Chapter 7 - THE THIRD MAN
The police took statements. They photographed the scene. They untied Lily and wrapped her in blankets. She was safe—physically unharmed, terrified but whole. But as I sat in the back of the ambulance holding her trembling hand, I couldn’t stop hearing Vanessa’s final word.
Julian.
Julian was Dad’s younger brother. My uncle. The man who’d taught me to ride a bike. Who’d come to every birthday I ever had. Who’d stood beside me at my parents’ weddings and told me I’d always be family.
And according to Vanessa… he’d been pulling every string.
I handed Lily to Emma when she arrived at the scene. Emma took her gently, wrapping her in her arms, and led her toward the car. Lily looked back once, her eyes wide and questioning, before Emma closed the door.
I walked away from the crowd and called Arthur. He answered on the first ring.
“Is Lily safe?”
“She’s safe.” I kept my voice low. “Vanessa’s dead. Poisoned. Before she could tell me everything.”
Arthur went silent. “Who did she name?”
“Julian.”
Arthur inhaled sharply. “I was afraid of this.”
“You knew?”
“I suspected. Your father did too. But he couldn’t prove it. Julian was always there. Always helpful. Always in the background. But wherever Vanessa went… Julian seemed to be one step ahead.” Arthur paused. “Your father wrote that Julian was the mastermind. That Vanessa was just a pawn. That Julian had been stealing from the business for years. And that he’d sent Vanessa to marry you—to keep you distracted while he finished emptying the accounts.”
My stomach turned. “He killed his own brother?”
“For money,” Arthur said. “Millions. And he planned to frame Vanessa once she’d served her purpose. She knew too much. So he silenced her.”
“And now he knows I know.” I gripped the phone. “He’ll come after me. After Lily.”
“He already has,” Arthur said quietly. “I checked. Julian has been liquidating assets. Moving money offshore. He’s planning to disappear. And he’s leaving a trail of evidence that points straight to you. If you don’t move fast… you’ll be arrested for Vanessa’s death. And for your father’s.”
Cold dread settled over me. “What do I do?”
“Find the evidence your father hid. The real evidence. Not the letters—something stronger. Something that ties Julian directly to everything. Your father told me he kept a backup copy of all financial records. Encrypted. On a drive. Hidden somewhere only you would think to look.” Arthur paused. “He said: ‘Where I taught him to always look first.’”
I knew instantly. “The library. Inside the book he gave me when I turned eighteen.”
“Go. Now. Before Julian realizes what you’re doing. And be careful. He’s desperate. And desperate men do unthinkable things.”
I hung up and walked back to Emma’s car. Lily was asleep against the window. Emma looked at me, questioning.
“We have to move,” I said. “Now.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere Julian can’t find us. Until I have the proof to bring him down.”
Emma started the engine. “Where is safe?”
I looked at Lily, sleeping peacefully, unaware that her great-uncle had destroyed everything we loved and now hunted us both.
“Dad’s cabin,” I said. “Deep in the mountains. Julian has never been there. He doesn’t even know it exists.”
Emma nodded. “Then that’s where we’re going.”
May you like
As we drove away from the lake, past the flashing lights and the gathering crowd, I thought about everything Julian had done. The lies. The murders. The betrayal. He’d sat at my dinner table. Held my daughter. Pretended to love us.
And I swore then, watching the road stretch dark ahead: I would not let him win. I would find that drive. I would expose every lie. And I would make him answer for every life he’d destroyed.
