“You broke into my files.”
“I found them in the office you told me was empty.”
Victoria looked at Thomas Reed, who had returned with an officer carrying two sealed evidence boxes.
Thomas lowered his head.
“The office was never empty,” he said. “Mrs. Sterling kept the original records there.”
Victoria’s stare sharpened.
“How long have you been betraying me?”
Thomas’s hands trembled. “Twenty-four years.”
The answer silenced even the officers.
He took a folded photograph from his jacket. It was creased at the edges and faded to the color of tea.
“Your husband gave me this the night before he died,” Thomas said. “He told me to keep it if anything happened to him.”
Victoria did not move.
Thomas crossed the room and handed the photograph to Julian.
It showed Daniel Sterling standing beside a warehouse at dawn. Beside him was Thomas, younger and grinning. In the background, half-hidden under a tarp, sat a cargo container marked with the insignia of a company that no longer existed.
On the back, Daniel had written four words.
If I disappear, look inside.
Julian stared at the handwriting.
He had not seen it since he was twelve.
His thumb passed over the ink. His breathing became uneven.
“I remember this morning,” he said. “He told me he was going fishing.”
“He was going to meet an investigator,” Thomas said. “He had found that your mother was using the company to move restricted materials through the northern ports. He wanted out.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because she had already threatened my wife. Then my wife died, and I was too afraid to believe fear was the only thing keeping me alive.”
Victoria’s eyes flashed. “You pathetic coward.”
Thomas looked at her.
“Yes,” he said. “I was.”
The simple admission seemed to weaken her more than an accusation would have.
Marian approached Julian. “There is something you need to know before the warrant proceeds.”
Julian looked at her.
“The board vote was not unanimous. Your mother still controls enough shares to challenge the trust.”
