"Your father called me that afternoon. He wanted to meet at the bridge. He said he had discovered something that would change everything."
"What?"
"That Victor had been stealing money from the company for years. But Daniel had also discovered that I had helped him."
Clara froze.
"You helped Victor?"
Thomas looked at her.
"Yes."
Margaret covered her mouth.
Thomas continued.
"I was involved in the financial scheme at the beginning. I convinced myself it was temporary. I believed I could make money quickly and leave before anything went wrong."
"And Dad found out."
"Yes."
"That's why you stopped speaking."
Thomas nodded.
"Daniel gave me a choice. I could cooperate and help expose Victor, or he would take the evidence to the police."
Clara's voice became cold.
"So you went to the bridge to stop him."
"I went there to persuade him to give me time."
"Did he agree?"
"No."
Thomas looked toward the photograph.
"He told me that he had already contacted a lawyer. He said that if anything happened to him, the evidence would be released."
Clara felt a terrible pressure in her chest.
"What happened next?"
"Victor arrived."
"And?"
"He was furious. He believed Daniel had copies of everything."
"Did they argue?"
"Yes."
"Did Victor threaten him?"
Thomas nodded.
"Daniel told him that it was over. Victor told him that nobody was going to destroy his life."
Clara's hands curled into fists.
"What did you do?"
"I tried to calm them down."
"Did you call the police?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Thomas looked ashamed.
"Because I was still protecting myself. I knew that if the police arrived, they would discover my involvement."
Clara stared at him in disbelief.
"So you left my father there?"
"I didn't want to leave him. But Victor told me to go."
"And you obeyed?"
Thomas lowered his head.
"Yes."
The room became silent.
Clara stepped closer.
"Did you know Dad was going to die?"
"No."
"Did you see him afterward?"
Thomas shook his head.
"Not alive."
Clara felt tears gathering in her eyes.
"You abandoned him."
Thomas did not deny it.
"Yes."
She turned away.
For several seconds, she could not speak.
Then she looked back at him.
"What is in the storage box?"
Thomas picked up the key.
"Documents, photographs, and a recording."
"A recording of what?"
"Victor."
Clara stared at him.
"Talking about the money?"
Thomas shook his head.
"Talking about your father's death."
Margaret let out a frightened gasp.
Thomas looked directly at Clara.
"Your father didn't simply lose control of his car that night. There was a confrontation before the accident."
Clara felt the room spinning.
"Are you saying someone caused it?"
"I am saying that the recording may prove it."
Clara reached for the key.
Thomas held it for a moment longer.
"Before you take this, you need to understand something."
"What?"
"Victor has already been searching for the box."
Clara looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"Because the building was broken into three months ago."
"Was anything taken?"
"No."
"Then perhaps he didn't find it."
Thomas nodded.
"That's what I believe."
Clara took the key.
"Then we're going there tomorrow."
Thomas shook his head.
"No. We are going tonight."
Margaret stood up.
"Absolutely not."
Thomas turned toward her.
"There's no time."
"You're not taking Clara anywhere."
Thomas looked at his niece.
"Victor knows she has the documents. If he finds out about the key, he won't wait until morning."
Clara glanced at the windows.
Outside, the street was dark.
A car was parked across the road.
Its headlights were off.
She moved toward the curtain.
The car's engine started.
Then the headlights came on.
Clara recognized the shape of the vehicle.
It was the same car she had seen outside Robert's office.
The driver's door opened.
A man stepped out.
Thomas moved toward the window.
When he saw the man's face, his expression changed completely.
"Victor," he whispered.
The doorbell rang.
Nobody moved.
It rang again.
Then a voice came from outside.
"Thomas. I know you're in there."
Margaret gripped the back of the chair.
Clara looked at her uncle.
"What do we do?"
Thomas slipped the key into Clara's hand.
"Whatever happens, don't let him get that box."
The doorbell rang a third time.
Then Victor spoke again.
"I only want to talk."
Thomas looked at Clara.
"Don't believe a word he says."
A heavy knock struck the door.
And then another.
Ethan appeared at the top of the staircase, frightened by the noise.
"Mom?"
Clara turned immediately.
"Ethan, go back to your room. Lock the door."
"Butโ"
"Now!"
He disappeared.
Thomas moved toward the entrance.
Margaret grabbed his arm.
"Don't open it."
Thomas looked at her.
"I have to face him eventually."
"Not here. Not with Clara and Ethan in the house."
For a moment, Thomas seemed to reconsider.
Then he noticed the small window beside the door.
A shadow moved across it.
Victor was looking inside.
Thomas stepped backward.
"There's another way out through the kitchen."
Clara shook her head.
"We're not running."
Thomas looked at her urgently.
"This isn't about courage. It's about keeping your son alive."
The words struck her.
She looked toward the stairs.
Then she understood.
The investigation was no longer simply about discovering what had happened to her father.
It was about protecting the family he had left behind.
"Fine," she whispered. "We'll go."
Margaret hurried toward the kitchen.
Thomas followed.
Clara stayed behind for one final moment, looking at the photograph above the fireplace.
Her father smiled from a summer that seemed impossibly distant.
She whispered the words she had wanted to say to him for years.
"I'm going to find out what happened, Dad."
Then she turned off the living room light.
Outside, Victor continued knocking.