Chapter 7 - The Secret Inside the Locked Cabinet
The police arrived twelve minutes later.
The man outside had disappeared.
The dark vehicle was gone.
But the security cameras had captured his face.
Grant watched the footage twice.
Then he turned off the screen.
“Do you recognize him?” Emma asked.
“No.”
“Don't lie.”
Grant looked exhausted.
“I don't know him personally.”
“Then how do you know his face?”
Grant didn't answer.
Emma folded her arms.
“I'm done with this.”
He looked at Lily's bedroom door.
“Not here.”
“Then where?”
“Tomorrow. My old office.”
Emma stared at him.
“The locked cabinet?”
He nodded.
“You'll finally show me what's inside?”
“Yes.”
The next morning, they drove to Northstar's original warehouse.
The building had been renovated, but the small office at the rear remained almost unchanged.
Grant opened the door.
Dust covered the old desk.
A framed photograph showed him standing beside Emma on the day Northstar officially opened.
She remembered that afternoon.
They had been so proud.
Grant unlocked the storage cabinet.
Inside were several boxes, old contracts, and a thick envelope secured with a red ribbon.
He removed it.
“This is what I never wanted you to see.”
Emma opened the envelope.
The first document was a loan agreement signed by Grant and Victor.
The second was an ownership transfer.
The third was a handwritten statement.
Emma read it twice.
It described an accident that had occurred eleven years earlier.
But it wasn't the accident Grant had described.
According to the statement, Victor had arranged for Grant to meet a private lender after a heated argument about the company's future.
The meeting had ended in violence.
Grant had been struck and left unconscious.
A former business partner had driven him to the hospital.
Emma looked up.
“Who was the driver?”
Grant swallowed.
“Ethan.”
“Ethan who?”
“Ethan Brooks.”
Emma knew the name.
Ethan had been Grant's original business partner.
He had disappeared from Northstar shortly before the company expanded.
Grant had always said their partnership ended because Ethan couldn't handle the pressure.
“Why did you tell me the accident was a traffic collision?”
“Because Victor threatened to come after you.”
Emma stared.
“He threatened me?”
“He said if I told anyone what happened, he'd make sure you were dragged into it.”
“Why would he care?”
Grant looked at the documents.
“Because Ethan had evidence that Victor was using the company to move money.”
Emma felt sick.
“And what happened to Ethan?”
Grant lowered his head.
“He disappeared.”
“Did you report him missing?”
“I tried.”
“And?”
“Victor told me Ethan had left the country.”
Emma looked at him.
“You believed him?”
“I wanted to.”
She continued reading.
The final page was a letter addressed to her.
Her name was written in Ethan's handwriting.
Emma opened it carefully.
Emma,
If you're reading this, it means Victor has started using the company documents against you.
I tried to tell Grant the truth, but he was too afraid to listen.
The ownership transfer you signed was never valid. The original agreement is still in existence, and the person holding it is the only one who can prove who really owns Northstar.
Do not trust the copy in the company archives.
Find the original.
And whatever you do, don't let Victor know that Lily has the key.
Emma read the final sentence again.
“Lily has the key?”
Grant stared at the letter.
“What key?”
Emma turned toward him.
“Do you know?”
“No.”
She searched the envelope.
There was no key.
No explanation.
Only a small photograph.
It showed Lily as a toddler sitting on Emma's lap at the lake house.
A silver necklace hung around the child's neck.
Emma recognized it.
She had given Lily that necklace for her second birthday.
A small heart-shaped pendant.
She had thought it was decorative.
But the photograph showed something unusual.
The pendant was open.
Inside was a tiny metal key.
Emma felt her breath catch.
“Grant.”
He looked at the photograph.
Then he sat down.
“I remember that necklace.”
“Where is it?”
“Lily used to wear it all the time.”
Emma immediately called home.
Their housekeeper answered.
“Mrs. Caldwell?”
“Can you check Lily's jewelry box?”
“Of course.”
“There's a small silver heart pendant. I need you to find it immediately.”
A pause.
Then the housekeeper's voice changed.
“Mrs. Caldwell?”
“What?”
“It's gone.”
Emma's stomach dropped.
“What do you mean?”
“The jewelry box is open. Several things are missing.”
Grant stood.
“Call the police.”
Emma looked at him.
“Someone knows about the key.”
His phone rang.
The screen displayed an unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice came through.
“Hello, Grant.”
Grant's face went white.
“Ethan?”
Emma stared.
The voice laughed.
“It's been a long time.”
Then the caller said:
May you like
“Your father has Lily's necklace. And he wants the original agreement.”
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