I opened the door only after seeing the police officer stationed near the driveway.
Elaine stood beneath the porch light holding an umbrella.
She looked annoyed rather than frightened.
“Why are there police here?”
I stared at her.
“You tell me.”
She frowned.
“Barbara, what happened?”
“You tell me.”
She looked past me into the house.
“Is Lily all right?”
“She is.”
Elaine stepped closer.
“I heard there was a photograph.”
I froze.
“How did you know about the photograph?”
She hesitated.
That was enough.
“Who told you?”
“No one.”
“You just said you heard.”
“I meant I assumed.”
“You didn't.”
Her face tightened.
“Barbara, I'm your sister.”
“That doesn't answer my question.”
The police officer approached.
“Ma'am, please remain outside.”
Elaine looked at him.
“This is my sister's house.”
“And tonight that's enough reason to stay where you are.”
Elaine stepped back.
Her expression had changed.
Not guilt.
Something else.
Fear.
She looked at me.
“Did you find the box?”
My stomach dropped.
“What box?”
She closed her eyes.
“I shouldn't have said that.”
“No.”
I stepped onto the porch.
“You shouldn't have.”
Elaine looked toward the street.
“Sarah didn't trust me.”
“Why?”
“Because she thought I had betrayed her.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Then why did she hide your name on a drive?”
Elaine's eyes widened.
“You found it.”
“Yes.”
She sat down on the porch step.
“I knew she had one.”
“You knew?”
“Not where.”
“Then tell me everything.”
She rubbed her hands together.
“Sarah came to me months before she died. She asked me to help restructure Lily's trust.”
“I know.”
“She was convinced David was taking money.”
“I know.”
“She also believed someone inside the family was feeding him information.”
“Who?”
Elaine looked directly at me.
“You.”
My stomach tightened.
“Me?”
“She thought David was getting information from you.”
I stared at her.
“That makes no sense.”
“I know.”
“Then why would she think it?”
“Because someone was using your phone number.”
I felt a chill.
“What?”
“Messages were being sent to David from a number Sarah believed was yours.”
I remembered the strange messages I had received during that period.
Unknown numbers.
Missed calls.
Short texts I had ignored.
I had assumed they were spam.
Elaine continued.
“Sarah discovered the messages were spoofed.”
“So she knew I wasn't involved.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she suspect you?”
“Because I knew about the trust.”
“You helped establish it.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“She thought I had given David information.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Did you tell Sarah that?”
“Every time I saw her.”
“Did she believe you?”
Elaine shook her head.
“Not completely.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because she found one of my passwords in David's files.”
My heart sank.
“How?”
“I don't know.”
“Could someone have stolen it?”
“Yes.”
“Who had access to your office?”
“Linda.”
There it was again.
Linda's name.
Always circling the edges.
Always appearing where the evidence led.
Elaine looked toward the house.
“Sarah told me that if she died, I should protect Lily.”
“You never told me.”
“She told me not to.”
“Why?”
“Because she was afraid the people around you would use you to find out what she had hidden.”
I thought about the first letter.
The recordings.
The blue piano.
The second phone.
The secret compartment.
Everything Sarah had done seemed suddenly more deliberate.
I brought Elaine inside.
She saw the wooden box on the table.
Her face changed.
“That's it.”
“What is?”
“The box Sarah gave me.”
“You said you didn't know where it was.”
“I didn't.”
“You recognize it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Elaine touched the lid.
“Because I bought it.”
I opened the first USB drive.
The screen filled with financial documents.
Accounts.
Transfers.
Company names.
Then I opened the second.
Sarah's voice came through.
“I don't know if Elaine is helping them.”
I looked at my sister.
She closed her eyes.
Sarah continued.
“But I know she is hiding something.”
Elaine whispered, “I didn't know she recorded that.”
The recording continued.
“I found evidence that someone used Elaine's credentials.”
Sarah named the date.
Then she said something that made me pause.
“The login came from a computer inside my house.”
