Chapter 2 - THE SECRET UNDER THE BED
Maya barely slept.
Every sound in the mansion seemed louder after midnight.
The pipes.
The elevator.
Footsteps crossing the hall.
At 2:13 a.m., she heard Richard's bedroom door open.
She sat upright.
Someone whispered his name.
Then came silence.
Maya grabbed her phone and stepped into the hallway.
Richard was sitting in his wheelchair beside the window.
Alone.
His bedroom door was open.
“Did someone come in?”
Richard nodded.
“Ethan.”
“What did he want?”
“He searched my desk.”
Maya frowned.
“For what?”
Richard looked toward the carpet.
“There is something underneath my bed.”
Maya crouched.
She found a loose floorboard.
Beneath it was a small metal box.
Richard watched as she opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Bank statements.
A flash drive.
And a medical report.
Maya picked up the report.
The accident had occurred eight months earlier.
But the date on the report was strange.
It had been created three days before the crash.
Her stomach tightened.
“This says your spinal injury was documented before your accident.”
Richard's expression hardened.
“Exactly.”
Maya looked at him.
“Someone prepared your medical records in advance.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because someone needed me to appear permanently incapacitated.”
Richard reached for the flash drive.
“Before the accident, I discovered that money was disappearing from Vance Biomedical.”
“How much?”
“Forty-eight million dollars.”
Maya stared.
“Who was stealing it?”
“I didn't know at first.”
He paused.
“Then I found shell companies connected to Ethan.”
Maya felt a chill.
“Your brother?”
Richard nodded.
“I confronted him.”
“What happened?”
“Two days later, my brakes failed.”
Silence filled the room.
Maya looked at the documents again.
“Why didn't you report him?”
“I did.”
“To the police?”
Richard shook his head.
“To my attorney.”
“And?”
“He died the next morning.”
Maya's breath caught.
Richard's eyes darkened.
“Car accident.”
Two accidents.
Two deaths.
Too many coincidences.
Suddenly Richard's phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
STOP DIGGING.
Maya looked at him.
“Who sent that?”
Richard didn't answer.
The message disappeared.
“Richard?”
He looked toward the camera mounted in the corner.
Maya followed his gaze.
“You think we're being watched?”
“I know we are.”
He reached beneath his shirt and removed a tiny device.
“A microphone?”
“I found it last week.”
Maya stared at him.
“Then why haven't you removed it?”
“Because I wanted to know who was listening.”
He smiled faintly.
“And now I know.”
“Who?”
“Ethan.”
Maya's heart raced.
Then Richard said something unexpected.
“I need you to leave.”
She frowned.
“Why?”
“Because you're becoming involved.”
“I already am.”
“No. You don't understand.”
Richard looked at her.
“Everyone who has helped me has been threatened.”
Maya crossed her arms.
“You hired me.”
“I hired a caregiver.”
“You got one.”
“You're not just a caregiver.”
Maya paused.
Richard continued.
“You know how to observe people. You notice details. You don't panic easily.”
“That sounds like a compliment.”
“It is.”
For the first time, he smiled.
It was brief.
Almost reluctant.
And somehow it made him look younger.
Maya looked away.
“This isn't funny.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Richard's smile vanished.
“My brother isn't trying to steal my company.”
“What is he trying to do?”
Richard leaned closer.
“He wants me declared mentally incompetent.”
Maya's face went pale.
“Why?”
“Because if I'm declared incapable of running Vance Biomedical, Ethan becomes interim chairman.”
“And then?”
“He controls the company.”
Richard looked toward the door.
“And the forty-eight million dollars disappears forever.”
Maya slowly nodded.
“Then we need proof.”
Richard stared at her.
“You really aren't afraid?”
Maya thought about Miguel.
About Ofelia.
About the years she'd spent shrinking herself to make other people comfortable.
“No.”
She looked him directly in the eyes.
“I'm tired of being afraid of men who think they control me.”
Richard's expression softened.
Then his phone vibrated again.
This time, there was no text.
Only a photograph.
Maya's photograph.
Taken that afternoon.
May you like
Underneath it were six words:
LEAVE HIM BEFORE YOU JOIN HIM.
