Chapter 4 - NORTH
I almost dropped the flash drive.
Little sister.
Nobody called me that except Nathan.
Not Dad.
Not my cousins.
Not childhood friends.
Nathan.
He had said it whenever he wanted to annoy me.
Move, little sister.
Try harder, little sister.
You’re buying dinner, little sister.
Even his birthday cards usually began the same way.
Rachel stared at the label.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
But my voice sounded wrong.
Dad looked at Marcus.
“Secure it.”
Marcus placed the drive inside an evidence bag.
Detective Bennett approached.
“That becomes police evidence.”
Dad nodded.
“Of course.”
Preston’s attorney protested from the ballroom.
“My client is being unlawfully detained.”
Detective Bennett didn’t even look back.
“Your client is standing in a ballroom drinking water.”
“He wants to leave.”
“So do I.”
A few officers almost smiled.
Dad took my hand.
“Emily.”
I pulled away.
“You knew Nathan might have been murdered.”
“I knew it was possible.”
“And you let me believe he lost control of his car.”
“I watched you bury your mother three years earlier.”
“That didn’t give you the right.”
“No.”
The answer stopped me.
He didn’t defend himself.
He simply stood there.
“I was wrong.”
For years, I had imagined what I would say if my father ever admitted he had hidden something important from me.
I never imagined the secret would involve Nathan’s death.
Rachel interrupted gently.
“There’s something else.”
I looked at her.
“The name North wasn’t only attached to old financial records.”
My father’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”
“I saw a transfer approved four days ago.”
Dad frowned.
“Through which company?”
“Arden Strategic Logistics.”
My stomach tightened.
That division was controlled by one person.
My uncle.
Robert Arden.
Dad’s younger brother.
The man who had hugged me at Nathan’s funeral.
The man who had handled family operations during Dad’s grief.
The man currently standing somewhere inside this estate.
I turned toward Marcus.
“Find Robert.”
Marcus spoke into his radio.
Less than ten seconds later, an answer came back.
His expression changed.
“He’s not in the ballroom.”
Dad’s face hardened.
“Search the estate.”
Teams moved immediately.
I looked toward the steel barriers.
“No one could leave.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not through public exits.”
“The service gate.”
“Opened with Nathan’s code.”
Rachel whispered.
“Oh, God.”
Dad looked at me.
“You think Robert left in that car.”
“I think someone wanted us to think he did.”
Marcus nodded.
“The driver escaped on foot before the outer perimeter closed.”
Dad turned toward the security monitors.
“Pull every camera.”
Marcus worked quickly.
The screen displayed the service road.
A black SUV appeared.
The image froze.
Marcus enlarged it.
The driver’s face remained hidden by shadow.
Then another figure appeared in the passenger seat.
I leaned toward the screen.
My breath stopped.
Robert.
My uncle.
His head rested against the window.
His eyes were closed.
There was a dark stain across the shoulder of his white dress shirt.
Dad whispered his name.
The footage continued.
The SUV reached the service gate.
The barrier lifted.
Seconds later, the vehicle disappeared from camera view.
Marcus switched feeds.
The next camera showed the crash.
The driver’s door opened.
A hooded person ran into the trees.
The passenger door remained closed.
Officers had found the vehicle empty.
“Where is Robert now?” I asked.
Marcus stared at the recording.
“I don’t know.”
Dad’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Jonathan Arden.”
A distorted voice came through the speaker.
Everyone nearby heard it.
“You sealed the house.”
Dad’s eyes sharpened.
“Yes.”
The voice laughed.
“Good.”
My skin prickled.
“Who is this?” Dad asked.
“You’ve been asking that question for six years.”
Dad’s face went white.
North.
I knew it before he said anything.
The voice continued.
“Your son asked too.”
My father gripped the phone.
“What did you do to Nathan?”
Silence.
Then.
“Ask the man your daughter just embarrassed.”
Every eye moved toward the ballroom.
Toward Preston Harrington.
Preston couldn’t hear the call from where he stood.
He only saw us staring.
His expression changed.
The distorted voice spoke again.
“You have forty-seven minutes before the real story leaves that house.”
“What story?”
“The one Nathan died trying to tell.”
The call disconnected.
Dad looked at Detective Bennett.
She was already moving.
“Bring Harrington back.”
Two officers escorted Preston into the corridor.
He looked irritated.
“What now?”
I held up the evidence bag containing Rachel’s flash drive.
His eyes flickered.
Then I asked one question.
“Who is North?”
Preston smiled.
May you like
That was when I knew.
He had heard the name before.
