Chapter 19 - The Last Threat

Ellis treated the photograph as a serious threat. Officers increased patrols while investigators sought the person who'd taken it. Monica advised us to preserve the envelope and stop posting anything about our location. Dad installed new locks and checked every window, but the most important change was simple: Lily and I stayed with a trusted friend for several nights.

The fear made me furious. I hated that some stranger could turn my daughter's backyard into a place where I watched shadows instead of butterflies.

Preston identified the photographer from security footage near the street. It was a contractor who had previously worked for Evelyn's foundation. Investigators found communications connecting him to the threatening note. When questioned, he admitted he'd been paid to scare us into accepting the settlement.

Evelyn denied giving the order. Her attorney called the contractor unreliable. I knew guilt had to be established through evidence, not my anger, and for the first time I could let others do that work.

In family court, Daniel testified that he had physically blocked me from leaving his study. He acknowledged the role his silence had played at the dinner table and that he had not protected Lily from the scene. Evelyn's edited video did not disappear from the internet, but it no longer stood unchallenged in the case.

After the hearing Daniel stopped me near the elevator. “I keep hoping you will tell me how to make it right.”

“I can't,” I said. “You have to become someone who tells the truth when it's expensive.”

“And us?”

“There isn't an us.”

He stepped aside.

Weeks later, Ellis called with a break in the greenhouse case. Investigators had recovered the rest of the ledger from a rented storage locker. The entries included dates, witnesses, accounts, and a payment labeled S. HARRINGTON—FINAL.

“Me?” I asked.

“We don't think so,” Ellis said. “The payment is eight years old.”

Eight years. The year Mom died.

A cold thought settled over me. Walter had used the date of her death as his safe code. Now the ledger had the same date beside a payment.

“Who received the money?” I whispered.

May you like

Billionaire’s Wife Kicked a Waitress in Front of 300 Elites—One Slap Exp...

The billionaire’s wife tried to kick a waitress in the face in front of 300 wealthy guests. But seconds later, she whispered three...

My Mother Grabbed My Wife by the Hair Over Cold Soup—But What My Father...

My mother grabbed my wife by the hair over a bowl of cold soup. And the most shameful part? For one terrible second, I almost defe...

My Parents Kicked My 6-Year-Old Daughter and Me Out on Christmas—Then I...

My mother kicked my six-year-old daughter out of Christmas dinner, never realizing I was the only reason she still had a house to...

Ellis answered, “Dr. Leonard Vale.”