Evelyn: "I understand."
Sergeant Reynolds: "But we will preserve the evidence and refer the relevant information to the appropriate authorities."
Evelyn nodded.
It was the first time in years that she felt someone was finally willing to listen.
Yet she also knew that one important question remained unanswered.
Why had her father kept the identity of the third person secret?
And why had he written a final sentence that she had never understood?
She looked again at the letter.
At the bottom of the page, beneath her father's signature, were several words written in a different ink.
The sentence was short.
But it carried a warning.
"IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME, DO NOT TRUST THE PERSON WHO CLAIMS TO BE HELPING YOU."
Evelyn felt a chill move through her body.
She read the sentence again.
Then she looked at Sergeant Reynolds.
Evelyn: "There's something else. My father left another instruction."
Sergeant Reynolds: "What instruction?"
Evelyn: "He told me that if I ever found the original records, I should contact someone before taking them to the police."
Officer Harris: "Who?"
Evelyn looked toward Richard.
Richard was watching her with an expression she had never seen before.
It was not anger.
It was fear.
Evelyn: "A woman named Margaret Lewis."
Sergeant Reynolds became unusually still.
Sergeant Reynolds: "Margaret Lewis?"
Evelyn: "Yes. Do you know her?"
The sergeant did not answer immediately.
Instead, he looked toward Officer Harris.
Officer Harris appeared equally surprised.
Then Sergeant Reynolds slowly closed the folder.
Sergeant Reynolds: "Ms. Carter, I need to ask you something. Have you spoken with Margaret Lewis recently?"
Evelyn: "No. I tried to find her, but I couldn't."
Sergeant Reynolds: "Do you know where she is?"
Evelyn: "My father wrote that she was the only person who knew where the original transaction records were kept."
Richard suddenly spoke.
Richard: "Margaret is dead."
Evelyn turned toward him.
Evelyn: "What?"
Richard: "She died several years ago."
Evelyn: "How do you know that?"
Richard did not answer.
Sergeant Reynolds watched him carefully.
Sergeant Reynolds: "Mr. Bennett, why are you familiar with Ms. Lewis?"
Richard: "She was an employee of one of my companies."
Evelyn: "My father said she was involved in the original investigation."
Richard: "Your father was wrong."
Evelyn: "Then why did you just say she was dead?"
Richard: "Because I know she is."
Sergeant Reynolds: "Do you have any documentation confirming that?"
Richard looked away.
Richard: "I don't carry death certificates with me."
The older officer remained silent for several seconds.
Then he spoke in a calm, deliberate voice.
Sergeant Reynolds: "I think we need to examine that information more carefully."
Richard looked toward the entrance.
His mind was clearly racing.
He had come into the building expecting to dismiss a troublesome woman.
Instead, he had found himself facing two police officers, security footage, a financial report, and a letter written by a man he had believed would never be able to challenge him again.
And now the name Margaret Lewis had appeared.
A name he had spent years trying to erase from his memory.
Meanwhile, Evelyn was beginning to understand that her father's death had left behind more questions than answers.
She had believed that finding the financial records would be enough.
She had believed that proving the transfers would restore her father's reputation.
But the letter suggested something much more disturbing.
Her father had not simply discovered financial misconduct.
He had discovered that someone inside the system had helped conceal it.
And that person might still have influence today.
Sergeant Reynolds handed the letter back to her.
Sergeant Reynolds: "Ms. Carter, I would strongly advise you not to contact anyone connected to this matter until we have verified the information."
Evelyn: "Why?"
Sergeant Reynolds: "Because if the documents are genuine, there may be people who do not want them brought to light."
Evelyn looked down at the letter.
Evelyn: "My father said something similar."
Sergeant Reynolds: "Then I suggest you take his warning seriously."
At that moment, Richard's phone rang again.
He glanced at the screen.
It was David Collins.
He rejected the call.
A second later, a message appeared.
Richard read it.
His face changed.
David's message contained only one sentence.
"THE ORIGINAL FILE HAS BEEN FOUND. WE HAVE A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM THAN EVELYN."
Richard stared at the screen.
He slowly lowered the phone.
Then he looked toward the officers.
And for the first time that afternoon, he seemed genuinely frightened.
Because he knew something Evelyn did not.
The documents she had brought to the building were only copies.
The original files contained additional information.
Information that could connect several influential people to the missing money.
Information that could prove the original investigation had been deliberately manipulated.
And information that might reveal what had really happened to Robert Carter.
Richard had always believed that the original files had disappeared.
He had been wrong.
Somewhere, someone had kept them safe.
And now that person had decided it was time for the truth to come out.
Evelyn noticed the change in his expression.
Evelyn: "What happened?"