where it was.”

Jonathan looked at Mara.

“Your mother believed someone inside the family had been stealing from her for years.”

“Who?”

“Daniel's brother, Stephen.”

Mara remembered Stephen.

He had disappeared after Thomas's funeral.

He had supposedly moved overseas.

“Where is he?”

Jonathan's silence answered before his words did.

“He never left.”

Mara felt cold.

“He's been here?”

“Yes.”

Daniel stepped closer to Jonathan.

“Why didn't you tell us?”

“Because Stephen threatened your mother.”

“And you believed him?”

“I believed he was capable of killing her.”

Mara looked between them.

“You're both telling me different pieces of the same story.”

Jonathan nodded.

“That is because your mother spent six years trying to keep the whole story from becoming known.”

“Where is she now?”

Jonathan looked directly at Mara.

“Room 214.”

The motel.

Mara tightened her grip on the silver key.

“She's alive?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did she tell me not to come inside the house?”

“Because the house is being watched.”

Mara looked toward the dark parking lot.

“By whom?”

Jonathan's answer came slowly.

“By the man who wants the ledger.”

A car engine started outside.

All three turned toward the sound.

Headlights swept across the storage facility.

Jonathan whispered, “He's here.”

Daniel reached for the locker door.

Mara clutched the key.

Then the headlights stopped directly outside.

Click here to continue reading: PART 8: The Man in the Parking Lot Knew Mara Had Found the Locker, and His Next Move Exposed a Secret Her Mother Had Buried