They moved to another room before Jason explained.
He sat on the edge of the bed.
“I traced the messages.”
Daniel folded his arms.
“How?”
“Victor taught me enough to understand his system.”
Mara watched her brother carefully.
“And?”
“The messages aren't coming from Victor.”
“Who?”
Jason looked at Daniel.
“Your old employer.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“Impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because he's dead.”
Jason shook his head.
“His account is active.”
Evelyn frowned.
“Whose account?”
Jason opened the laptop.
A name appeared.
Thomas Reed.
Daniel's father.
Mara stared.
“You said he died.”
Daniel nodded.
“He did.”
Jason shook his head.
“His account was accessed yesterday.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“That doesn't prove anything.”
“There are three login locations.”
Jason pointed to them.
“One was the station. One was your parents' house. One is here.”
Daniel looked at Mara.
Someone had been tracking them.
Mara's phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
*Daniel knows where Thomas kept the original records.**
She showed him.
Daniel stared at it.
“I don't.”
Another message arrived.
*Ask him about the red door.**
Daniel went pale.
Mara noticed.
“You do know.”
Daniel sat down.
“Yes.”
“What is behind the red door?”
“My father's old office.”
“Where?”
“Under his house.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought it was empty.”
Jason laughed bitterly.
“Nothing is empty anymore.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Where did you get this?”
Jason pointed to the laptop.
“I didn't.”
Mara understood.
“Someone wants us to go there.”
Daniel nodded.
“And they know we will.”
Evelyn stood.
“Then don't.”
Mara looked at her.
“If the original records are there, we need them.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No. We need to know who is leading us there.”
A car stopped outside.
Everyone went silent.
The headlights disappeared.
Then the engine stopped.
Daniel moved toward the curtain.
“It's Henry.”
Mara opened the door before he could stop her.
Her father stood outside.
His coat was torn.
There was blood on his sleeve.
Mara rushed toward him.
“Dad!”
“I'm fine.”
“You're bleeding.”
“It's not mine.”
She froze.
“What happened?”
“Your mother is safe.”
“Where?”
“She stayed with Eleanor's sister.”
Mara stared.
“You're not making sense.”
Henry entered.
“I was followed.”
“By Victor?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Henry looked at Daniel.
“Thomas Reed.”
Daniel went completely still.
Mara's voice dropped.
“My father's dead.”
“So is Thomas.”
“Then how can he be following you?”
Henry looked at Jason.
“Because someone is using his identity.”
Jason nodded.
“I found that.”
Henry sat.
“I should have told you all of this years ago.”
Mara knelt beside him.
“Tell me now.”
Henry looked at her.
“Thomas Reed discovered that Victor had been stealing information from Arthur.”
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“My father knew Victor?”
“Yes.”
“How well?”
“Well enough to fear him.”
“What happened?”
“Thomas confronted Victor.”
“And?”
“Victor threatened him.”
Daniel looked away.
Henry continued.
“Thomas didn't die naturally.”
Silence.
Mara whispered, “He was killed.”
Henry nodded.
“Victor arranged it.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“All these years.”
Mara reached for his hand.
He didn't move.
“Why did you never tell me?”
Henry looked at him.
“Because Arthur made me promise.”
“To protect me?”
“Yes.”
Daniel laughed softly.
“A promise everyone used as an excuse.”
Henry lowered his head.
“I know.”
Jason looked at his father.
“What about the red door?”
Henry's face changed.
“Where did you hear that?”
“The messages.”
Henry stood immediately.
“Don't go there.”
Mara looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because that's where Thomas kept the evidence.”
Daniel stood.
“What evidence?”
“Everything.”
“Everything?”
“Payments. names. recordings. Victor's files. Arthur's notes.”
Mara understood.
“The missing records.”
Henry nodded.
“Thomas copied them before he died.”
Daniel looked toward the window.
“If Victor knows about the room, he'll already be there.”
Henry shook his head.
“He can't enter.”
“Why?”
“Because the lock recognizes two keys.”
Mara looked at him.
“Whose?”
“Mine and Daniel's.”
Daniel stared.
“You still have your father's key?”
Henry reached into his coat.
He removed an old brass key.
Daniel touched his pocket.
Slowly, he pulled out another.
The same three-line symbol was engraved on it.
Mara looked at both keys.
“Arthur planned this.”
“Yes.”
Henry looked at her.
“He planned for you to find the truth after he was gone.”
Mara's eyes filled.
“Then let's finish what he started.”
They drove to the old Reed property.
The house had been abandoned for years.
Grass covered the front steps.
The windows were boarded.
Daniel stood before the basement entrance.
He inserted his key.
Henry inserted his.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
A narrow corridor led beneath the house.
At the end stood a red door.
Mara could hear a faint electrical hum behind it.
Daniel opened it.
The room was filled with shelves.
Boxes.
Hard drives.
Photographs.
Documents.
And a single chair facing a camera.
A monitor turned on by itself.
Arthur appeared on screen.
Mara stopped breathing.
His recorded face looked directly at her.
“If you're seeing this, then Victor has already failed.”
Mara stepped closer.
Arthur continued.
“Do not trust anyone who tells you the trust is about money.”
The screen flickered.
Then his expression became solemn.
“It is about proof.”
He leaned closer.
“And Mara, there is one person you must forgive before you can understand the rest.”
The screen went black.
Mara looked at Henry.
Her father was crying.
She looked at Daniel.
He was staring at the floor.
“Who?” she whispered.
Henry answered.
“Your mother.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 16: Arthur’s Final Recording Revealed Why Eleanor Had Stayed Silent, and Mara Learned the Last Secret That Could Destroy the Family
She Married the Man Everyone Dismissed, Then One Phone Call Made Her Family Question Everything They Knew
Part 15 of 20
