Chapter 4: The Phone Call That Changed Everything
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Emily stood frozen beside the filing cabinet, staring at the half-open storage unit door.
Outside, her mother's voice trembled.
“I was the one who called him that night.””
Jace Miller slowly turned his head toward Emily.
His expression had changed.
The familiar warmth was gone. In its place was something harder, something that suggested he had spent eleven years imagining this exact moment.
“Victoria,” he called through the door.
“You'd better explain what you just said.””
Richard Hayes grabbed her arm.
“Shut your mouth.””
Victoria pulled away.
“Don't touch me!””
“You've already said too much.””
Emily stepped toward the entrance.
“Mom?””
Jace immediately blocked her path.
“Stay here, sweetheart.””
“No. I want to hear her.””
Richard struck the metal door again.
“Enough of this! Open it!””
Jace looked at Ray.
Ray nodded and quietly moved toward the rear exit.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message to the other bikers waiting outside.
Then Jace raised the storage door.
Richard stood several feet away, his expensive suit jacket open, his face red with anger.
Victoria stood beside the Mercedes, clutching her handbag.
“Where's the ledger?”” Richard demanded.
Jace folded his arms.
“Good afternoon to you too.””
“Don't play games with me.””
“Funny. I was about to say the same thing.””
Richard looked past him.
His eyes found Emily.
“There you are.””
Emily stepped forward.
“Why did my mother try to withdraw money from my account?””
Richard's expression briefly changed.
Then he smiled.
“That's a misunderstanding. Your mother was trying to protect your inheritance.””
“Eight million dollars?””
“Your father owed me money.””
Jace laughed.
“That's a creative way to describe stealing from a business partner.””
Richard ignored him.
“Emily, you're young. You don't understand complicated financial arrangements.””
“I understand that your name appears in my father's recordings.””
Richard's smile disappeared.
Emily continued.
“I understand that you were the last person he met before he died. And I understand that my mother knew about it.””
Victoria looked down.
Richard stepped toward Emily.
“Your father was a reckless man. He made promises he couldn't keep.””
“What promises?””
“He promised to give me control of his company.””
Jace's eyes narrowed.
“Your father never agreed to that.””
Richard pointed at him.
“You weren't there when the contracts were signed.””
“I was there when your company was failing and my brother helped you stay afloat.””
“Your brother?””
“My brother was Daniel Carter. Emily's father.””
Richard laughed bitterly.
“Daniel was no saint.””
Emily felt her stomach tighten.
“Stop talking about my dad like that.””
Richard looked at her.
“Your father had a habit of trusting people who didn't deserve it. That's how he ended up dead.””
Victoria suddenly stepped between them.
“Richard, stop.””
He turned on her.
“You're the one who brought us here!””
“I brought us here because I wanted to talk to my daughter.””
“You brought us here because you thought you could fix this.””
Victoria's eyes filled.
“Please.””
Emily stared at her mother.
“Tell me what happened that night.””
Victoria looked at Jace.
He gave a single nod.
“Tell her.””
Victoria took a shaky breath.
“Your father called me at 9:17 p.m. He said he needed to meet someone. He sounded frightened.””
“Who did he say he was meeting?””
“Richard.””
Emily looked at Richard.
He didn't deny it.
Victoria continued.
“Your father told me he had found something in the company accounts. He said Richard had been transferring money into private accounts for years.””
Jace's hands curled into fists.
“How much?””
“Almost ten million dollars.””
Ray returned to the entrance.
He had heard enough to understand the significance.
Victoria continued.
“Daniel wanted to report it. Richard begged me to stop him. He said the company would collapse, that employees would lose their jobs, that we would lose everything.””
Emily's voice cracked.
“So you helped him?””
Victoria shook her head.
“I didn't know what he was planning.””
“But you called Dad.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Victoria began crying.
“Richard told me Daniel was going to hurt himself. He said your father was unstable. He asked me to call him and convince him to meet somewhere safe.””
Jace stepped forward.
“Where?””
“An old garage outside town.””
The room went silent.
Emily looked at Jace.
“The garage from the recording?””
He nodded slowly.
Victoria wiped her cheeks.
“I called Daniel and told him Richard wanted to settle everything. I told him I would come too.””
“But you didn't.””
Victoria looked away.
“No.””
Emily felt something inside her break.
“You sent him there alone?””
“I thought Richard would talk to him. I thought they would work it out.””
