Chapter 4 - THE FILE MICHAEL LEFT BEHIND
Rachel told me not to open the flash drive on my home computer.
She came to my house instead.
She brought a digital forensic investigator named Marcus Reed.
Ethan stayed with us.
He refused to go home.
I called Robert and told him Ethan was safe.
I did not tell him where.
Robert threatened police.
Rachel took the phone from me.
“Please do.”
Robert stopped threatening police.
Marcus isolated the drive on a laptop.
There were twelve folders.
Most contained business records.
Then we found one named M.M.
Michael Michaels.
My husband.
My hands went numb.
Marcus opened it.
Photographs appeared.
Michael entering Bennett Hospitality offices.
Michael meeting with my grandmother.
Michael standing outside a bank.
Someone had been watching him.
Then came photographs of his car.
Front.
Rear.
Driver’s side.
Tires.
Brake assembly.
Rachel leaned closer.
“Why would Robert have these?”
“I don’t know.”
Marcus opened another folder.
Invoices.
One stood out.
BRADLEY AUTO & RECOVERY.
Cash payment.
Two thousand dollars.
Dated one day before Michael’s death.
Service description:
INSPECTION / CORRECTION.
No vehicle identification number.
No license plate.
Nothing else.
My stomach twisted.
Michael’s accident had always been blamed on a drunk driver.
The other driver survived.
He pleaded guilty.
He went to prison.
There had never been any reason to suspect Michael’s car.
Until now.
Marcus found an audio file.
We played it.
Static.
Then Robert’s voice.
“You said it was handled.”
An unknown man answered.
“It was.”
“Then why is he still asking questions?”
“Not my problem.”
“You got paid.”
“So?”
Robert’s voice became quieter.
“I need this finished before Friday.”
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Lily was upstairs.
Thank God.
Rachel looked at me.
“This does not prove what you’re thinking.”
“I know.”
But my voice sounded distant.
“It does justify going to the police.”
I nodded.
Then another file appeared.
A scanned letter.
Michael’s handwriting.
Claire,
If you’re reading this, something has gone wrong.
Robert is taking money from company accounts.
I believe he has also accessed Margaret’s trust planning documents.
I haven’t confronted him yet.
Please don’t confront him either.
Take Lily somewhere safe.
Trust George only if he shows you the original blue ledger.
I read the last sentence three times.
“The blue ledger?”
Rachel looked at me.
“Do you know what that means?”
“No.”
I called my father.
He answered immediately.
“Claire?”
“What is the blue ledger?”
Silence.
“Dad?”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Michael.”
Another silence.
Longer this time.
“Come here.”
“No.”
“Claire—”
“You come to me.”
He arrived forty minutes later.
When he saw Ethan, his expression changed.
“Does Robert know he’s here?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
My father looked exhausted.
I showed him Michael’s letter.
His face collapsed.
“I thought he destroyed this.”
“Who?”
“Robert.”
I stared at him.
“You knew?”
“Not about Michael’s death.”
“Then what did you know?”
George sat down.
“The blue ledger belonged to your grandmother.”
“What’s in it?”
“Every private investment she made.”
“Every account.”
“Every trust.”
“And every person she believed might try to steal from the family.”
Rachel leaned forward.
“Where is it?”
My father looked at me.
“I hid it.”
“Where?”
He hesitated.
Then headlights swept across my living room wall.
A vehicle stopped outside.
My security camera alert sounded.
I checked the screen.
Robert.
Helen.
And two police officers.
Ethan stood.
“Oh, God.”
I put my hand on his shoulder.
“You don’t have to go anywhere until we understand what’s happening.”
My father walked toward the door.
“I’ll handle Robert.”
Rachel stopped him.
“No.”
She looked at me.
“Claire handles Robert.”
I opened the door.
Robert stood on the porch.
His face was red.
Helen stood behind him.
She looked furious.
One officer spoke.
“Ms. Michaels, your brother says his minor son is inside.”
“He is.”
“Is he being prevented from leaving?”
“No.”
Robert stepped forward.
“Ethan, get out here.”
Ethan appeared behind me.
He looked at his father.
“No.”
Robert froze.
“What did you say?”
“I’m not going with you.”
“You’re thirteen.”
“I know.”
“I’m your father.”
Ethan’s voice shook.
“I know that too.”
Helen pushed forward.
“You ungrateful little brat.”
The officers exchanged a look.
I almost smiled.
Helen had just made my job easier.
Ethan took another step backward.
“I heard you.”
Robert’s face changed.
“Heard what?”
“You and Mom.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The money.”
Helen went pale.
Robert stared at his son.
Then his eyes moved to me.
“You’ve been poisoning him against us.”
“No.”
Ethan answered.
“You did that yourself.”
Robert’s expression hardened.
And then he saw the flash drive on my kitchen counter.
For one second, absolute terror crossed his face.
He lunged through the doorway.
One officer grabbed him.
“Sir!”
Robert struggled.
“That belongs to me!”
Rachel stepped forward.
“Interesting.”
Robert froze.
She picked up the drive.
“Because until five seconds ago, nobody said what it was.”
Helen whispered.
“Robert.”
Too late.
My brother had just told everyone that whatever was on that drive mattered.
The officer looked at him.
“What’s on it?”
Robert didn’t answer.
Then my father spoke from behind me.
“The reason my son is afraid of that drive…”
George’s voice was cold.
“…is probably the same reason he spent seven years looking for the blue ledger.”
May you like
Robert stopped moving.
And Helen’s face went completely white.
