Eleanor looked confused.
“Daniel, I don't understand.”
“Neither did I, at first.”
He placed the document on the table.
“Someone changed the terms. Someone used our family's name to authorize transactions we never approved.”
Vanessa studied the page.
“That's what I suspected.”
Alexander turned toward her.
“You knew about this?”
“I knew there was an original agreement. I didn't know where it was.”
“Who told you?”
Vanessa hesitated.
Then she answered.
“Richard Hale.”
Alexander's eyes widened.
“You've spoken to him?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Last month.”
“Where is he?”
Vanessa looked toward the camera.
“That's the problem.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“What do you mean?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“He isn't the only person who has been watching this house.”
She pointed toward the ceiling.
Everyone followed her finger.
The security camera was still facing the room.
A tiny red indicator light blinked once.
Then again.
Vanessa took a step backward.
“Someone has been accessing the system remotely.”
Alexander immediately pulled out his phone.
“That's impossible. I control the security account.”
“That's what I thought too,” Vanessa replied.
He opened the security application.
His expression changed as he examined the screen.
“What the hell?”
Claire approached him.
“What is it?”
Alexander showed her the display.
There was a list of recent connections.
One of them was unfamiliar.
The connection had been active for several minutes.
And it was still active.
Daniel slowly lowered himself into his chair.
“Turn it off.”
Alexander tried.
Nothing happened.
He pressed the screen again.
The camera continued recording.
Then a notification appeared.
REMOTE ADMINISTRATOR CONNECTED.
Nobody moved.
The room seemed to grow colder.
Alexander stared at the screen.
“Who is this?”
Vanessa looked at the elderly couple.
“I think we should leave.”
“No,” Daniel said.
He held the folder against his chest.
“Not until we know who is behind this.”
Then, from somewhere inside the house, a telephone began ringing.
It was not Alexander's phone.
It was not Claire's.
It was the old landline in Daniel's study.
Nobody had used that telephone for years.
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
Eleanor gripped his arm.
“Don't answer it.”
But the ringing continued.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Daniel slowly stood.
“I have to.”
“Daniel, please!”
He gently removed her hand.
Then he walked toward the study.
The others followed at a distance.
The room was dim, illuminated by the last of the afternoon sunlight filtering through the curtains. Books lined the walls, and old family photographs covered the desk.
The telephone continued ringing.
Daniel reached for it.
He lifted the receiver.
“Hello?”
At first, there was only silence.
Then a man's voice spoke.
“It's been a long time, Daniel.”
The old man stopped breathing.
He knew that voice.
He had heard it in nightmares.
He had spent twenty years wondering whether he would ever hear it again.
“Richard?”
A quiet laugh came through the receiver.
“I'm glad you remember me.”
Daniel tightened his grip.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere you should have looked a long time ago.”
“What do you want?”
“The same thing I've always wanted.”
“The truth?”
“No, Daniel.”
The voice became colder.
“I want what belongs to me.”
Daniel looked toward the others.
Vanessa had gone pale.
Alexander stepped closer.
“Put it on speaker,” he whispered.
Daniel hesitated.
Then he pressed the button.
Richard's voice filled the room.
“I assume you've found the box.”
Nobody answered.
Richard chuckled.
“Come now. I know you have. I've been waiting twenty years for you to open it.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“You have no right to anything in that box.”
“Perhaps. But you should remember that the documents are only one part of the story.”
“What else do you want?”
“Ask your son.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“What do you want from me?”
For several seconds, there was silence.
Then Richard laughed.
“Ah, Alexander. You sound exactly like your father.”
Alexander's jaw tightened.
“Who are you working with?”
“Working with? My dear boy, I believe you've misunderstood the situation.”
“Then explain it.”
Richard's voice dropped.
“You've already done your part.”
Alexander looked confused.
“What?”
“The money. The transfers. The documents you signed. Everything is in place.”
Claire made a small sound.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Daniel stared at his son.
Alexander shook his head.
“I never signed anything.”
Richard laughed again.
“Of course you did.”
“That's a lie.”
“Then perhaps you should ask your wife.”
Alexander turned slowly toward Claire.
She was crying again.
But this time, she did not look frightened.
She looked defeated.
“Claire?”
She could not meet his eyes.
“Tell me he's lying.”
She shook her head.
Alexander stepped backward.
“What did you do?”
Claire wiped her face.
“I tried to stop it.”
“What did you do?”
“I found the documents. I found the transfers. I knew something was wrong, and I tried to warn you.”
“You never told me.”
“I did. You wouldn't listen.”
Richard interrupted.
“Such a touching family reunion. Unfortunately, we don't have all night.”
Daniel raised the receiver closer.
“Leave my family alone.”
“Your family?” Richard replied. “You should have thought about that before you made your choices.”
“What do you want?”
“The original agreement.”
“You'll never get it.”
“Then I suppose we'll have to discuss another arrangement.”
The call ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Daniel slowly lowered the receiver.
The silence was broken by Vanessa.
“Mr. Whitmore, we need to get that box somewhere safe.”
Daniel nodded.
But Alexander was no longer listening.
He was staring at Claire.
“Did you know about the transfers?”
Claire nodded.
“How long?”
“Six months.”
“Six months?”
“I was trying to understand what was happening.”
“And you never told me?”
“I tried.”
Alexander looked away.
His face had changed.
The anger remained, but beneath it was something more painful.
Betrayal.
“Was any of it real?” he asked quietly.
Claire looked at him.
“What?”
“Our marriage. Everything. Was any of it real?”
She began crying harder.
“Alexander, please don't do this.”
“Answer me.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “It was real.”
“Then why did you hide everything?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of me?”
She did not answer.
That silence was answer enough.
Alexander stepped away from her.
Vanessa approached the window and looked outside.
The garden appeared peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Then she noticed a dark vehicle parked across the street.
Its windows were tinted.
It had not been there when they arrived.
“Mr. Whitmore,” she said.
Daniel looked up.
“What?”
“There's someone outside.”
Alexander moved toward the window.
“Where?”
Vanessa pointed.
The vehicle remained stationary.
A moment later, its headlights switched on.
Then it drove away.
Daniel's face became ashen.
He recognized the car.
He had seen it outside the house three months earlier.
He had seen it near the company offices.
And he had seen it parked outside the cemetery on the anniversary of his father's death.
“It's him,” he whispered.
“Richard?” Eleanor asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at the folder in his hands.
“Someone else.”
He turned to Alexander.
“Son, I need you to listen to me very carefully.”
Alexander looked at him.
“What?”
“The person who arranged all of this isn't Richard Hale.”
Daniel opened the folder again and removed a photograph.
It showed three men standing outside the original company headquarters.
Daniel.
Richard.