Chapter 5 - The Mother Behind the Locked DoorThey moved that night.
No phones.
No tracking.
No company cars.
Thomas led them to a small house outside Columbia, Missouri.
Emily stood at the door.
Her hands shook.
“What if she doesn't want to see me?”
Thomas looked at her.
“She has wanted to see you every day.”
He opened the door.
A woman sat near the window.
Her hair was gray.
Her face thinner.
But Emily knew her immediately.
“Mom?”
Claire Carter stood.
Neither moved.
Then Claire covered her mouth.
“Oh my God.”
Emily ran.
They collided in the middle of the room.
Emily cried so hard she could barely speak.
“You're alive.”
“I know.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I was told you'd die if I came back.”
“Who?”
Claire looked toward Daniel.
“That's why he's here.”
Daniel stood in the doorway.
“I promised you I would keep her safe.”
“You failed.”
“Yes.”
Claire looked at Emily.
“I am sorry.”
Emily pulled away.
“Tell me everything.”
Claire nodded.
“Your mother found evidence that Gregory Cole and several board members were moving Redwood money through fake vendors.”
“Twenty-three million.”
“More.”
“How much?”
“Seventy-eight million over twelve years.”
Emily stared.
“Why?”
“To fund a private network.”
“What network?”
Claire looked toward the window.
“Politicians.”
“Corrupt ones?”
“Yes.”
“Police?”
“Some.”
“Judges?”
“A few.”
Emily swallowed.
“And Daniel?”
“He discovered the fraud, but not the whole structure.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“I trusted Gregory.”
“We all did.”
Claire sighed.
“Then I found something worse.”
“What?”
“A foundation.”
She gave Emily a folder.
“Redwood Community Futures.”
Emily opened it.
It was a charitable organization.
Donations.
Scholarships.
Housing programs.
Food drives.
Millions of dollars.
“It looks legitimate.”
“It is partly legitimate.”
“What's the other part?”
“Money laundering.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Claire continued.
“The board used charity to move stolen funds.”
Emily stared at the documents.
“And Vanessa?”
“Vanessa knows nothing.”
“Richard?”
“He knows enough.”
“Evelyn?”
“She knows everything.”
Emily looked at Daniel.
“So why was I fired?”
Claire answered.
“Because someone recognized your mother's name on your employment record.”
Emily froze.
“They knew who I was?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Vanessa's supervisor.”
“Jonathan Reed?”
Claire nodded.
“He ordered them to monitor you.”
Emily remembered all the times she'd been asked questions at work.
All the strange warnings.
All the times management had looked at her differently.
The previous day suddenly made sense.
“They weren't punishing me for buying a burger.”
“No.”
“They were testing me.”
“Yes.”
“To see whether I'd fight back.”
“Yes.”
Claire touched her hand.
“And now you've started.”
A car approached outside.
Daniel looked through the curtain.
“Everyone down.”
Headlights swept across the window.
Three vehicles.
Claire went pale.
“They found us.”
Thomas moved toward the kitchen.
“There's a back exit.”
The front door exploded.
Emily screamed.
Glass shattered.
Daniel pulled her behind the wall.
Men entered.
“Where is Carter?”
Daniel drew his weapon.
“Wrong question.”
Shots thundered.
Thomas returned fire.
Claire crawled toward a hidden panel.
Emily grabbed her.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting the evidence.”
She opened the panel.
Inside were hard drives.
Documents.
Photographs.
And a small black ledger.
Claire handed it to Emily.
“This is why they came.”
“What is it?”
“Every name.”
Daniel shouted:
“We're out of time!”
They escaped through the back.
Thomas drove.
Daniel sat in the passenger seat.
Emily and Claire were in the back.
Claire held her daughter's hand.
“I missed your graduation.”
Emily cried.
“I missed you.”
“I know.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“I know.”
“You should have come back.”
Claire looked down.
“I was afraid.”
Emily squeezed her hand.
“So was I.”
Claire smiled through tears.
The car raced through the dark.
Behind them, the house burned.
The evidence was gone.
Except for the ledger.
And that ledger contained the names of everyone who had stolen from Redwood.
The next morning, news broke.
REDWOOD BURGER CHAIRMAN DANIEL MERCER ACCUSED OF FINANCIAL MISCONDUCT.
Emily stared at the television.
“What?”
Daniel entered the room.
“They're turning the story around.”
“They're blaming you?”
“Yes.”
Claire looked at him.
“They're trying to destroy your reputation.”
Daniel nodded.
“Because if they can make me look guilty, nobody will believe the truth.”
Emily looked at the black ledger.
“Then we make them believe it.”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“How?”
May you like
Emily looked at the pages.
“Publicly.”
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