Chapter 10 - The Last Page of Richard's Letter
I stared at the photograph.
Lauren was sitting inside a car.
Crying.
Holding the missing page of Richard's letter.
Behind her was the old abandoned warehouse on the edge of town.
The same place I had driven past twenty years ago.
The same place where Richard's car was found after he disappeared.
The place everyone told me was just a coincidence.
But now I knew.
It wasn't.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"Lauren was there."
Daniel looked at me.
"What?"
I turned the screen toward him.
His face changed instantly.
"No."
Richard stepped closer.
"Where did she get that?"
I looked at him.
"You tell me."
He looked away.
That was becoming a pattern.
Everyone knew something.
Everyone had answers.
Everyone had been waiting for the right moment.
Except me.
The woman who lost twenty years of her life believing a lie.
Edward watched silently.
Almost enjoying it.
"You finally understand."
I looked at him.
"Understand what?"
He smiled.
"That the truth was never about Richard."
My eyes narrowed.
"Then what was it about?"
He looked at Daniel.
"It was always about him."
Daniel stepped back.
"Me?"
Edward nodded.
"You were the easiest person to control."
Daniel's face hardened.
"You used me."
"No."
Edward smiled.
"I guided you."
Richard moved forward.
"You poisoned him against me."
Edward looked at him.
"You did that yourself."
The words hit hard.
Because there was some truth buried inside them.
Richard had made mistakes.
He had lied.
He had disappeared.
But Edward had taken those mistakes and turned them into a weapon.
A weapon pointed at an eighteen-year-old boy.
A weapon pointed at me.
My phone buzzed again.
Lauren.
Another message.
This time, only a location.
And a time.
Come alone. 10 minutes.
Daniel saw it.
"No."
I looked at him.
"It's from your wife."
"That's exactly why it's dangerous."
"Daniel."
He grabbed his hair.
"You don't know what she's involved in."
I looked at him.
"Neither do you."
He went quiet.
Because he knew I was right.
For years, Daniel believed he knew the truth.
But now he was standing in the middle of a story where everyone had lied to him.
Including the people he trusted most.
Richard stepped closer.
"I'm coming with you."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Margaret."
"I spent twenty years being protected from the truth."
I looked at all of them.
"That ends today."
Nobody argued.
Because they knew.
I was done asking permission.
I took my coat.
I took Richard's letter.
And I left.
The warehouse looked exactly like it did in the photograph.
Old.
Empty.
Forgotten.
But now I knew it had never been forgotten.
Someone had kept this place alive.
Someone had kept the secrets alive.
I stepped out of my car.
"Lauren?"
My voice echoed.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then I heard footsteps.
Lauren appeared from behind the building.
She looked nothing like the woman I knew.
Her makeup was gone.
Her hair was messy.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
"Margaret."
I stopped.
She looked at me.
"I'm sorry."
Those two words almost made me angry.
Almost.
"Why?"
She looked down.
"Because I should have told you years ago."
"Years ago?"
My voice shook.
"You knew?"
Lauren nodded.
A tear fell.
"I found out after I married Daniel."
My heart tightened.
"About what?"
"The accounts."
She swallowed.
"My father wasn't just using Daniel."
She looked at me.
"He was using me too."
I stayed silent.
"Then why did you stay?"
Her face broke.
"Because I was trying to protect Daniel."
I looked away.
"Everyone says that."
"I know."
She stepped closer.
"But this time it's true."
She reached into her bag.
And pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"The last page."
My breathing stopped.
Richard's letter.
The missing page.
I reached for it.
But she pulled it back.
"Before I give this to you, you need to know something."
"What?"
She looked toward the road.
"Edward isn't the person who started this."
I froze.
"What?"
She whispered:
"He's working for someone else."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Who?"
Lauren looked terrified.
"The person who has been controlling the accounts from the beginning."
I stared at her.
"Who?"
She opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
Because a car engine started nearby.
Both of us turned.
A black SUV appeared at the end of the road.
Lauren's face went pale.
"No."
"What?"
She grabbed my arm.
"We need to leave."
"Who is that?"
She didn't answer.
The SUV stopped.
The door opened.
Someone stepped out.
Someone familiar.
Someone I recognized immediately.
My entire body froze.
Because the person walking toward us was the last person I expected to see.
Daniel.
But not alone.
Someone was standing behind him.
Someone holding a gun.
Lauren whispered:
"Margaret..."
I looked at Daniel.
Trying to understand.
Trying to believe I was wrong.
Then Daniel looked at me.
His face was full of fear.
And he said:
"Mom, don't listen to her."
I stared.
Because behind Daniel stood the person who had been missing from the entire story.
May you like
The person who had been controlling everything.
And when that person stepped into the light, I finally saw who had been pulling the strings.
