Chapter 2: The Letter Her Father Left Behind
Emily couldn't hear the applause anymore.
She couldn't hear the principal announcing the final graduates.
All she could hear was the beating of her own heart.
Her father's letter trembled in her hands.
“Jace,” she whispered.
“What does this mean? My mother told me Dad died in a motorcycle accident.””
Jace pulled a chair from the front row and placed it beside her.
“Sit down, sweetheart.””
“I don't want to sit down. I want you to tell me what happened.””
He studied her face.
“You deserve the truth. But not here, and not with a hundred people listening.””
Emily glanced toward the stage.
Principal Reynolds had noticed the commotion. He approached them with a concerned expression.
“Is everything all right?””
Jace nodded respectfully.
“Sorry for interrupting, sir. This is personal.””
The principal looked at Emily.
“Would you like somewhere private to talk?””
Emily nodded.
Principal Reynolds directed them toward a small conference room beside the auditorium.
Jace entered with Emily and Ray, the biker president.
The other riders remained outside.
When the door closed, Emily placed the envelope on the table.
“Start talking.””
Jace removed his sunglasses.
His eyes were tired.
“I knew your father for twenty-three years,” he began.
“We met when I was working construction in Ohio. He was a mechanic. One night, my truck broke down on the highway, and your dad stopped to help.””
Emily almost smiled.
“That sounds like him.””
“He didn't just fix my truck. He drove forty miles to get the part, refused payment, and told me I looked like a man who needed a friend more than a mechanic.””
Ray chuckled.
“Your dad was stubborn as a mule.””
Emily looked at him.
“You knew my father too?””
“Everybody in this room did,” Ray answered.
“He was family.””
Jace took a breath.
“Your father helped build our motorcycle club into what it became. We weren't always the men you see today. Some of us had made mistakes.
Some had lost families. Some were just trying to find a place where we belonged.””
He leaned forward.
“Your father gave us that place.””
Emily looked down at the letter.
“Then why weren't any of you around when he died?””
Silence.
Ray shifted in his chair.
Jace rubbed his beard.
“Because we were told you didn't want us near you.””
Emily frowned.
“Who told you that?””
“Your mother.””
Emily stared at him.
“My mother?””
Jace nodded.
“After your father died, we tried to attend the funeral. Your mother met us outside the church. She told us your father had left instructions that we should stay away from you.””
“That doesn't sound like my dad.””
“We didn't think so either.””
“Then why did you leave?””
Jace's eyes lowered.
“Because she had a copy of a letter with his signature. It said the club was no longer welcome in his family's life.””
Emily shook her head.
“My dad never said anything like that.””
Ray folded his arms.
“We suspected something was wrong. But we had no proof.””
Emily pulled the letter closer.
“What happened to him?””
Jace looked at Ray.
Ray nodded once.
“Your father died in a crash on Route 17,” Jace said.
“That's what the official report says.””
“I know.””
“But there were things about that night that never made sense.””
“What things?””
“His motorcycle had been inspected two days earlier. Everything was fine. Yet the brake line was damaged.””
Emily felt cold.
“Damaged?””
Jace nodded.
“The police called it an accident. We never believed that.””
Emily slowly sat down.
“My mother told me he lost control because he was driving too fast.””
Jace's voice became quieter.
“Your father wasn't riding that night for fun. He was going somewhere to meet someone.””
“Who?””
“We never found out.””
Emily looked at the brass key.
“What does this open?””
Jace placed his palm on the table.
“An old storage unit. Your father rented it under his name. He gave me the key six months before he died.””
“Why didn't you give it to me sooner?””
“Because he asked me to wait until you were eighteen or graduated. He said you needed to be old enough to decide what to do with the truth.””
Emily's eyes filled.
“He knew he might die?””
Jace didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, “He was worried.””
“About what?””
“About someone close to him.””
The room seemed to shrink.
Emily thought about her childhood.
Her mother, Victoria, had always kept a tight grip on the family finances. She controlled every document. She never liked Emily asking questions about her father.
Whenever Emily mentioned his motorcycle club, Victoria would become angry.
“Those men were dangerous,” she always said.
“They were criminals.””
“Your father made a terrible mistake trusting them.””
And whenever Emily asked whether she could visit the cemetery, her mother would insist on taking her somewhere else.
Emily had never questioned it.
Not seriously.
Now she wondered why.
“My mother said Dad's friends abandoned him,” Emily whispered.
Jace looked directly at her.
“We never abandoned him.””
A knock interrupted them.
