Chapter 6 - The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Thomas Vale was officially dead.
At least according to public records.
But the flash drive proved otherwise.
Emails showed that Vale had been operating under several identities.
He had worked with Richard to move stolen money.
But he had also manipulated Richard.
That was the part no one expected.
Richard wasn't the mastermind.
He was a middleman.
Detective Reed discovered that Vale had been using old family accounts to hide millions.
Margaret had found out.
She threatened to expose him.
So Vale pressured Richard to silence her.
Richard refused to kill his mother.
Instead, he tried to steal the evidence.
That explained the blue passbook.
The trust.
The farm.
Everything.
But Chloe discovered something even worse.
Her grandmother had not died naturally.
The medical examiner found traces of a medication she had not been prescribed.
Someone had been slowly poisoning her.
Chloe broke down.
“My father did this.”
Reed shook his head.
“We don't know yet.”
“But he threatened her.”
“Yes.”
“Who else had access?”
“Susan. Richard. Tyler. Several medical workers.”
Chloe remembered something.
Tyler.
Her half-brother had visited Margaret the week before she died.
She called him.
He didn't answer.
Then she received a text.
Stop digging.
She showed Reed.
“That's enough for me,” he said.
They found Tyler at a motel.
He surrendered without a fight.
But he wasn't the killer.
He confessed that Richard had ordered him to steal Margaret's medical records.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
Tyler started crying.
“He said Grandma had proof.”
“Proof of what?”
Tyler looked at Chloe.
“Your mother.”
“What about her?”
“Dad said she had hidden something before she died.”
“What?”
“A recording.”
Chloe felt her heart stop.
“Where?”
Tyler gave them an address.
An old storage facility.
Inside a locked unit, investigators found a box belonging to Chloe's mother.
Inside was a video camera.
A memory card.
And one final recording.
Chloe watched it alone.
Her mother sat at a kitchen table.
She looked young.
Terrified.
“Chloe, if you're watching this, I need you to know something.”
Her voice trembled.
“Your father is lying about the accident.”
Chloe covered her mouth.
“I discovered what he was doing with Grandma's accounts.”
Her mother looked directly into the camera.
“I confronted him.”
The video shook.
Then came footsteps.
Her mother turned.
Richard entered the room.
The recording continued.
“You think you can threaten me?” Richard asked.
“I'll tell the police.”
“You won't.”
“You'll lose everything.”
Richard stepped closer.
Then the video abruptly ended.
Chloe stared at the black screen.
Her mother's final recording wasn't enough to prove murder.
But it established motive.
Detective Reed issued a warrant for Richard's phone records.
They found a message sent the night of the accident.
From Thomas Vale.
Handle the problem before she talks.
Richard had replied:
I will.
The case had transformed.
It was no longer about stolen money.
May you like
It was about a family secret buried for fifteen years.
And someone was still trying to bury it.
