Chapter 8 - WHAT EVELYN HID
Mason stood perfectly still.
“What did Margaret do for you?”
Evelyn wiped her tears.
“She protected you.”
“From whom?”
“Your father.”
Mason shook his head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
“No. I need the truth now.”
Evelyn looked toward Hannah.
“Margaret discovered your father was preparing to sacrifice you.”
Mason stared.
“I was a child.”
“Exactly.”
Hannah stepped forward.
“My mother protected Mason?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she loved children.”
Hannah looked confused.
“She barely knew him.”
“She knew what your father was becoming.”
Evelyn walked to the window.
“Your father had become obsessed with protecting the family business. He believed Mason had to inherit everything.”
Mason remembered his childhood.
The long dinners.
The strict lessons.
The bodyguards.
The constant warnings.
Never trust strangers.
Never leave the estate.
Never speak about family business.
He had thought it was discipline.
Now it sounded like preparation.
Evelyn continued.
“Your father discovered that someone intended to kill Mason to create a succession crisis.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
“Richard?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Evelyn looked at Daniel.
“Daniel's father.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“My father?”
“He believed Mason was responsible for everything that happened to his family.”
Daniel shook his head.
“He hated your father.”
“He did.”
“But why would he kill a child?”
“He wasn't going to.”
Evelyn's voice became softer.
“He planned to expose your father instead.”
Mason frowned.
“Then what happened?”
“Someone intercepted him.”
“Who?”
Evelyn didn't answer.
Hannah suddenly understood.
“My mother.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Margaret discovered the plot.”
“She saved Mason.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she die?”
“Because she knew too much.”
Mason looked at Daniel.
“Your father?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Before Daniel could answer, Claire stepped forward.
“My father.”
Everyone turned.
Claire's voice trembled.
“Richard told me something before he died.”
“What?”
“He said the person who controlled the Vale family wasn't always the person sitting at the head of the table.”
Mason looked at Evelyn.
She understood immediately.
“Victor.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at Daniel.
“Daniel.”
The room went silent.
Daniel stared at her.
“You're wrong.”
“Am I?”
Claire pulled another photograph from her bag.
It showed Daniel standing outside the freight office twenty years ago.
Beside him was Margaret.
Behind them stood Richard Whitmore.
And beside Richard stood Evelyn.
But Daniel was holding something.
A gun.
Mason stared at the image.
“Were you there?”
“Yes.”
“Were you armed?”
“Yes.”
“Did you shoot Margaret?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“My father.”
Hannah gasped.
Daniel continued.
“He thought Margaret had betrayed him.”
“Why?”
“Because she gave the ledger to Evelyn.”
Evelyn nodded.
“And I hid it.”
Mason understood.
His mother had been protecting the ledger.
Margaret had been protecting Mason.
Daniel had been caught between his father and the Vale family.
But something still didn't fit.
Mason pointed at the photograph.
“Why were you holding the gun?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Because I tried to stop my father.”
“You were nineteen.”
“I know.”
“You failed.”
“Yes.”
Mason's voice softened.
“And you blamed yourself.”
Daniel looked away.
“For twenty years.”
Hannah wiped her tears.
“Then why did you stay with the family?”
Daniel answered without hesitation.
“Because your mother asked me to.”
Hannah froze.
“What?”
“Before she died, Margaret told me to protect Mason.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew the person who ordered everything was still inside the family.”
Mason looked around the room.
“Who?”
Daniel reached into his coat.
He removed the missing portion of the cassette.
“I found this tonight.”
Claire stared.
“You had it?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you play it?”
“Because I wasn't ready.”
Mason's voice became quiet.
“Play it.”
Daniel inserted the tape.
Richard's voice returned.
“The person who ordered the first poisoning is not Victor.”
Static crackled.
“It is someone who has access to every Vale account, every security detail, every private meeting.”
Mason's eyes moved toward Evelyn.
Richard continued.
“Someone who has been convincing everyone that they are protecting the family.”
Evelyn whispered,
“No.”
Richard's voice became faint.
“I believe Daniel is being used as a shield.”
The tape ended.
Everyone stared at Daniel.
Then Mason noticed something.
The tape had been edited.
“There's more.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
He turned the cassette over.
A handwritten number was written beneath the label.
9.
Mason frowned.
“What does nine mean?”
Lily answered from across the room.
“It's the number on the necklace.”
Claire touched her throat.
The diamond necklace.
Mason's eyes widened.
“Open it.”
Claire did.
Inside was another tiny compartment.
This time there was no note.
There was a key.
A different key.
Small.
Black.
And engraved with one word.
NINE.
Evelyn stared at it.
“I know where that opens.”
“Where?”
She looked toward the old family chapel.
“The room beneath the altar.”
Daniel's face changed.
Mason noticed.
“You know something.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I know what was kept there.”
“What?”
Daniel looked at Lily.
“The original evidence from Margaret's murder.”
Hannah grabbed his arm.
“Then why has nobody found it?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“Because the person who hid it never wanted it found.”
Mason took the key.
“Then we're finding it.”
He looked at the clock.
Midnight.
They walked toward the chapel.
But before they reached the door, every security alarm in the estate began screaming.
A guard came running.
“Mr. Vale!”
“What?”
“Someone has breached the east gate.”
Mason turned.
“How many?”
The guard looked terrified.
“One.”
“Who?”
The guard swallowed.
“He says his name is Richard Whitmore.”
Claire's face went white.
“My father is dead.”
May you like
The guard shook his head.
“He says he isn't.”
