Chapter 10 - THE MIDPOINT REVELATION
We reached the capital three days later. We stayed in a small, unmarked hotel near the federal courthouse. I’d used cash and fake identification. No one knew we were there.
On the morning we planned to submit the evidence, I sat at the desk and went through the files one last time. I opened the second drive—the one with recordings and emails—and found something I’d missed earlier.
A video file. Dated two days before Dad died.
I clicked play.
Dad sat at his desk in the study. He looked tired, but his voice was steady.
*“If you are watching this, then I am gone. And Julian has struck. Listen carefully. What you have found so far is only the beginning. Julian didn’t just steal money. He built an entire network. He’s been selling secrets, laundering money, working with people far more dangerous than Vanessa. Millions upon millions. And he’s been using my name, my reputation, my family to do it.”*
Dad leaned closer to the camera.
*“The most important file is hidden separately. Under the floorboards in my study, beneath the spot where my desk sits. It contains everything: names, dates, accounts, faces. Every person he works with. Every crime he has committed. And the reason he wants Lily dead… is because her biological mother was the only witness. She didn’t die in that accident the way we were told. Julian killed her. Because she found out the truth.”*
My blood ran cold.
*“Lily is the only surviving heir. And she is the only thing standing between Julian and absolute control of everything. He will not stop until she is dead. Protect her. Find the file. And expose every single one of them. Do not trust the police. Do not trust the courts. Not until you have enough evidence to bring the entire structure down. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there. I love you both. Tell Lily I’m proud of her.”*
The video ended.
I sat motionless for a long time. Beside me, Emma had gone pale.
“Lily’s mother…” she whispered.
“Julian killed her. Too.” I stood up, my mind racing. “All this time. We thought it was an accident. It was murder.”
“And now we know why.” Emma gripped my arm. “He’s been killing anyone who gets in his way. Dad. Vanessa. Lily’s mother. Anyone who knows the truth.”
“He’s not just after money anymore.” I looked toward the bedroom door where Lily slept. “He’s covering his tracks. And Lily is the last loose end.”
Emma stood. “We have to go back. To Dad’s study. To get that file.”
“It’s been months,” I said. “Julian has been in and out of that house. He’d have found it by now.”
“Not if he didn’t know it existed.” Emma’s eyes were intense. “Dad hid it separately. He didn’t write about it anywhere else. Only on this video. If Julian never saw this… he never looked under the floorboards.”
I took a deep breath. “Then we go back. Tonight. Before Julian realizes what we know.”
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“And if he’s waiting?”
“Then we finish this.” I picked up the drives and tucked them safely away. “We have the evidence. We have the truth. And we have nothing left to lose.”
