Chapter 4: The Woman Who Knew My Father's Secret
I read Evelyn Price's message so many times that the words began to blur.
If you want the truth about your father's death, meet me tonight. Come alone.
The address was on the same stretch of road where my father had died two years earlier.
I could still remember the police officer standing on our porch that rainy evening, his uniform darkened by water, his expression carefully neutral as he told Vanessa that Daniel Carter had been killed in a single-car accident.
I remembered Vanessa pressing a hand to her mouth.
I remembered Brianna crying in her bedroom.
And I remembered asking why nobody would let me see my father's car.
Vanessa had told me it was too badly damaged.
Now a woman I had never met was telling me that the truth had been hidden somewhere along that same road.
"Nia?""
David Collins, the showcase director, was still standing in front of me.
"Are you all right?""
I locked my phone.
"Yes. I just need to make a call.""
Behind him, Brianna was tugging at the bodice of my gown while Vanessa whispered urgently into her ear.
I caught a few words.
"Don't answer questions.""
Then, louder, Brianna protested, "But you told me nobody could prove anything!""
Vanessa seized her daughter's wrist.
"Not another word.""
I turned away before they noticed I had heard them.
David led me to a small office near the stage. He examined the photographs and sketches I had saved on my phone, then compared them with the official design submission.
The evidence was unmistakable.
My original sketches showed the gown developing from a simple white silhouette into the elaborate blue butterfly design. Several photographs documented my hands stitching individual crystals into the bodice. One image even showed the dress on my bedroom mannequin, with a timestamp from three weeks earlier.
"This is compelling evidence, Miss Carter," David said.
"Does that mean I can compete?""
He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"It means we have grounds to investigate the authorship claim. Unfortunately, the contestant list has already been finalized, and your withdrawal request complicates the situation.""
"But I didn't withdraw.""
"I believe you. However, I need to establish that formally.""
I looked toward the stage, where Brianna was posing for another photograph.
"She stole my dress.""
David's expression softened.
"Then we'll determine what can be done.""
He handed me a form.
"Complete this statement. Include the dates you began designing the gown, when you finished it, and how it came into Brianna's possession.""
I took the pen.
For the next twenty minutes, I wrote everything.
When I finished, David signed the bottom of the document.
"We'll contact you before the final judging begins.""
I stood.
"Thank you.""
"Nia?""
I turned.
"Whatever happens today, don't let this experience convince you that your work has no value. I've seen hundreds of entries. That gown is extraordinary.""
For the first time since entering the building, I felt something loosen inside my chest.
It wasn't confidence.
Not yet.
But it was enough to keep me standing.
I left the office and walked into the main hall.
Vanessa intercepted me near the entrance.
"Come with me.""
"No.""
Her eyebrows rose.
"Excuse me?""
"I've already spoken to the director. Everything about the dress is documented.""
Her mouth tightened.
"You think a few photographs make you untouchable?""
"No. I think they make it harder for you to lie.""
For several seconds, she stared at me.
Then she grabbed my elbow and pulled me into an empty corridor.
"Listen carefully," she hissed.
"You are going to stop this nonsense immediately.""
"Let go of me.""
She tightened her grip.
"Your father left debts. Do you understand? Debts that I had to settle while you sat upstairs playing with fabric.""
"Then show me the records.""
Her face reddened.
"You have no idea what I sacrificed.""
"You keep saying that. But every time I ask about my medical trust, you refuse to show me anything.""
"Because you wouldn't understand it.""
"Try me.""
She released my arm so suddenly that I stumbled against the wall.
"You are an ungrateful little girl.""
"And you're afraid.""
The words escaped before I had time to reconsider them.
Vanessa went still.
I held her gaze.
"You're afraid I'll discover what happened to my father's money.""
Her expression changed, and for one terrifying moment, I thought she might strike me.
Instead, she leaned close enough for me to hear every word.
"If you continue digging into this family, you will lose more than a dress.""
I stepped away.
"Then you should hope I never find out what you're hiding.""
I walked out before she could respond.
Outside, the afternoon sun was painfully bright against my uncovered left eye. I lowered my head and took a few careful breaths.
My phone vibrated again.
This time, Evelyn had sent a voice message.
I put in my earphones and pressed play.
"Nia, I know you're frightened. I would be, too. But your father asked me to protect you if anything happened to him.
I failed to do that when it mattered most. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice.""
Her voice broke slightly.
"Please come tonight. There are things I should have told you two years ago.""
The recording ended.
I looked at the address again.
Then I called Thomas Reed.
He answered almost immediately.
"Nia, how did the meeting with the showcase director go?""
I explained everything, including Evelyn's messages.
Thomas grew silent when I mentioned the road.
"I don't like this," he said finally.
"Do you know her?""
"Yes. Evelyn was your father's accountant. She was meticulous, cautious, and not someone who would casually send a message like that.""
"Should I meet her?""
"Not alone.""
"She specifically told me to come alone.""
"That is precisely why I don't want you to.""
I glanced at the street.
"Mr. Reed, if she knows what happened to my father, I can't ignore her.""
He sighed.
"Then we do this carefully. Send me the address. I'll arrange for someone I trust to remain nearby, and we'll make sure you have a way to contact us.""
I sent him the location.
"One more thing," he said.
"Have you told Vanessa about the blue ledger?""
"No.""
"Good. Don't.""
I hesitated.
"Do you believe she had something to do with my father's death?""