Jace's voice dropped.
“What happened next?””
Victoria looked at Richard.
He stared back at her.
“Tell her,” he said coldly.
Victoria closed her eyes.
“I received another call around midnight. It was Richard. He told me Daniel had crashed his motorcycle.””
Emily shook her head.
“And you believed him?””
“I wanted to.””
“That isn't an answer!””
Victoria flinched.
Emily stepped closer.
“Did you know Dad's brakes had been damaged?””
Victoria didn't speak.
Jace moved toward her.
“Victoria.””
She covered her face.
“I found out the next morning.””
The words seemed to drain the air from the room.
Emily took a step backward.
“You knew?””
Victoria nodded.
“I found a message on Richard's phone. He had arranged for someone to tamper with the motorcycle.””
Ray swore under his breath.
Jace stared at her.
“You knew Daniel was murdered, and you let us bury him believing it was an accident?””
Victoria began sobbing.
“I was scared!””
Emily's voice was barely audible.
“What about me?””
Victoria looked at her.
“I had a little girl. I was afraid Richard would come after you.””
“So you let me believe my father abandoned me?””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what? The truth?””
Victoria reached toward her.
Emily stepped away.
“Don't.””
Richard suddenly laughed.
“This is getting ridiculous.””
Jace turned.
“What's funny?””
Richard adjusted his cuffs.
“You're all acting as if Victoria has just confessed to something important. She hasn't. She made a phone call. That's not a crime.””
Emily looked at him.
“Did you arrange the damage to my father's motorcycle?””
Richard stared at her.
Then he said, “Prove it.””
Jace reached into his vest and pulled out the photograph.
“Your father kept records.””
Richard's face tightened.
“Where's the blue ledger?””
“That's what we're trying to find.””
Richard looked toward the filing cabinet.
Then he smiled.
“Then you've wasted your time.””
Emily frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Richard slipped a hand into his jacket and pulled out his phone.
“You think you're the first people to look for it?””
He tapped the screen.
A moment later, Ray's phone buzzed.
Ray checked the message.
His expression changed.
“Jace.””
“What?””
Ray turned his screen around.
A photograph showed the old garage.
Smoke was rising from its roof.
Emily gasped.
“No!””
Jace grabbed the phone.
“Who sent this?””
“Unknown number.””
Richard put his phone away.
“Your father's secrets should have stayed buried.””
Jace lunged forward.
Ray caught his shoulder.
“Not here!””
Outside, several motorcycles roared into the facility.
The bikers had arrived.
Richard glanced toward the entrance.
For the first time, uncertainty crossed his face.
Jace pointed at him.
“You're not leaving until the police get here.””
Richard laughed.
“Then call them.””
“I already did.””
Richard looked at Victoria.
“You stupid woman.””
He shoved past her and ran toward his Mercedes.
Two bikers moved to block him.
But Richard didn't stop.
He swung his car around the corner and accelerated toward the gate.
The security barrier crashed against the hood.
Then he reversed, smashed through the side barrier, and disappeared onto the road.
One biker shouted after him.
Jace didn't chase.
He turned to Emily.
“We're going to that garage.””
“But the fire—”
“Your father's evidence might still be there.””
Emily looked at her mother.
Victoria was crying beside the Mercedes.
“Are you coming?”” Emily asked.
Victoria shook her head.
“I don't deserve to.””
Emily stared at her for a long moment.
“No. You don't.””
Then she turned away.
Jace placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Let's go.””
As the bikers rushed toward their vehicles, Emily looked down at the photograph of her father.
The man in the picture was smiling.
She pressed it against her chest.
“I won't let them bury you twice, Dad.””
Then she climbed into Jace's truck.
And as the convoy raced toward the burning garage, her phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
*Your father didn't leave you eight million dollars. He left you something much bigger. Ask Jace what happened to the little girl in the blue photograph.*
Emily slowly turned toward him.
“Jace?””
He kept his eyes on the road.
“What is it?””
She showed him the message.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
For the first time since she'd met him that afternoon, Jace Miller looked genuinely afraid.
“Where did you get that photograph?”” he whispered.
Emily reached into her backpack.
The old photograph from her father's envelope was still there.
But now she noticed something she hadn't seen before.
In the corner, standing beside her father, was a little girl.
May you like
A girl who looked almost exactly like Emily.
Except Emily had never seen her before.
