Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT MY FATHER DIED
For years, I had believed my father's death was an accident.
A heart attack.
That was the story.
My father had collapsed at home.
The doctors couldn't save him.
Teresa told me he had been under stress.
Now I learned there had been another version.
One nobody had wanted me to hear.
Helen arranged a secure call with Evelyn Parker.
An older woman appeared on the screen.
Gray hair.
Tired eyes.
She stared at me for several seconds.
Then she whispered:
“You're Thomas's son.”
“Yes.”
“I've been waiting for you.”
My chest tightened.
“What happened to my father?”
Evelyn looked away.
“Your father discovered the theft.”
“We know.”
“No. You don't.”
She opened a file.
“Richard wasn't simply stealing money.”
She showed us accounting records.
He had been creating shell companies.
Moving company assets.
Falsifying invoices.
Then selling equipment through third parties.
The total losses exceeded three million dollars.
My father found everything.
He confronted Richard.
The confrontation happened the night before he died.
Evelyn had witnessed it.
“Richard threatened your father.”
“What did my mother do?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“She was there.”
My stomach dropped.
“Was she involved?”
“She didn't hurt him.”
“Then what happened?”
“Your father told her to choose.”
“Choose what?”
“Her family or Richard.”
Teresa started sobbing.
Evelyn continued.
“She chose silence.”
That sentence hurt more than I expected.
My mother had watched my father fight to protect us.
And then she had chosen the person stealing from him.
Evelyn revealed one final piece of evidence.
A recording.
My father's voice filled the room.
“If anything happens to me, Connor must never know until he's old enough to defend himself.”
My eyes burned.
Then another voice appeared.
Richard.
“You think a trust will protect him?”
My father's answer was calm.
“No. But the truth will.”
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Evelyn said:
“Your father knew he was in danger.”
“Why did he still stay?”
“Because he believed Richard wouldn't actually kill him.”
My hands clenched.
He had been wrong.
But then Evelyn revealed something that changed everything.
“The medical examiner later found traces of a medication in his system that wasn't prescribed to him.”
I stared at the screen.
“Poison?”
“Not enough to prove it.”
“But enough to cause suspicion.”
“Yes.”
“Who had access to it?”
Evelyn looked directly at Teresa.
“Your mother.”
Teresa covered her face.
“No.”
I stepped toward her.
“Did you poison my father?”
She shook her head violently.
“No! I would never!”
Evelyn interrupted.
“Connor, listen.”
Everyone looked at her.
“The medication came from a pharmacy.”
She paused.
“And the prescription was written under another person's name.”
“What name?”
Evelyn answered:
“Marissa.”
My sister screamed.
“No!”
Every eye turned toward her.
She backed away.
“I didn't do that.”
Helen immediately stood.
“Don't say another word until we have your attorney present.”
Marissa began crying.
“I swear I don't know anything.”
But there was one terrifying possibility.
May you like
Someone had used my sister's identity too.
And whoever did it had been planning this for years.
