Chapter 6 - The Envelope in the Locked Drawer
I didn't sleep that night.
Not because I missed Daniel.
Because I had finally realized how little I knew about the family I had nearly married into.
At 6:14 the next morning, my phone rang.
Richard Walker.
I almost ignored it.
Then I answered.
"Emma?"
His voice sounded rough.
"I'm sorry to call so early."
"What's wrong?"
"I found something."
I sat up.
"What?"
"Something Thomas left behind."
He paused.
"I think you should see it."
An hour later, Rachel and I arrived at Walker Development's downtown office.
Richard met us in a conference room overlooking Elliott Bay.
He looked as though he'd aged ten years overnight.
On the table lay a yellow envelope.
"After Thomas died," he explained, "his office was cleared out. I kept a few personal documents in storage. Last night I remembered a locked drawer in his old filing cabinet."
Rachel sat down.
"Was the cabinet ever inventoried?"
"Yes. But nobody opened the drawer. The key was missing."
He pushed the envelope toward us.
"Maintenance opened it this morning."
Inside were copies of checks, old correspondence, and a handwritten ledger.
Several payments had been made to a company called Northpoint Advisory.
The amounts ranged from twelve thousand to forty-five thousand dollars.
The dates covered nearly three years.
Rachel examined the records.
"Northpoint was the consulting firm Diane mentioned?"
Richard nodded.
"Apparently."
I picked up a letter.
It was addressed to Laura Collins.
Mia's mother.
The letter referenced a confidentiality agreement and a payment of eighty thousand dollars.
But something else caught my attention.
A handwritten note at the bottom.
Daniel has the originals.
I looked at Richard.
"Did you know Daniel was involved?"
"No."
"He was seventeen when some of this happened."
Richard shook his head.
"Twenty-two. Mia was seventeen. Daniel was already working summers at the company."
I realized Mia's accusation from the night before had been more deliberate than I understood.
She hadn't been confused about his age.
She had been baiting him.
"What originals?" Rachel asked.
Richard rubbed his forehead.
"I don't know."
At ten, Daniel arrived.
Richard had summoned him.
He stopped when he saw me.
"Emma."
I didn't respond.
His eyes moved toward the envelope.
Then he looked at his father.
"Where did you get that?"
Richard's expression hardened.
"Sit down."
Daniel remained standing.
"Dad—"
"Sit."
For once, he obeyed.
Richard pushed the letter toward him.
"Explain."
Daniel read the handwritten note.
His shoulders sagged.
"I wondered when this would come back."
I felt my pulse quicken.
"Then you knew."
He looked at me.
"Not everything."
"Daniel," Richard said, "where are the original records?"
My former fiancé rubbed his face.
"In a storage unit."
"Whose?"
"Mine."
Richard stared at him.
"Why?"
Daniel looked toward the window.
"Because Thomas asked me to hold them."
"When?"
"Before he died."
"And you never told me?"
"He said they could destroy the company."
Richard closed his eyes.
"Did you read them?"
"Some."
"What did you find?"
Daniel swallowed.
"Payments. False invoices. Internal approvals."
"Whose approvals?"
Daniel looked at his father.
"Thomas's."
Richard waited.
"And?"
Daniel's voice dropped.
"Mom's."
I watched Richard absorb that.
He didn't shout.
He didn't even move.
He simply looked down at the table.
"How long have you known?"
"Six years."
The silence that followed felt unbearable.
Finally, Richard said, "You've watched me spend six years defending your uncle's reputation."
Daniel whispered, "I thought I was protecting you."
Richard looked up.
"From what? The truth?"
Daniel didn't answer.
I remembered all the times he had told me that protecting family meant making sacrifices.
I had never understood how thoroughly he believed it.
Or how easily that belief could become an excuse for deception.
Rachel leaned forward.
"Daniel, were any of the records altered after you received them?"
"No."
"Did you make copies?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
He hesitated.
Then said, "The storage unit."
Richard stood.
"We're going there."
Daniel shook his head.
"Not yet."
His father stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because Mia knows about it."
I felt cold.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel looked at me.
"She found the storage key two months ago."
"How?"
"She was at the townhouse."
Of course she was.
He continued.
"I'd left it in a drawer. She asked about it."
"And you told her?"
"I told her enough."
Richard stared at his son.
"Did she take anything?"
Daniel hesitated.
"I don't know."
Rachel stood.
"We should preserve whatever records remain and involve independent counsel. Nobody should start moving or destroying evidence."
Richard nodded.
"I'll make the calls."
Daniel turned toward me.
"Emma, I know what this looks like."
I looked at him.
"Do you?"
He swallowed.
"I know you think I chose Mia over you."
"You did."
"I was trying to protect her."
"From consequences?"
"From losing everything."
I shook my head.
"Daniel, you've spent years trying to prevent Mia from feeling pain. Meanwhile, you kept handing that pain to me."
His eyes filled.
"I never wanted to lose you."
"Then you should have treated losing me as a possibility."
I walked out before he could answer.
That afternoon, Rachel called.
"Emma, sit down."
I was at my parents' house, sorting wedding receipts.
"What happened?"
"Richard's attorney reviewed the storage unit lease. Someone accessed it yesterday afternoon."
I froze.
"Who?"
"The facility has security footage. They're working on obtaining it."
"Was anything missing?"
"They don't know yet."
I looked at the canceled wedding invitations spread across my bed.
"Rachel, what aren't you telling me?"
She hesitated.
"Daniel says there was one item in that unit he was especially worried about."
"What item?"
"A sealed envelope containing a statement from Laura Collins."
I sat down.
"What kind of statement?"
"According to Daniel, Laura claimed that Thomas wasn't acting alone."
I stared at the wall.
"Who else was involved?"
Rachel's voice became very quiet.
"Emma, the statement allegedly names someone outside the Walker family."
May you like
"Who?"
"Your father."
