Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT NATHAN DIED
Dad stumbled backward.
I stayed beside Robert.
“What code?”
My uncle’s face twisted with pain.
“Emergency vehicle override.”
My father looked confused.
Robert coughed.
“Nathan’s car was Arden armored fleet.”
I remembered.
Dad had insisted Nathan use a company vehicle after receiving threats.
The car had multiple security systems.
Remote tracking.
Emergency braking.
Electronic maintenance access.
Robert’s voice became faint.
“I gave Malcolm Harrington the maintenance override.”
Dad’s face changed.
“You gave him access to Nathan’s car?”
“I didn’t know what he was going to do.”
“You gave him access.”
Robert closed his eyes.
“He said Nathan had copied confidential donor records.”
Dad grabbed the bedpost so hard his knuckles whitened.
“You betrayed my son.”
“I was being blackmailed.”
“By what?”
Robert’s eyes moved toward me.
That made me afraid.
“What?” I asked.
Robert whispered.
“Your mother.”
The room went still.
My mother, Caroline Arden, had died of cancer nine years ago.
Robert saw my confusion.
“There was money missing from one of her foundations.”
Dad shook his head.
“Caroline never stole anything.”
“No.”
Robert looked ashamed.
“I did.”
Dad stared at him.
Robert continued.
“I used her authorization account.”
“How much?”
“Three million at first.”
Dad almost laughed from disbelief.
“At first?”
“I was in debt.”
“Gambling?”
Robert looked away.
Dad had his answer.
“Harrington found out.”
Robert nodded.
“He told me he would destroy Caroline’s reputation after her death.”
My father’s voice dropped.
“So you protected yourself by giving him access to Nathan.”
“I thought they wanted to frighten him.”
“You thought?”
Robert began sobbing.
Dad turned away.
I wanted to hate my uncle.
Part of me did.
But another part needed answers more than revenge.
“What happened that night?”
Robert breathed slowly.
“Nathan was driving to meet a federal investigator.”
Dad looked at him.
“You knew?”
“I found out later.”
“How?”
“North told me.”
There it was again.
That name.
“Who is North?”
Robert’s eyes filled with terror.
“I never saw his face.”
“Then how did he contact you?”
“Messages.”
“Voice calls?”
“Sometimes.”
“Male?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Voice distortion.”
Rachel stood near the doorway.
“The person who called us tonight.”
Robert heard her.
His eyes widened.
“North is here?”
“We don’t know.”
He tried to sit up.
Pain forced him back down.
“You have to leave.”
“The estate is sealed.”
“No.”
Panic entered his voice.
“You don’t understand.”
Dad approached.
“Then explain.”
Robert looked toward Nathan’s desk.
“The hidden drawer.”
I knew exactly which drawer he meant.
Nathan had built it when he was sixteen.
He used to hide cigarettes there.
Dad had known the entire time.
I pulled the drawer open.
Empty.
Robert stared.
“No.”
“What was inside?”
“Nathan’s backup.”
Rachel stepped closer.
“Financial files?”
“Everything.”
Dad searched the desk.
Nothing.
Then Marcus noticed a fresh scratch near the floor.
He pulled the lower panel away.
Behind it was a small steel compartment.
Inside sat an old smartphone.
Nathan’s phone.
My hands began shaking.
We had been told the phone was destroyed in the crash.
Dad looked at Robert.
“How did this get here?”
Robert whispered.
“I put it there.”
“Why?”
“Because North told me to.”
Dad almost shouted.
“You’ve been following orders from the person who killed Nathan?”
Robert shook his head desperately.
“I don’t think North killed him.”
“Then who did?”
Robert stared toward the doorway.
“Malcolm Harrington ordered it.”
Rachel inhaled sharply.
“And North?”
Robert swallowed.
“North tried to stop it.”
I looked at the phone in my hand.
The battery should have been dead.
It wasn’t.
The screen suddenly lit by itself.
One new message appeared.
EMILY.
I dropped it onto the desk.
Another message appeared.
YOU FINALLY FOUND ME.
May you like
Then another.
DON’T TRUST YOUR FATHER.