I looked at Elaine.
“You were never inside my house that day.”
“No.”
“Who was?”
She thought.
“David.”
Sarah continued.
“If Elaine is innocent, the evidence will eventually show it.”
Then the recording changed.
A second voice appeared.
Linda.
“You should stop digging.”
Sarah answered.
“You're threatening me?”
Linda laughed.
“I'm warning you.”
“You've already stolen from me.”
“You don't understand what you're interfering with.”
“I understand enough.”
The recording ended.
Elaine stared at me.
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
“She knew Linda was involved.”
“Yes.”
“And she still stayed.”
“She was trying to gather proof.”
Elaine's eyes filled with tears.
“I should have helped her.”
“You did.”
“Not enough.”
I looked at the third USB drive.
ELAINE.
Neither of us touched it.
Finally, Elaine whispered, “Play it.”
The file opened.
Sarah appeared on screen.
She was sitting in the same office as before.
But this recording was different.
She looked exhausted.
“Mom, if you're watching this, Elaine is probably with you.”
I looked at my sister.
Sarah continued.
“I need you to hear this before you decide whether to trust her.”
Elaine covered her mouth.
Sarah explained that she had deliberately accused Elaine of helping David.
She had done it because she suspected someone was monitoring her conversations.
She wanted to create a false trail.
Elaine had agreed to help.
But there was one thing Sarah had never told her.
She had discovered that the person feeding David information was not Elaine.
It was someone who had access to the family's legal and financial documents.
Someone who knew when Sarah met with lawyers.
Someone who knew about Lily's trust.
Someone who could obtain copies of private paperwork.
Sarah named no one.
Instead, she said:
“I think the person is connected to the law firm.”
I looked at Elaine.
“You helped Sarah establish the trust through the law firm.”
“Yes.”
“Who had access?”
Elaine thought.
“Several people.”
“Names.”
She gave me three.
One was familiar.
The other two were not.
Then she stopped.
“There was one more.”
“Who?”
“An assistant.”
“What was her name?”
“Rebecca.”
I knew the name.
Rebecca had worked at Sarah's attorney's office.
She had attended one meeting at our house.
She had been polite.
Quiet.
Forgettable.
Sarah had never mentioned her.
I opened the financial files again.
There was a folder labeled TRUST.
Inside were copies of legal documents.
At the bottom was a scanned email.
Rebecca had requested information about Lily's trust three days before Sarah died.
My stomach tightened.
“Why would she request this?”
Elaine leaned over.
“She shouldn't have.”
The phone rang.
I jumped.
It was Detective Reynolds.
“Barbara, where are you?”
“At home.”
“Get out.”
“Why?”
“We traced the photograph.”
I stood.
“What did you find?”
“It was taken from a vehicle registered to a company connected to Rebecca.”
Elaine stared at me.
“Where is Lily?”
“Upstairs.”
“Take her and leave through the back.”
“Reynolds, what is happening?”
“We found Rebecca.”
“Where?”
“Near your house.”
The line went dead.
I grabbed Lily.
Elaine followed.
We moved through the kitchen.
Then the back door opened.
A woman stood outside.
Rebecca.
She looked directly at me.
“I was hoping you wouldn't find the drive.”
I froze.
Lily clung to my hand.
Rebecca stepped inside.
She was holding a phone.
On the screen was a photograph of Sarah.
“She left you too much.”
I backed away.
Elaine stepped between us.
“You're not taking anything.”
Rebecca smiled.
“I don't need to.”
She pressed a button.
My phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
Look outside.
I looked through the window.
A black SUV was parked across the street.
Rebecca whispered:
“David's brother is not the only person who was helping us.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 7: Rebecca Revealed the Network Behind the Stolen Money, but One Detail About Sarah’s Final Hours Changed Everything Again
The Woman Beside My Daughter’s Coffin Smiled as Though the Funeral Were the Beginning of Something She Had Already Won
Part 6 of 20
