PART 8 — THE MAN WHO KNEW THE TRUTH
Catherine ran.
She didn't look back.
The black metal box was pressed tightly against her chest as she hurried through the narrow alley behind the abandoned station.
Her father's last words echoed in her mind.
Someone made sure he never had the chance to tell the truth.
For nine years, Catherine had believed her father died because his health had failed.
Now she was beginning to understand that everything she knew about his death might have been a carefully constructed lie.
She reached her car and locked the doors before taking a breath.
Her hands were shaking.
She placed the metal box on the passenger seat.
Then she noticed something.
There was a tiny red light blinking beneath the dashboard.
Catherine stared at it.
A tracking device.
Someone had put a tracker in her car.
She immediately pulled out her phone and called the police.
But before she could explain everything, her phone rang.
It was the man from the station.
“Don't call anyone yet.”
“Why?”
“They're already watching the police.”
Catherine's heart sank.
“Who are they?”
“I'll explain everything, but you need to listen carefully.”
“Where are you?”
“I'm safe for now.”
“What was my father's name in your message?”
There was a pause.
“Daniel.”
Catherine closed her eyes.
Her father.
Daniel Whitmore.
The man continued.
“Your father knew someone was stealing from his company. He hired a private investigator.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
Catherine's eyes widened.
“You investigated my family?”
“Yes.”
“And what did you find?”
“That your father was right.”
She swallowed.
“Who was stealing from him?”
“Teresa's family.”
Catherine felt sick.
“But why would Teresa do that?”
“She wasn't working alone.”
Catherine knew the answer before he said it.
“Your mother?”
“Yes.”
Silence filled the car.
Catherine looked at the metal box.
“What happened the night my father died?”
“I wasn't there.”
“Then how do you know it wasn't natural?”
“Because I found the evidence afterward.”
“What evidence?”
“Your father's medical records were altered.”
Catherine's breathing stopped.
“Altered how?”
“The original records showed signs of poisoning.”
Her hand flew to her mouth.
“No…”
“The official report was changed.”
“Who changed it?”
“I never proved that.”
“But you suspected someone.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
The man hesitated.
Then he said:
“Your attorney.”
Catherine gripped the steering wheel.
Her attorney.
The same man she had trusted with everything.
The same man who had met Mark and Teresa only hours earlier.
“What was my father's final instruction to you?”
“He told me something very specific.”
“What?”
“If anything happened to him, protect Catherine.”
Catherine's eyes filled with tears.
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“Because he believed the people around you were already watching you.”
She looked through the rearview mirror.
For the first time, she noticed a dark sedan parked across the street.
Its engine was running.
Catherine's phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
“Leave the box. Walk away.”
She stared at the screen.
Then another message.
“Your daughter is at the hotel.”
Catherine's blood froze.
Chloe.
She had left her daughter at the hotel.
She immediately started the car.
“I have to go.”
“Catherine, don't go back to the hotel.”
“What?”
“They know where Chloe is.”
Her heart began racing.
“Then where is she?”
“I already moved her.”
Catherine almost stopped breathing.
“What did you say?”
“Chloe is safe.”
“Where?”
“I'll send you the location.”
A message arrived.
Catherine opened it.
It was a private residence.
She recognized the address.
Her father's old house.
The house that had supposedly been sold years ago.
Catherine whispered:
“How is that possible?”
The man answered:
“Your father never sold it.”
Catherine stared at the address.
There was another message.
“He left it for you.”
Then the man said:
“Catherine, there's something else you need to know.”
“What?”
“Your father didn't just leave you money.”
A pause.
“He left you control of the company.”
Catherine's eyes widened.
“The company that Mark and Paula are trying to take?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are they trying to transfer it?”
“Because they know something you don't.”
“What?”
The man lowered his voice.
“Your father had proof that the company was being used for something illegal.”
Catherine felt a chill move through her body.
“What kind of illegal activity?”
Before he could answer, the call suddenly disconnected.
Catherine stared at her phone.
Then the dark sedan across the street began moving.
Straight toward her.
She started the engine and accelerated.
She didn't know who was following her.
She didn't know who she could trust.
But one thing was finally clear.
Her father's death, Mark's betrayal, Teresa's lies, and the attempted theft of her entire life were all connected.
And somewhere inside the old house was the truth.
Catherine drove toward it.
Because for the first time in nine years...
She was going to find out exactly why her father died.
