Chapter 9 - THE LAST JOURNEY
Rebecca's arrival shattered the board's carefully managed silence.
She stood beside Daniel, holding herself with the rigid composure of someone who had spent years preparing for a confrontation she never wanted.
"I didn't come back for the money," she said. "I came back because I want the truth about our father."
The directors listened as she explained how she'd discovered the financial ledger among documents Thomas had stored in a private safe.
The records showed payments to a security contractor on the night Richard's car left a charity event. The contractor had later received money from Northbridge Holdings.
But the ledger alone didn't prove murder.
Evelyn made that distinction immediately.
"We need the original dispatch records, the medical report, and testimony from anyone who was present."
Rebecca nodded.
"I know. That's why I brought this."
She produced a small digital recorder.
"My father gave it to me six months before he died. He told me to keep it hidden unless I believed my life was in danger."
Daniel pressed play.
Richard's voice filled the room.
"If anything happens to me, the first person you should question is Thomas Reed. Margaret believes she's protecting the family, but she's protecting a lie."
A pause followed.
Then Richard continued.
"I moved the money because Thomas threatened to expose Rebecca's identity and destroy the foundation. I believed I could buy time. I was wrong."
The recording ended.
Margaret sat motionless.
Daniel turned toward her.
"You knew he was in danger."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I knew Thomas was threatening him. I didn't know what he planned."
"Then why did you help him hide Rebecca?"
"Because I was afraid."
"Of Thomas?"
"Of losing everything."
The admission hung in the air.
Margaret explained that she'd discovered Richard's plan to transfer part of the estate to the foundation. She feared losing control of the company and believed Thomas could help her preserve it.
Instead, Thomas used her fear to manipulate her.
After Richard died, he convinced her that revealing Rebecca's existence would destroy the family.
Margaret accepted the lie because it was easier than admitting what she'd done.
Emily stepped forward.
"You didn't just protect your fortune. You hurt people who trusted you."
Margaret looked at her.
"I know."
"No, you know you've been caught. Those are different things."
For once, Margaret had no answer.
The board voted to suspend her authority pending an independent investigation. Thomas attempted to leave, but security stopped him after Evelyn presented evidence linking him to the falsified trust agreement and suspicious payments.
He insisted the ledger was fabricated.
Then Rebecca opened the final page.
It contained a handwritten note signed by Thomas himself.
The driver will take care of the route. Richard must not reach the airport.
Thomas's expression collapsed.
The board called law enforcement, and investigators took possession of the documents and recordings.
No one declared the case solved. The evidence required forensic review, and the circumstances surrounding Richard's death still needed to be established.
But Thomas could no longer control the story.
Outside the building, Rebecca stood beside Daniel.
"I thought you'd hate me," she admitted.
He shook his head.
"I spent five years believing I was an only child. I'm not going to waste another day blaming you for something our mother and Thomas did."
Rebecca began to cry.
He embraced her.
Emily watched them, feeling the family she'd married into slowly change shape.
That evening, Daniel took her to the modest apartment where they'd lived before moving into the Whitmore mansion.
"I want to start again," he said.
"Without the mansion?"
"Without the fear. The money can stay with the lawyers until everything is settled."
Emily smiled through her tears.
"That sounds like home."
For the first time in weeks, they ate dinner without servants, guards, or an audience.
Then a courier knocked.
He handed Daniel a sealed envelope with no return address.
Inside was a recent photograph of Richard Whitmore standing beside a woman outside a train station.
On the back, someone had written:
THOMAS DIDN'T ORDER THE LAST JOURNEY. HE WAS FOLLOWING SOMEONE ELSE'S INSTRUCTIONS.
Daniel stared at the photograph.
The woman beside his father wasn't Rebecca's mother.
May you like
It was Margaret.
And the date printed beneath the image was three days after Richard's supposed death.
