Chapter 7 - The Music Box
The storage facility stood on the outskirts of Denver, surrounded by chain-link fencing and security cameras.
Adrian wanted to send his men inside.
I refused.
“My father left that message for me,” I said. “If there is something hidden in the music box, I need to see it myself.”
After a long argument, he agreed to accompany me.
Thomas drove while Dr. Bennett remained at the safe apartment, monitoring my condition.
Inside the storage unit, dust covered boxes of old photographs, books, and furniture.
At the back sat a small wooden chest.
I opened it.
The music box was exactly as I remembered: a delicate wooden ballerina beneath a glass dome, with a tiny brass key on the side.
My hands trembled as I wound it.
A soft melody filled the room.
Then I noticed a loose panel beneath the velvet lining.
I removed it carefully.
Inside was a flash drive and a folded letter addressed to me.
My darling Emily,
If you are reading this, then I failed to protect our family in the way I hoped. Do not blame yourself. Some people mistake power for strength and fear for loyalty. They will try to make you believe that the truth is too dangerous to carry. It isn't.
The records on this drive expose the men who built their fortunes on lies. Trust no one who asks you to surrender the evidence without explaining why. And remember this: the people who truly love you will never ask you to disappear so they can feel safe.
Love always, Dad.
I pressed the letter against my chest.
Thomas put a hand on my shoulder.
Adrian gave me a moment before speaking.
“We need to copy the files and give them to federal investigators.”
“Can you read them?”
“Not safely here.”
We returned to the safe apartment and connected the drive to an isolated computer.
The records contained years of financial transfers, false invoices, hidden ownership documents, and communications between Victor Blackwood and several powerful associates.
One file contained the insurance policy Michael had arranged.
Another contained a message from Victor.
The wife must be removed before the records surface. The husband is desperate enough to do what is necessary.
I felt as though the room had tilted.
Michael had not merely decided to kill me because he wanted the insurance money.
He had been recruited because he was vulnerable, indebted, and willing to betray the woman who trusted him.
Then Thomas opened another file.
A list of payments included a name that made him go completely still.
Thomas Hayes — relocation account.
He stared at the screen.
“They paid me.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
Thomas shook his head.
“I never received a payment. I didn't know about this.”
Adrian leaned closer.
“Someone used your identity to move money.”
Thomas scrolled through the documents.
The payments began shortly after he disappeared.
The final transfer had been made only three days earlier.
The recipient account belonged to a company controlled by Michael.
My husband had been using my missing brother's identity to hide money.
And now we had the proof.
But one question remained.
Why had Victor waited eleven years to eliminate me?
Adrian found the answer in a final encrypted document.
It was a letter written by my father shortly before his death.
The original ledger is not on the drive. Emily has the key.
I looked at the brass key from the music box.
My heart pounded.
The key wasn't merely a keepsake.
It opened something else.
May you like
Something my father had hidden.
And whatever it was, Victor Blackwood was willing to kill again to get it.
