Chapter 4 - The Fortune Hidden in a Dead Man’s Letter
Daniel did not sleep.
At dawn, he called his investigator and gave him a single instruction.
“Find everything about my father's partnership with Robert Parker.”
By noon, the answer was waiting.
There had been a missing fortune.
Twenty-seven million dollars.
Money that had vanished from a joint account shortly before Robert Parker was accused of embezzlement.
The official story said Robert had stolen it.
But the bank records told a different story.
The money had been transferred to an offshore account.
The account belonged to a shell company controlled by someone named Victor Cole.
Daniel knew the name.
Victor Cole was Vanessa's father.
He stared at the screen.
Vanessa.
His investigation into the five women had suddenly become something much larger.
He summoned her.
“You knew my father.”
Vanessa frowned.
“Our families knew each other.”
“Your father was involved in my father's company.”
“Yes.”
“And Robert Parker.”
She went silent.
Daniel pushed the documents across the table.
“Where did the money go?”
“I don't know.”
“Your family received it.”
“I didn't know.”
“Were you here because of me?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“I was here because you asked me to come.”
“Not because your father told you to?”
She didn't answer.
That was enough.
Daniel ended the conversation.
Meanwhile, Ethan had become inseparable from Emily.
He followed her through the house.
He helped fold towels.
He tried to dust furniture and accidentally knocked over a vase.
Emily laughed.
Daniel watched from the hallway.
He couldn't remember the last time Ethan had laughed that freely.
That afternoon, Ethan asked Daniel a question.
“Do you like Emily?”
Daniel nearly dropped his coffee.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“She works here.”
“That didn't answer my question.”
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
“You're eight.”
“I know.”
“You're supposed to worry about homework.”
“I worry about everything.”
Daniel stared at him.
That sounded far too much like his mother.
“Emily is kind,” he said carefully.
“She's more than kind.”
“What?”
“She doesn't pretend.”
Daniel had no answer.
That evening, the family gathered for dinner.
Emily was serving soup when Ethan suddenly asked, “Why can't she sit with us?”
The room became silent.
Daniel looked at the women.
Olivia's expression tightened.
Vanessa smiled coldly.
“I think everyone has their place.”
Ethan stood.
“She belongs here.”
Olivia laughed softly.
“Sweetheart, grown-up decisions aren't made like that.”
Ethan's face fell.
Emily immediately intervened.
“It's okay.”
“No.”
Daniel's voice was firm.
He looked at Ethan.
“Sit.”
Then he looked at the others.
“This is my home.”
He pulled out a chair beside Ethan.
“Emily, sit.”
Emily stared at him.
“Daniel…”
“Sit.”
She did.
For the first time, the cleaning lady ate at the Whitmore family table.
Vanessa looked furious.
Later, Olivia cornered Emily in the hallway.
“You really think you belong here?”
Emily remained calm.
“No.”
“Good.”
“I know the difference between being invited and being entitled.”
Olivia stepped closer.
“You should be careful.”
Emily looked at her.
“About what?”
“People like you don't survive in worlds like this.”
Emily smiled.
“Maybe I don't need to survive your world.”
Olivia walked away.
But Emily wasn't as calm as she appeared.
That night, she opened an old suitcase hidden beneath her bed.
Inside was a photograph of her father.
On the back, in his handwriting:
When the time comes, trust Daniel Whitmore.
Emily cried.
She had been carrying those words for fifteen years.
She had never known what they meant.
Until now.
The next morning, Daniel showed her the letter from his mother.
Emily read it.
Her hands trembled.
“Why would your mother know my name?”
“She knew your father.”
“Then my father wasn't a thief.”
“No.”
Emily sat down.
“My whole life…”
Daniel sat across from her.
“Your father was framed.”
She covered her face.
“I always knew something was wrong.”
“How?”
“He never looked guilty.”
Daniel smiled sadly.
“That's a strange reason.”
“Maybe.”
She looked at him.
“What happened to your father?”
“He died five years ago.”
“Did he ever confess?”
“No.”
“What about your mother?”
“Three years ago.”
Emily's eyes narrowed.
“Then who is left?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Victor Cole.”
The name meant something to her.
“My brother mentioned him.”
“What did he say?”
“That Victor was the man who frightened my father.”
Daniel stood.
“We need to find your brother's records.”
“He died two years ago.”
“Maybe he left something.”
That evening, the investigator found a storage unit registered under Michael Parker's name.
They went there together.
Inside was almost nothing.
A broken desk.
Several boxes.
Old clothes.
A laptop.
Daniel opened it.
There was one video file.
Recorded the night before Michael died.
Emily sat down.
The video started.
Michael appeared exhausted.
“Emily, if you're watching this, I'm probably gone.”
She covered her mouth.
Michael continued.
“I found proof Dad didn't steal anything.”
Daniel leaned closer.
Michael's voice shook.
“The money went to Victor Cole. But Victor wasn't acting alone.”
A pause.
“He was working with someone inside the Whitmore family.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“Who?”
The video ended.
Emily stared at the blank screen.
Then she whispered, “Your uncle.”
Daniel's blood ran cold.
His father's younger brother, Richard Whitmore.
Everyone believed Richard had died in an accident twelve years earlier.
But the investigator had just discovered something impossible.
Richard was alive.
And he had been living under another name.
May you like
The next message arrived five minutes later.
WELCOME HOME, EMILY.