"I believe your father had concerns that deserve investigation. That is not the same as knowing who was responsible.""
I understood the distinction.
But when I ended the call, I couldn't stop thinking about the expression on Vanessa's face when I mentioned the trust.
She hadn't looked offended.
She had looked afraid.
At seven thirty that evening, I arrived at the address.
The road ran along the edge of a wooded area outside Atlanta. Streetlights stood far apart, leaving long stretches of pavement in shadow. A small parking area overlooked a bend in the road, where a metal guardrail had been replaced after some earlier accident.
My father's accident.
I parked beneath a streetlight and checked my phone.
A message from Thomas confirmed that someone he trusted was nearby.
I stayed in the car until another message arrived.
I'm here. Walk toward the old service entrance.
I stepped outside.
The air smelled of damp earth and pine needles. Traffic hummed in the distance, but the trees muffled most of the sound.
Near the service entrance stood a woman in a dark coat.
She was in her fifties, with short brown hair and a leather satchel held tightly against her side.
When she saw me, she looked as though she might cry.
"Nia?""
"Are you Evelyn Price?""
She nodded.
"You look so much like him.""
I swallowed.
"Like my father?""
"Especially around the eyes.""
She looked at the white bandage covering my right eye.
"How bad is it?""
I stiffened.
"How do you know about my eye?""
"Your father told me about your appointments. He was trying to arrange the trust so that you would never have to choose between your health and your education.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"Vanessa said there was no money.""
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"Of course she did.""
"Then tell me what happened.""
She opened her satchel and removed a blue ledger.
Its corners were worn, and the edges of several pages had darkened with age.
"This is a copy of the transaction book I kept while working for your father.""
I reached for it.
She held it back.
"Before I give you this, you need to understand that it doesn't prove who caused the accident. It does, however, establish that money was moved out of your trust without the authorization required by the agreement.""
"Who moved it?""
Evelyn looked toward the road.
"Vanessa requested the withdrawals. But someone else approved them.""
"Who?""
She opened the ledger to a page marked with a yellow tab.
A signature appeared beside a large transfer.
I recognized the surname.
Carter.
But the first name wasn't Vanessa.
It was Michael.
My father's younger brother.
My uncle.
I stared at the page.
"Uncle Michael?""
Evelyn nodded.
"Your father believed Michael was helping him manage certain investments. He trusted his brother. When the withdrawals began, he assumed there had been a mistake.""
"But why would Uncle Michael take my money?""
"Because the trust wasn't the only account involved.""
She turned another page.
There were several transactions, each linked to a different account. Some involved payments to businesses I had never heard of. Others appeared to be transfers into a private investment company.
At the bottom of the last page, someone had written a short note.
Move the remaining funds before Daniel requests the original records.
I looked up.
"Who wrote this?""
"I don't know. It wasn't my handwriting.""
"Could it have been Vanessa's?""
"I can't establish that.""
I turned the page again.
A date caught my attention.
It was three days before my father's death.
Beside it was a transfer marked as an emergency disbursement.
The amount was almost half the remaining trust balance.
My fingers tightened around the ledger.
"Why would my father authorize this?""
"He didn't," Evelyn said.
"I checked the authorization log. The signature was submitted electronically, but your father was in my office that afternoon. He specifically told me he had not approved any transfer.""
My stomach twisted.
"Did you tell the police?""
"I tried to report the discrepancy to the financial institution. Two days later, I received a call from your uncle. He told me the matter was being handled internally.""
"And you believed him?""
"No."" Her voice cracked.
"But the next morning, your father was dead.""
She pressed her lips together.
"I was frightened, Nia. Michael told me that if I kept pushing, I would lose my professional license. Then Vanessa said your father had made mistakes and that I would be blamed for any missing money.""
I stared at her.
"So you stayed quiet.""
"Yes.""
The honesty hurt more than an excuse would have.
Evelyn looked down at the ledger.
"I have regretted it every day since.""
A car passed on the road behind us.
She flinched.
I noticed.
"Are you afraid someone is watching you?""
She shook her head, but her answer came too quickly.
"I don't know anymore.""
She reached into her satchel again and removed a small envelope.
"Your father gave me this the week before he died. He asked me to hold it in case he couldn't retrieve it himself.""
My heart began to race.
"What is it?""
"I never opened it.""
The envelope was sealed with a strip of clear tape. My father's handwriting covered the front.
For Nia. If the records are ever questioned.
I reached for it.
Before my fingers touched the paper, headlights swept across the trees.
Evelyn froze.
A black SUV turned into the parking area.
Its engine continued running as it rolled to a stop several yards away.
The driver's door opened.
A man stepped out.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and wearing a dark jacket.
I recognized him immediately from family photographs.
My uncle Michael.
He looked at Evelyn first.
Then at me.
His face showed no surprise.
Only disappointment.
"Nia," he said quietly.
"You shouldn't have come here.""
Evelyn stepped in front of me.
"Michael, leave her alone.""
He ignored her.
His eyes remained fixed on the envelope in my hand.
"Give me that letter, Nia.""
I tightened my grip.
"Why?""
His jaw flexed.
"Because your father made a terrible mistake, and you're about to make the same one.""
I took a step backward.
"What mistake?""
Michael glanced at the ledger.
Then he said the words that made my blood run cold.
"Your father wasn't killed because he discovered the missing money.""
May you like
He looked toward the dark road.
"He was killed because he discovered who was supposed to receive it.""
