Chapter 10 - VICTOR’S FINAL SECRET
Victor made it halfway down the courthouse stairs.
Two officers caught him.
But what they found inside his jacket changed the case again.
A flash drive.
Victor refused to explain it.
Hale obtained authorization to examine the files.
There were hundreds.
Bank records.
Audio recordings.
Photographs.
Copies of Sabrina’s messages.
And one video.
Dated eight years earlier.
Ethan watched it with Claire.
Their father appeared on screen.
Jonathan Vale looked weak.
He was sitting in his study.
Victor stood beside him.
Sabrina was there too.
Jonathan pushed a document away.
“No.”
Sabrina leaned forward.
“You need to sign it.”
“I said no.”
Victor spoke.
“This protects Ethan.”
Jonathan laughed.
“No. It gives you access to my children’s assets.”
Sabrina’s face hardened.
“You’re confused.”
“I’m dying, Sabrina.”
Jonathan looked directly at her.
“I’m not stupid.”
The video ended abruptly.
Ethan stared at the black screen.
Claire whispered.
“She was there before Dad died.”
Hale nodded.
“And she lied about it.”
Victor eventually admitted the truth.
Sabrina had tried to convince Jonathan to change the estate documents.
He refused.
That was why they targeted Claire afterward.
Separate the siblings.
Declare Claire dead.
Control Ethan emotionally.
Drain Claire’s trust.
Eventually gain access to Vale Industries through marriage.
There was only one problem.
Ethan had never married Sabrina.
He had delayed their wedding twice.
Some instinct had always told him something was wrong.
Sabrina became desperate.
Then Lily arrived.
The entire scheme began collapsing in a single afternoon.
Hale looked at Ethan.
“The bat incident wasn’t random.”
“I know.”
“Sabrina knew exactly who Lily was.”
Claire looked toward the screen.
“She wasn’t trying to scare her away.”
“No.”
Hale closed the file.
“She was trying to stop Lily from giving Ethan the photograph.”
The photograph had connected Claire to Lily.
Lily had connected Claire to the motel.
The motel had connected Sabrina to the red coat.
The red coat had connected Sabrina to the disappearance.
One frightened seven-year-old girl had pulled the first thread.
And Sabrina’s entire eight-year lie had unraveled.
Ethan looked toward Lily playing in the garden.
“She thought Lily was powerless.”
May you like
Claire stood beside him.
“That was Sabrina’s biggest mistake.”
