Chapter 6: Daniel’s Last Request
“What did Daniel ask you to do?” I said.
Owen reached beneath his pillow and removed a folded card.
My name was written across it in Daniel’s uneven handwriting.
“He came looking for me near the church,” Owen said.
“He knew he was getting weaker.”
I opened the card.
Mom worries about everyone except herself.
If I can’t help her later, please remind her she deserves help too.
My breath caught.
“He wrote this before he got sick?”
“After.
He didn’t tell you how frightened he was.”
“You should have brought it to me.”
“I tried.”
Owen lifted his eyes to mine.
“I came to your office the morning Harold fired you.
He met me downstairs and took the card.
He said you blamed me for upsetting Daniel.”
“I never blamed you.”
“I was nineteen, hungry, and ashamed.
I believed him.”
The card shook between my fingers.
“How did you get it back?”
“Ruth mailed it to me after she retired.”
Ruth stepped closer to the bed.
“I found it in Harold’s locked drawer.
I should have given it to Nora.”
“You gave it to Owen,” I said.
“That matters.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded.
A nurse entered.
“Mr.
Carter needs rest.”
Owen caught my hand.
“The archive recording proves Harold knew the transfer was false.
But it also proves something else.”
“What?”
“He used money from my company to purchase his current office building.
That building should belong to your trust.”
Samuel stared at him.
“Why didn’t you tell our attorneys?”
“Because the proof is in Harold’s basement, and he will destroy it if he knows.”
My phone rang.
Harold’s name appeared again.
I answered on speaker.
“What do you want?”
“To save you from embarrassment.
My attorney has obtained a temporary order recognizing the transfer.”
“You mean the forged transfer.”
“The court sees a notarized signature.”
Samuel froze.
“Notarized by whom?”
“Ruth Ellis.”
Every eye turned toward Ruth.
“I never notarized anything,” she said.
Harold chuckled.
“The stamp and signature say otherwise.”
“You stole my seal,” Ruth said.
“Prove it.”
He ended the call.
Samuel’s attorney arrived at the hospital an hour later.
Claire Mercer was younger than Harold, with his gray eyes and none of his smile.
“You’re his daughter,” I said.
“Yes.
I also represent the company board.”
“Are you here to threaten us?”
“No.
I’m here because my father ordered the archive room emptied tonight.”
She placed an access card in my hand.
“Why would you help us?”
“Because he asked me to shred twenty-six years of records.” Claire removed her company identification badge.
“When I refused, he told the board I had stolen confidential files.”
Samuel looked at the card.
“This could be a trap.”
“It may already be too late.” Claire opened her phone and showed us a security feed.
“He disconnected the basement cameras twelve minutes ago.”
Peter moved toward the door.
“Then we call the authorities.”
Claire shook her head.
“By the time they obtain entry, the evidence will be gone.”
I closed my fingers around the card.
Owen tightened his grip on my other hand.
“Nora, don’t go alone.”
“I won’t.”
Claire’s phone lit up with an alert.
May you like
On the dark security image, smoke curled beneath the archive-room door.
Then every alarm in Harold’s building began to ring.
