Mara reached for the desk lamp.
Peter moved toward the doorway.
Anna whispered, "Don't."
He stopped.
The footsteps downstairs had gone quiet.
Then a drawer opened.
Mara looked at Peter.
"How many people know about this room?"
"Too many."
"Name them."
"Me. Daniel. Evelyn."
"And?"
Peter hesitated.
"His lawyer."
Mara's stomach tightened.
"What's his name?"
"Samuel Price."
Anna frowned.
"I've never heard of him."
"Because Daniel kept him private."
Another drawer slammed downstairs.
Peter moved toward the stairs.
Mara caught his arm.
"No."
He looked at her.
"If someone came looking for money, we shouldn't announce ourselves."
They listened.
A floorboard creaked.
Then another.
Someone was climbing the stairs.
Peter stepped behind the study door.
Mara stayed beside the desk.
Anna and Evelyn moved into the adjoining bedroom.
The footsteps reached the landing.
Stopped.
Then moved toward the study.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside.
Mara recognized him.
Samuel Price.
Daniel's attorney.
He looked older than he had at the funeral, perhaps because Mara had never paid attention to him then.
Now she noticed everything.
The expensive coat.
The damp shoes.
The envelope tucked beneath his arm.
He froze when he saw Mara.
"Mrs. Bell."
Mara stared at him.
"What are you doing here?"
Samuel looked toward the desk.
"I could ask you the same thing."
"This is my house."
"Of course."
His eyes shifted.
"Where is the document?"
"What document?"
He sighed.
"Don't make this difficult."
Peter stepped out.
Samuel went pale.
"You."
Peter smiled without humor.
"Miss me?"
Samuel backed toward the door.
"You shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you."
Mara looked between them.
"You know each other."
Samuel's expression hardened.
"Unfortunately."
Peter laughed.
"Tell her."
Samuel said nothing.
Mara stepped closer.
"Tell me what?"
Peter pointed toward the envelope Samuel carried.
"Ask him why Daniel hired him."
Samuel looked at Mara.
"Your husband hired me to protect his estate."
"From whom?"
Samuel hesitated.
"Peter."
Peter shook his head.
"That's not true."
Samuel looked furious.
"You stole from the account."
"Twenty-seven years ago."
"And you never repaid it."
"I did."
Mara looked at him.
"What?"
Peter reached into his coat.
He produced a receipt.
"The money was returned."
Samuel stared at it.
"That's impossible."
Mara took the receipt.
The date was six months before Daniel's death.
The amount matched.
Peter looked at Samuel.
"Daniel made me repay every dollar."
Mara's eyes narrowed.
"Then why did the bank show another withdrawal?"
Samuel didn't answer.
Peter did.
"Because someone wanted me blamed again."
Mara looked at Samuel.
"Did you forge Evelyn's signature?"
Samuel's face changed.
Evelyn stepped into the doorway.
"Answer her."
Samuel looked at her.
"I didn't."
"Then who did?"
Silence.
Anna appeared beside Evelyn.
"Why are you here?"
Samuel looked at Anna.
For the first time, he seemed genuinely frightened.
"Because your father left something unfinished."
"What?"
Samuel put the envelope on the desk.
"An instruction."
Mara opened it.
Inside was a letter from Daniel.
Samuel said quietly, "He told me to deliver it only after Peter was present."
Mara looked at Peter.
Peter looked confused.
She opened the letter.
Daniel's handwriting filled the page.
Peter,
If you're reading this, then you finally returned what you took.
Mara looked at Peter.
His eyes filled.
Daniel continued.
I know why you did it.
Peter whispered, "He knew."
Mara kept reading.
You were trying to pay the people who threatened you.
Peter closed his eyes.
Daniel had known.
The letter continued.
But you chose the wrong person to trust.
Mara looked up.
"Who?"
Peter whispered a name.
"Samuel."
The room became still.
Samuel shook his head.
"That's ridiculous."
Peter pointed at him.
"You found the account."
"I was Daniel's attorney."
"You found the decoy documents."
"I was protecting the estate."
"You forged Evelyn's signature."
Samuel's face hardened.
"I never touched that money."
Peter laughed.
"You took it."
Samuel's eyes moved toward Anna.
Then toward the floor.
Mara saw the movement.
She understood.
"Anna."
Anna looked at her.
"Get away from him."
Samuel suddenly reached for the envelope.
Peter grabbed his wrist.
The two men struggled.
The envelope fell.
Papers scattered across the floor.
One sheet slid beneath the desk.
Mara picked it up.
It was a bank authorization.
Samuel's signature appeared at the bottom.
The authorization permitted withdrawal from Anna's account.
Mara looked at him.
"You did it."
Samuel pulled free.
"No."
Peter held him against the wall.
"You knew Daniel was dying."
Samuel's face went white.
"You knew he couldn't stop you."
Mara stepped closer.
"How much did you take?"
Samuel said nothing.
Anna answered for him.
"The same amount Peter stole."
Samuel looked at her.
"Your father was going to expose me."
Mara's anger sharpened.
"So you took the money."
"He had no right."
"He was your client."
"He was a liar."
Mara looked at him.
"So were you."
Samuel stared at her.
Then he laughed bitterly.
"You think Daniel was innocent?"
"No."
Mara folded the authorization.
"I think that's why we're here."
Samuel's expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
"Because every person he hurt has been carrying his mistakes."
She looked at Anna.
"But tonight, we're done carrying them for him."
Samuel looked toward the window.
Police lights appeared in the distance.
Peter smiled.
"You called them?"
Mara nodded.
"Before we came upstairs."
Samuel stared at her.
"You planned this."
"No."
Mara looked at the scattered papers.
"I finally stopped letting other people decide what I should know."
The police entered minutes later.
Samuel was taken downstairs.
Peter remained in the study.
Anna sat on the floor among the papers.
Evelyn stood beside her.
Mara looked at the final document.
It was a handwritten note Daniel had hidden beneath the desk.
Mara opened it.
There was no explanation.
No excuse.
Only a single request.
Please let the truth belong to them now.
Mara folded the note.
She looked at Anna.
"What do you want to do with the orchard?"
Anna looked toward the dark window.
"I don't know."
Mara nodded.
"That's okay."
Anna looked at her.
"You're really going to let me decide?"
Mara smiled faintly.
"Your father took that choice from you once."
She placed the property papers in Anna's hands.
"I'm not going to do the same."
Outside, the rain began again.
But inside the old house, something had finally changed.
For the first time, the future did not belong to Daniel.
It belonged to the people he had left behind.
Click here to continue reading: PART 9: After the Arrest, Mara Expected the Orchard to Bring Closure, but Anna Found a Fresh Clue Buried Beneath Daniel’s Oldest Promise
The Letter Hidden Behind the Photograph Changed Everything Mara Thought She Knew About Her Husband
Part 8 of 20
