Chapter 2
Silas Vale had been Gabriel’s friend.
At least that was the family version.
They hunted together.
Ran clubs together.
Sat beside each other at weddings and funerals.
Then Gabriel died in a road accident while returning from Lake Mercer.
Silas stood beside me at the funeral.
He carried Gabriel’s coffin.
Nine years later, his daughter was standing inside my wife’s memorial room trying to steal Gabriel’s key.
I looked at Lydia.
“What does your father want from my brother’s house?”
She folded her arms.
“You’re imagining something that isn’t there.”
Villains love making discovery sound like paranoia.
I turned toward Preston.
“What did Silas tell you?”
My son hesitated.
“He said Gabriel left something behind.”
“What?”
“A recording.”
My chest tightened.
Lydia snapped:
“He didn’t know that.”
Preston looked at her.
Too late.
Now I knew Silas did.
“What recording?”
Neither answered.
Harper stepped forward.
“Dad.”
I turned.
She held the crushed family photograph.
The glass had cracked, but Evelyn’s face remained visible.
“Mom went to Lake Mercer six months before she died.”
I stared.
“She told me she was visiting your aunt.”
“No.”
Harper shook her head.
“She lied.”
That hurt.
Not because Evelyn lied.
Because my wife had apparently been carrying something alone while dying.
“She came back different,” Harper continued.
“She started locking her bedroom drawer.”
Preston looked away.
Interesting.
“You searched it?”
He snapped:
“No.”
Harper laughed bitterly.
“You searched everything after Mom got sick.”
I looked at my son.
Silence.
There it was.
Preston had been looking for the key before Evelyn died.
Maybe not inside the urn yet.
But close enough that she knew.
I asked:
“What did Silas promise you?”
Preston’s face hardened.
“This isn’t about money.”
Usually means power.
“What then?”
He looked toward the broken photograph.
“He said Uncle Gabriel left proof that you were never supposed to lead Whitlock.”
That landed.
Not because I believed it.
May you like
Because Preston did.
My son had desecrated his mother’s memorial chasing evidence that his father should never have been boss.
