Chapter 7 - The Man Sitting Beside My Father
Thomas Reed had known me since I was five.
He attended every birthday party.
Every graduation.
When I became vice president at Mercer Biomedical, he gave a speech about watching me grow into the future of the company.
At my wedding, he sat beside my father.
Now my attorney was telling me his office had helped create a company designed to steal my shares four years before I even met Derek.
At 7:10 the next morning, Dad came upstairs.
He looked twenty years older.
"I know about Thomas."
Lena and I stared at him.
"You knew?"
"Not this."
"What did you know?"
Dad sat across from me.
"Four years ago, Thomas wanted to sell Mercer."
"To Colin."
"Yes."
"I thought the board rejected it."
"We did."
"What happened afterward?"
Dad rubbed both hands together.
"Thomas never stopped trying."
My anger rose.
"And you kept him on the board?"
"He owns eighteen percent."
"That isn't an answer."
Dad looked at me.
"I thought I could contain him."
The word made me laugh.
Men like Dad and Derek always believed danger became manageable if they were the ones deciding what information other people received.
"Did you know Patricia?"
"No."
"Robert Hale?"
"Yes."
"Did Robert steal from Mercer?"
Dad hesitated.
That tiny pause changed everything.
"What aren't you telling me?"
He looked toward the window.
"Robert wasn't the only person moving equipment."
My stomach tightened.
"Thomas."
Dad nodded.
"Robert discovered Thomas was diverting inventory."
I stood.
"Yesterday you said Robert did it."
"He signed the paperwork."
"Because Thomas set him up?"
"I don't know."
"You've had twenty-one years to find out."
Dad's face tightened.
"I was trying to save the company."
That sentence sounded too familiar.
Patricia had justified revenge.
Derek justified control.
Dad justified secrecy.
Everyone believed their fear excused what they did next.
"What happened to Robert?"
"He threatened to expose Thomas."
"And?"
"Then he died."
The room went silent.
"Dad."
"It was ruled a heart attack."
"Was it?"
"I don't know."
I felt sick.
A knock came at the suite door.
Ethan opened it.
A hotel employee handed him a small padded envelope that had been delivered for me.
No return name.
Inside was a flash drive.
One file.
A video.
The timestamp was twenty-one years old.
Poor quality.
Security footage from a warehouse.
Three men appeared.
My father.
Thomas Reed.
Robert Hale.
They were arguing.
No audio.
Robert shoved paperwork into my father's chest.
Thomas tried to take it.
Robert pulled away.
Then the recording skipped.
Thirty-two seconds missing.
When the image returned, Robert was lying on the floor.
My father knelt beside him.
Thomas stood near the door.
The video ended.
Dad went white.
"I've never seen this."
I looked at him.
"Were you there when Derek's father died?"
His silence lasted too long.
"Dad."
"Yes."
My entire body went cold.
"Did you kill him?"
"No."
The answer came instantly.
Then Dad said something stranger.
"Robert wasn't dead when I left."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"He was conscious. Angry. He told me to get out."
"Then why did the official report say he died alone?"
Dad looked toward the flash drive.
"I don't know."
Lena checked the envelope.
There was one handwritten note inside.
ASK THOMAS WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE MISSING 32 SECONDS.
My father recognized the handwriting.
So did I.
It belonged to Derek.
May you like
Which meant my husband had known about the video.
And despite everything that happened at the wedding, he was still sending me evidence.
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