Chapter 4 - My Father's Hidden Recording Changed Everything I Believed About His DeathThe next morning, I played my father's recording for Chloe.
She stared at the screen.
“What did Dad know?”
“Enough to be afraid.”
“Of Vaughn?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“Why?”
“Dad trusted Vaughn.”
“So did I.”
She looked at Declan.
“And he trusted him?”
“Apparently.”
Chloe sat down.
“My life is a lie.”
“No.”
I took her hand.
“Some parts are.”
She stared at me.
“Same thing.”
I couldn't argue.
Declan waited quietly.
Finally he said:
“We need to find the medical file.”
“Where?”
“Your father's old doctor.”
Dr. Elias Mercer.
He had retired after my father's stroke.
We found him living outside the city.
He agreed to meet.
The moment he saw Declan, his face changed.
“You.”
Declan nodded.
“You remember me.”
“How could I forget?”
Dr. Mercer looked at me.
“Your father believed you were being watched.”
“By Vaughn?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He had discovered missing money.”
“How much?”
“Enough to destroy the company.”
My stomach tightened.
“Then why didn't he tell me?”
“He planned to.”
“What happened?”
“The stroke.”
“Was it natural?”
Dr. Mercer looked away.
I felt cold.
“Doctor.”
He sighed.
“No.”
Chloe stood.
“What are you saying?”
“Your father was given something.”
“Poison?”
“Not exactly.”
“A drug.”
“It affected blood pressure.”
“And caused the stroke.”
“Yes.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Who administered it?”
Dr. Mercer hesitated.
“His personal physician.”
“Who?”
He gave us the name.
Dr. Evelyn Price.
I knew her.
She had been Vaughn's recommendation.
My father had trusted her.
I turned to Declan.
“Can she be found?”
“She died.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“How?”
“Cancer.”
I almost laughed.
Everyone connected to this story was conveniently dead.
Except Vaughn.
We left.
Then Dr. Mercer handed me an envelope.
“Your father left this.”
I opened it in the car.
A letter.
Harper,
If I am unable to speak, trust your instincts.
Do not let the board sell Lynwood.
The company is not failing.
Someone is making it look weak.
Then:
Your sister's accident was not an accident.
I covered my mouth.
Chloe cried.
Declan stared through the windshield.
“There's more.”
I read the next line.
The man who saved Chloe knows the truth.
We looked at him.
“Your father knew about the accident?”
Declan nodded.
“He contacted me.”
“When?”
“Three days after.”
“What did he ask?”
“To find the SUV.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Registered to a shell company.”
“Which one?”
He gave the name.
I searched.
The shell company belonged to Vaughn.
My hands shook.
Chloe whispered:
“Why would he try to kill me?”
Declan looked at her.
“Maybe he wasn't targeting you.”
“Then who?”
“You.”
I looked at my sister.
“Why me?”
“Because you were your father's heir.”
I froze.
“My father had no reason to fear me.”
“Not you.”
“The company.”
“Your father was preparing to transfer control.”
“To me?”
“Yes.”
My heart pounded.
That meant Vaughn had a motive.
If my father died, the company would eventually pass to me.
If I disappeared or became legally incapable of controlling it, Vaughn could seize it.
My sister had almost become collateral.
I looked at Declan.
“Why did you save her?”
He shrugged.
“Because she was there.”
“No.”
I waited.
He looked at Chloe.
“Because my wife died because nobody stopped.”
Silence.
His wife.
I hadn't known.
“What happened?”
“She had a seizure.”
“I called for help.”
“But?”
“The ambulance came too late.”
He looked down.
“After that, I promised myself I wouldn't watch another person die if I could help.”
That's why he saved Chloe.
Not because of money.
Not because of my father.
Because he couldn't bear to lose another person.
I looked at him differently.
Not as the employee I fired.
As the man who had stood between death and my sister.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Harper Lynwood.”
A voice said:
“You are getting too close.”
“Who is this?”
“You know.”
The line went dead.
Declan looked at me.
“Vaughn?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Who?”
May you like
I stared at the phone.
“It sounded like my father.”
Related Stories
