Chapter 17 - The File Edward Hid
By the time firefighters entered Samuel Voss’s office, smoke filled the second floor.
The fire had started in the records room.
Voss was found unconscious near the elevator with a head wound. He survived.
Vanessa was not there.
But she had made a mistake.
She had tried to destroy paper records without realizing Voss kept a private digital archive offsite.
The archive contained emails between Voss and Catherine.
One message, sent eleven months earlier, read:
Edward has become suspicious. If he signs the new trust, we lose control.
Catherine had replied:
Then make sure he believes Richard’s wife is the problem, not us.
Anna read the email twice.
She felt strangely calm.
Months of confusion had finally become one ugly sentence.
They had chosen her because she was not born a Mercer.
Because outsiders were easy to blame.
Because if she seemed unstable, greedy, or dangerous, no one would ask why Catherine and Vanessa were moving money.
A second file contained a voice memo recorded by Edward Mercer six days before his death.
Richard pressed play.
His father’s tired voice filled the room.
“If you’re hearing this, I either ran out of time or courage. Catherine believes family means ownership. Vanessa learned the same lesson. Richard, if you want to save this company, stop confusing loyalty with obedience.”
Richard sat very still.
Edward continued.
“Anna sees people clearly. That is why they dislike her. Protect the boy. Protect your wife. And audit everything Voss touched.”
The recording ended.
Richard covered his eyes.
Anna placed a hand on his shoulder.
For all his anger, part of him was grieving a family that had never truly existed.
Alvarez entered with fresh news.
“Vanessa used a stolen credit card thirty minutes ago.”
“Where?”
“A gas station outside Mill Creek.”
Anna knew the town.
Richard did too.
Their old family cabin sat twelve miles beyond it.
The place where Vanessa and Richard had spent summers as children.
Richard stood.
“She’s going home.”
Anna looked at him. “No. She’s going somewhere she thinks you’ll hesitate to confront her.”
His phone buzzed.
A text from Vanessa.
One sentence.
COME ALONE IF YOU WANT THE ORIGINAL LEDGER.
May you like
Attached was a photograph of a thick black book.
The missing financial ledger Edward had spent months trying to find.
