Chapter 6 - The Woman Behind the Letter
Elena Price arrived with a laptop, a scanner, and no patience for vague answers.
“Start at the beginning,” she said.
They did.
She copied Ruth’s letter, preserved Marcus’s original photograph, and made notes about everyone who had handled the envelope.
“This photograph matters,” she told Marcus. “But I need the original file, the device it came from, and your account of when you took it.”
“I still have the phone.”
“Good. Don’t reset it.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Can you stop the demolition?”
“I can contact the investigators and seek preservation of relevant records. I can’t promise what’s inside that building.”
She looked at him.
“And nobody here is going on a treasure hunt.”
Émilie almost smiled.
That sounded exactly like something her father needed to hear.
By late afternoon, Ben found Ruth.
Not through a secret database or a miracle.
Through a former receptionist who remembered Ruth had moved in with her sister after hip surgery.
Ruth answered on the third ring.
“Daniel?”
He put the call on speaker.
“I got your letter.”
For a moment, there was nothing but breathing.
“I thought you’d decided to stay out of it.”
“I was in the hospital.”
“I know. They told me you didn’t want calls.”
“Who told you?”
Ruth didn’t answer immediately.
Then she said, “Mark’s assistant.”
June lowered herself into a chair.
Ruth had tried the hospital twice. Each time, someone from the foundation had assured her Daniel needed rest and privacy.
Then her old phone stopped working, and the number changed during the move.
The silence between them had been built one ordinary interruption at a time.
“Do you still have the originals?” Elena asked.
“Some. The rest are in dispatch.”
“Where?”
“Steel route cabinet. Lower drawer. Behind the winter binders.”
Elena wrote quickly.
“Did you see records being changed yourself?”
“Yes.”
“By whom?”
Ruth named the operations manager, Colin Webb.
“And Ellison?” Daniel asked.
“I heard him tell Colin to clean up the paperwork before the insurer’s visit.”
Ruth’s voice shook.
“I should’ve gone straight to the state.”
“You can still tell them,” Elena said.
Before they ended the call, Ruth asked to speak privately to Daniel.
He took the phone off speaker.
Émilie watched his face.
“What?” he said.
Then, quieter, “Are you sure?”
He listened.
When he lowered the phone, his hand was trembling.
Ruth had kept a copy of another document.
May you like
A statement already bearing Daniel’s signature.
Dated while he was unconscious.
