"And I want someone watching over Maria Alvarez.""
Marcus's expression changed.
"Has something happened to her?""
"I don't know. But Vanessa knows Maria can identify her, and if Richard is involved, Maria may be in danger.""
Marcus immediately reached for his phone.
"I'll check on her.""
Meanwhile, across Houston, Maria sat at her kitchen table with the photograph of Sofia still open on her phone.
She had called her daughter twice.
Sofia hadn't answered.
The college's evening classes were underway, but Maria couldn't concentrate on anything except the man in the photograph.
She finally received a text.
*In the library, Mom. My phone was on silent. Everything okay?*
Maria exhaled shakily.
She typed, *Stay inside. I'm coming to get you.*
Then she grabbed her keys.
Before leaving, she called Marcus and told him about the threat.
He answered immediately.
"Don't go anywhere alone. I'll send someone to meet you.""
"Please, Marcus. I just need to see my daughter.""
"I understand. But if someone is threatening you, we need to take it seriously.""
Maria looked through the curtains.
The street appeared empty.
"I can't just sit here.""
"Then stay on the phone with me until help arrives.""
She agreed.
Twenty minutes later, a security vehicle arrived outside her apartment. A uniformed guard accompanied Maria to the college, where Sofia was waiting near the main entrance.
The moment she saw her mother, Sofia hurried forward.
"Mom, what's wrong?""
Maria wrapped her arms around her daughter.
"Nothing you need to worry about right now.""
Sofia pulled away.
"That's not true. You've been calling me all evening, and now there's a security guard following us.""
Maria hesitated.
Then she showed Sofia the photograph.
Her daughter's face went pale.
"Who is that man?""
"I don't know his name. But he's connected to the people who accused me.""
Sofia looked toward the parking lot.
"Are they trying to scare you into silence?""
Maria nodded.
Sofia's eyes filled with anger.
"Then we go to the police.""
"I will. But first, we need to make sure you are safe.""
They returned to the apartment under escort.
By the time Maria settled Sofia inside, her phone rang again.
Daniel.
She almost let it go to voicemail.
Then she remembered the little boy in the pool.
She answered.
"Hello?""
"Maria, it's Daniel. Marcus told me someone threatened you.""
Maria stared at the kitchen table.
"Someone sent me a photograph of my daughter.""
Daniel's voice turned sharp.
"Are you both safe?""
"For now.""
"I'm arranging additional security. And I want to apologize again for what happened.""
"Mr. Whitmore, I don't need another apology right now. I need the people responsible to stop threatening my family.""
"You're right. I'll make sure the police receive everything we have.""
Maria was silent.
Daniel continued.
"I also need to tell you something about Catherine.""
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
"What about her?""
"She left a letter warning me that someone might try to take control of Ethan's inheritance. We believe Vanessa and Richard Hale may be involved.""
Maria closed her eyes.
"Then this wasn't just about blaming me.""
"No. It may have been an attempt to distract me while they covered up something else.""
Maria looked at Sofia, who was listening from the doorway.
"What happens now?""
"I'm going to Austin tomorrow to meet the independent trustee. She has documents Catherine left behind.""
Maria hesitated.
"Mr. Whitmore, there's something I haven't told you.""
"What is it?""
"The day before Ethan was pushed into the pool, Vanessa asked me about the key to your study. She also mentioned a deadline during a phone call.""
Daniel went silent.
"Why didn't you tell Marcus earlier?""
"I did. He made a note of it.""
"That's important, Maria.""
"I know.""
Daniel took a breath.
"Would you be willing to make a formal statement to the police?""
"Yes. But I want to know that Sofia won't be left alone and unprotected.""
"I'll arrange that.""
Maria's voice hardened.
"And I want the record to show that I was fired before you reviewed the evidence.""
"It will.""
For the first time, Daniel understood that Maria wasn't asking him for money or favors.
She was asking for accountability.
"I promise you," he said, "I won't let this disappear.""
Maria didn't tell him she believed him.
Instead, she said, "Then start by finding out what Catherine knew.""
The next morning, Daniel arrived at Eleanor Brooks's office in Austin.
The office was located on the fourth floor of a quiet building overlooking a tree-lined street. Eleanor, a silver-haired woman in her early sixties, greeted him at the door and led him into a private conference room.
She placed a thick folder on the table.
"Your wife delivered these documents to me six weeks before she died.""
Daniel stared at the folder.
"Why didn't she tell me?""
"She intended to. But she wanted to verify her concerns before alarming you.""
"What concerns?""
Eleanor opened the folder.
Inside were bank statements, copies of trust amendments, and several pages of handwritten notes.
Daniel recognized Catherine's handwriting immediately.
Eleanor pointed to a highlighted transaction.
"Your wife discovered that money had been transferred from a family investment account to a consulting company registered in Delaware.""
"Who owned the company?""
"That was the question she was trying to answer.""
Daniel studied the page.
The transfers totaled nearly two million dollars.
"Did the money go to Vanessa?""
"Not directly. It went through three separate accounts.""
"Richard?""
"His firm received a consulting payment, but I cannot say whether he personally benefited without a full investigation.""
Daniel turned another page.
A company name appeared at the top.
*VANTAGE STRATEGIC CONSULTING.*
Below it was the name of a director.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
He knew that name.
It belonged to Vanessa's former fiancé, a man she had claimed she hadn't spoken to in more than two years.
"Why would Catherine be investigating him?"" Daniel whispered.
Eleanor folded her hands.
"Because she believed the transfers were connected to an attempt to change the trust's control provisions.""
Daniel looked up.
"Did she find proof?""
Eleanor removed a sealed envelope from the folder.
"She found something she considered significant enough to preserve separately.""
The envelope bore Catherine's signature across the seal.
Daniel carefully opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper containing a short handwritten statement.
If anything happens to me, investigate the payments made to Vantage Strategic Consulting. Vanessa knows more than she admits, and Richard has been helping her.
Daniel felt the room close in around him.
Catherine had written those words before she died.
He read them again, desperately searching for something that might soften their meaning.
There was nothing.
"Was Catherine's death ever investigated beyond the medical review?"" he asked.
Eleanor's expression grew grave.
"There was no indication of foul play in the original report. But if you have reason to believe someone concealed financial misconduct, the circumstances may deserve a second look.""
Daniel slowly placed the letter on the table.
For months, he had blamed himself for not being able to save his wife.
Now he was being asked to consider whether the people he had trusted had known more about her final weeks than they had admitted.
Eleanor closed the folder.
"Mr. Whitmore, I must warn you. If the person behind these transactions realizes that you have found these records, they may try to destroy whatever evidence remains.""
Daniel stood.
"Then we move faster.""
He took out his phone and called Marcus.
"Freeze every account connected to Vantage Strategic Consulting. Contact our forensic accountant and preserve every email, transaction, and access record involving Richard Hale.""
"Yes, sir.""
"And Marcus?""
"Yes?""