On the back was a handwritten note:
Three men built an empire. Only one tried to keep it honest.
Olivia looked up.
"What happened after William died?"
Samantha took a breath.
"Edward disappeared. Arthur took control of the company. And Margaret was left believing that her husband had died because of an ordinary accident."
Olivia shook her head.
"But the police investigated William's death."
"Not properly. The evidence disappeared. Witnesses changed their statements. And the financial records were altered."
"Who made that happen?"
Samantha looked at her.
"Edward."
Olivia felt a wave of anger.
"Then why is he back now?"
"Because Daniel found something Edward had been searching for since William's death."
"What?"
Samantha opened the notebook to the final page.
There was a drawing of a small wooden clock.
Beneath it were five words.
The clock remembers everything.
Olivia stared at the page.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Samantha reached into her handbag and removed a photograph.
It showed an old grandfather clock standing in the hallway of William's former house.
Olivia immediately recognized it.
She had seen it in the family photographs inside the blue room.
"That clock was sold when the house was sold."
Samantha nodded.
"That's what everyone thought."
"Where is it now?"
"In Edward's private residence."
Olivia stood.
"Then we need to find it."
Samantha shook her head.
"It's not that simple."
"Why?"
"Because Edward knows we're looking for it."
Olivia turned toward her.
"How?"
Samantha looked down.
"Because I told him."
The confession landed like a slap.
Olivia stared at her.
"You told him?"
Samantha nodded.
"I had no choice."
"There's always a choice!"
"Not when someone threatens your family!"
Olivia fell silent.
Samantha wiped her tears.
"Edward knows where my younger brother lives. He knows where my parents work. He has photographs of my family. When he discovered that Daniel had given me the notebook, he told me that if I didn't cooperate, they would all disappear."
Olivia slowly sat down.
"So you've been working for him?"
"I've been pretending to."
Samantha looked directly into her eyes.
"I gave him false information. I told him Daniel's evidence had been destroyed. I told him the blue room was empty. And I told him that you had stopped investigating."
Olivia stared at her.
"Then why did you meet him yesterday?"
"Because he threatened to kill Margaret."
Olivia felt her heart stop.
"What?"
Samantha opened her phone.
There was a photograph of Margaret leaving the grocery store earlier that week.
Beneath it was a message.
The old woman knows too much. Make sure she stays quiet.
Olivia immediately stood.
"We need to go back."
Samantha grabbed her arm.
"Wait!"
"What?"
"There's something else."
She opened the notebook again.
A small folded paper slipped out.
It was a handwritten note from Daniel.
Olivia recognized his handwriting immediately.
If Olivia ever finds this, tell her the truth about the child.
She stared at the sentence.
"What child?"
Samantha closed her eyes.
Then she whispered:
"Daniel had a daughter."
Olivia could not move.
For several seconds, she simply stared at Samantha.
"A daughter?"
Samantha nodded.
"Yes."
"Daniel had a child?"
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
Samantha looked down.
"She's alive."
Olivia felt her knees weaken.
She held onto the edge of the table.
"Who is her mother?"
Samantha hesitated.
Then she answered.
"Her name was Emily."
Olivia searched her memory.
She had heard that name before.
A young woman Daniel had worked with years earlier.
Someone who had moved away before Olivia met him.
"Emily Parker?"
Samantha nodded.
Olivia closed her eyes.
Daniel had never mentioned having a child with another woman.
But the dates suddenly became important.
She and Daniel had met six years earlier.
They had married four years earlier.
The child could have been born before their relationship began.
"Why didn't Daniel tell me?"
Samantha took a deep breath.
"Because he didn't know about her until shortly before his death."
Olivia looked up.
"What?"
"Emily contacted him after discovering that she had been adopted as a baby. She had been searching for her biological father for years. When she finally found Daniel, she sent him a DNA test request."
Olivia felt tears gathering in her eyes.
"Did he take the test?"
"Yes."
"And?"
Samantha nodded.
"Emily was his daughter."
Olivia looked toward the window.
The world outside seemed strangely distant.
She had spent years believing she knew everything about her husband.
Now she was discovering an entire part of his life that had remained hidden.
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"He wanted to. He was waiting for the right moment."
Samantha reached into the notebook and removed another letter.
"This is the message he wrote for you."
Olivia opened it.
My love,
There is something I need to tell you. I recently discovered that I have a daughter. Her name is Emily, and she is twenty-four years old.
I know this will surprise you. I know you may have questions. I have a thousand questions myself.
But I want you to understand that I did not hide her from you. I only recently discovered that she existed.
I have spent several weeks trying to find her. I wanted to meet her, hold her hand, and tell her that she was never unwanted.
I also wanted you to meet her.
I believe you would love her.
Please don't let my silence make you believe that I didn't trust you. I was simply afraid of changing the life we had built together.
I love you, Olivia. More than I have ever known how to explain.
The letter ended there.
Olivia pressed the paper against her chest.
For a moment, she could almost hear Daniel's voice.
She imagined him sitting across from her, trying to explain something complicated while nervously playing with his wedding ring.
She wished she could ask him why he had waited.
She wished she could tell him that she would have understood.
But he was gone.
And she was left holding another piece of his unfinished life.
"Where is Emily?" she finally asked.
Samantha looked at her.