Principal Reynolds opened the door slightly.
“Emily, your mother is here.””
Emily's stomach tightened.
“Mom?””
The principal nodded.
“She says she needs to speak with you immediately.””
Jace stood.
“Let her come in.””
Emily shook her head.
“No. I want to hear what she has to say first.””
A moment later, Victoria Carter entered.
She wore an elegant cream-colored dress and carried a designer handbag. Her blond hair was perfectly arranged. A gold necklace rested against her collarbone.
She looked at Jace.
Her face went pale.
“What are you doing here?””
Jace didn't move.
“Good afternoon, Victoria.””
She ignored him.
“Emily, come with me. We're leaving.””
Emily remained seated.
“Mom, I have a question.””
Victoria glanced at the envelope.
Then at the key.
Her expression changed.
“Where did you get that?””
Emily raised the letter.
“Dad left it for me.””
Victoria laughed nervously.
“That's impossible.””
“Why?””
“Because your father didn't leave anything.””
Jace stepped forward.
“That's not true.””
Victoria pointed at him.
“You have no right to be here.””
“Actually,” Jace said, “I have every right to deliver something your husband entrusted to me.””
Victoria's voice rose.
“You people have caused enough trouble for this family!””
Emily stood.
“Mom, what did Dad mean when he wrote that I shouldn't believe everything I've been told about his death?””
Victoria froze.
For a brief moment, fear crossed her face.
Then she smiled.
It was the kind of smile Emily had seen whenever her mother was trying to make an uncomfortable conversation disappear.
“Sweetheart, you're upset. Graduation is overwhelming. These men are taking advantage of your emotions.””
“They knew Dad.””
“They barely knew him.””
Jace let out a bitter laugh.
“Victoria, I stood beside your husband when he bought your first house. I held Emily when she was born. I was there when he learned to ride again after breaking his leg.””
Victoria's eyes flashed.
“And where were you when he died?””
The question silenced the room.
Jace looked down.
“We were trying to find out who killed him.””
Emily's head snapped toward him.
“Killed?””
Victoria grabbed Emily's wrist.
“That's enough. We're going home.””
Emily pulled away.
“Don't touch me.””
Victoria stared at her daughter.
It was the first time Emily had ever spoken to her that way.
“Excuse me?””
“I said don't touch me.””
Victoria's cheeks flushed.
“You have no idea what you're getting yourself into.””
Emily lifted the letter.
“Then explain it.””
Victoria looked at the brass key.
Then she said something that made Jace's face harden.
“You don't understand. Your father was going to destroy this family.””
Emily felt her breath catch.
“What did he find out?””
Victoria turned toward the door.
“I'm done with this conversation.””
Jace stepped into her path.
“Not so fast.””
“Move.””
“Tell her the truth.””
Victoria's handbag slipped from her shoulder. She quickly caught it.
Then her eyes settled on the small photograph Emily had removed from the envelope.
It showed Jace, her father, and the club.
Victoria stared at one particular person in the picture.
A man standing behind Emily's father.
Her lips parted.
“Where did you get that?””
“Dad left it.””
Victoria snatched the photograph.
Emily gasped.
“Mom!””
Victoria turned it over.
The date was visible.
Eleven years earlier.
Her hands began shaking.
Jace noticed.
“What's wrong, Victoria? Recognize someone?””
She shoved the photograph into her handbag.
“Emily, we're leaving. Now.””
“No.””
Victoria stepped closer.
“I'm your mother.””
“And he's my father. Why are you so afraid of a letter he wrote?””
Victoria's expression hardened.
“Because some truths are better left buried.””
Nobody spoke.
Then she turned and walked out.
Emily stood motionless.
Jace watched the door close.
Ray exhaled slowly.
“Well,” he muttered.
“That answered one question.””
Emily looked at him.
“Which one?””
Ray glanced at Jace.
“Your mother knows more than she's telling you.””
Emily returned to the table.
She unfolded the rest of her father's letter.
At the bottom, beneath his signature, was a final sentence she hadn't noticed before.
If Victoria tries to stop you from opening the storage unit, don't go alone. And whatever happens, find the blue ledger before she does.
Emily stared at the words.
“The blue ledger?””
Jace nodded slowly.
“That's what we've been looking for.””
“What's in it?””
Jace looked toward the window.
“Proof.””
“Proof of what?””
He turned back toward her.
“Proof that your father didn't die because of a motorcycle accident.””
May you like
Then he added, almost too quietly to hear:
“And proof that the person responsible may have been sitting in the front row at your graduation.””
