Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW SHE WAS IN DANGER
Ethan played the voicemail three times.
Each time, Evelyn’s final words sounded worse.
Norah finally whispered, “When did she record that?”
“Eleven days before she died.”
Ethan sat down.
For the first time since Norah had met him, he looked completely powerless.
“The police said the crash was caused by mechanical failure and bad weather.”
“You believed them?”
“I needed to.”
The honesty hurt more than anger would have.
He looked toward the photograph on his desk.
Evelyn holding Sophie as a baby.
“If I questioned every detail, I wouldn’t have been able to raise my daughter.”
Norah understood that better than she wanted to.
Sometimes surviving required accepting the version of the story that allowed you to wake up the next morning.
Ethan contacted the attorney handling Evelyn’s archived files.
Within hours, they discovered something strange.
Two days before her death, Evelyn had attempted to send an encrypted package to an email address Norah no longer used.
The message had bounced.
The attachment was still preserved in the estate server.
It contained twenty-seven pages.
Vendor payments.
False invoices.
Employee identities.
And a handwritten note.
Norah read it slowly.
Norah, you probably don’t remember me. We met at Hope Street. You told me something that stayed with me: financial abuse survives because victims are taught to be embarrassed.
Norah covered her mouth.
Evelyn continued.
Your story made me look more closely at several Meridian vendors Connor mentioned while volunteering with the clinic.
Connor had volunteered there?
Norah remembered now.
He had attended three events.
He had acted generous.
Helpful.
Charming.
Exactly the man she'd once believed he was.
Evelyn’s investigation eventually connected Connor to a network of false vendors moving money through stolen identities.
Grant Mercer had approved many of them.
“What was Grant doing?” Norah asked.
Ethan stared at the documents.
“Stealing.”
“How much?”
“Possibly hundreds of millions over several years.”
Norah sat back.
“And Evelyn found out.”
“Yes.”
The next document showed that she had scheduled a private meeting with Grant.
The meeting was supposed to happen the morning after her crash.
Ethan went very still.
“She never told me.”
“Maybe she was protecting you.”
His laugh was bitter.
“Everyone keeps protecting me with secrets.”
Norah almost pointed out that he did the same thing to Sophie.
But his expression stopped her.
Instead she touched his arm.
The contact surprised them both.
Ethan looked at her hand.
Then at her.
For a second the office felt dangerously quiet.
Norah pulled away.
His phone rang.
Priya was calling.
Ethan answered.
“Yes?”
He listened.
Then stood.
“What do you mean somebody accessed the archive?”
Norah’s stomach dropped.
Priya spoke loudly enough for her to hear.
Someone had remotely opened Evelyn’s sealed investigation files less than an hour after they had.
Ethan asked the obvious question.
“Who?”
There was a pause.
Then Priya gave him the name.
May you like
Grant Mercer.
And according to building security, Grant was already on his way upstairs.
