Chapter 12 - THE LAST PERSON I SUSPECTED
I replayed the recording three times.
Then five.
Then ten.
Hoping each time that I had misunderstood.
But I hadn't.
The voice was clear.
The person speaking was Evelyn Shaw.
My father's attorney.
My protector.
My guide.
The woman who told me to be careful.
The woman who helped me prepare for Richard.
The woman who might have helped create the entire nightmare.
---
"No."
The word escaped my mouth.
Daniel looked at me carefully.
"Amelia."
"No."
I pushed the laptop away.
"She wouldn't."
Richard sat silently.
Then he said:
"You need to consider every possibility."
I looked at him.
"Coming from you?"
He lowered his eyes.
I knew I had hurt him.
But I didn't care.
Not anymore.
Too many people had lied to me.
---
We decided not to confront Evelyn immediately.
If she was involved, we needed proof.
Real proof.
Not just one recording.
Because Evelyn was smart.
Very smart.
She had protected my family for decades.
She knew every legal move.
Every weakness.
Every secret.
---
Daniel followed her for three days.
On the fourth night, he called.
"I found something."
I answered immediately.
"What?"
"She met Victor."
My stomach tightened.
"When?"
"Yesterday."
"Where?"
"Your father's old office."
I closed my eyes.
That office had been locked since his death.
Nobody was allowed inside.
Nobody.
---
We entered the building that night.
The place felt like a memory.
The same desk.
The same books.
The same photographs.
I walked slowly.
My father's presence was everywhere.
Then I saw something.
A hidden compartment.
Inside was a letter.
My name was written on the envelope.
My hands trembled.
---
The letter was from my father.
"Amelia,
If you are reading this, then the people I feared have finally moved."
I sat down.
My eyes filled with tears.
"I need you to know something. The person who betrays you will not be the person you expect."
I looked at Richard.
Then Daniel.
I continued reading.
"I built Hayes Technologies because I believed people could be trusted. I was wrong."
The next sentence made my heart stop.
"Your mother knew the truth."
---
My mother.
A woman who died when I was young.
A woman everyone said passed away peacefully.
I looked up.
"What does this mean?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know."
Then we heard footsteps.
Someone was inside.
We turned.
A shadow moved across the hallway.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
Then the lights went out.
A struggle.
A crash.
And when the lights returned…
The letter was gone.
---
But someone had left something behind.
A small object on my father's desk.
A wedding ring.
Not mine.
Not Richard's.
A woman's ring.
And engraved inside were two letters.
E.S.
---
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CHAPTER 12 END
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