Chapter 9: The Final Piece Of The Puzzle
The police arrived twenty minutes later.
Claire didn’t run.
That surprised me.
She simply sat on the couch and waited.
Like someone who had spent years preparing for this moment.
Detective Harper entered with two officers.
“Claire Hayes, we need you to come with us for questioning.””
Claire nodded.
“I understand.””
I watched her stand.
She looked at me.
Not angry.
Not afraid.
Just sad.
“I know what this looks like.””
I said nothing.
“I know you don’t believe me.””
Still nothing.
She walked past me.
Then stopped.
“Your father loved you more than anything.””
I looked away.
Because I wanted to believe her.
But I didn’t know what was real anymore.
Three hours later, Detective Harper returned.
She sat across from me.
“Claire was telling the truth.””
I looked up.
“What?””
“The phone used to make the emergency call was hers.””
“So she did it.””
“No.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“Someone cloned her phone.””
I stared.
“She was set up.””
Detective Harper placed a file on the table.
“Marcus Vale had access to company records. Including employee data.””
“So he could fake the call?””
“Yes.””
I felt something inside me break.
All this time, I had been searching for one villain.
But there were layers.
Marcus had planned everything.
The stolen money.
The fake will.
The delayed emergency call.
The video.
Everything.
“Then why did my father write Claire’s name?””
Detective Harper hesitated.
“That’s the part we still don’t understand.””
I opened the file.
Inside was a copy of Dad’s original letter.
But something was different.
The handwriting.
I stared.
“That isn’t my father’s writing.””
Detective Harper looked surprised.
“You’re sure?””
“Yes.””
I knew every detail of Dad’s handwriting.
The way he crossed his T’s.
The way he wrote numbers.
This wasn’t him.
Someone had forged the warning.
Someone wanted me to suspect Claire.
Then I remembered.
The folder.
The will.
The fake documents.
Someone had been inside the house before me.
Someone had access.
I stood.
“Where is Marcus?””
Detective Harper looked at me.
“He disappeared.””
Of course he did.
I returned home that night.
The house felt different.
Not empty.
Waiting.
I went straight to Dad’s office.
The room had been untouched since his death.
I opened his desk drawers.
Nothing.
Then I remembered something.
Dad always hid important things in obvious places.
Because he believed thieves searched for complicated hiding spots.
I pulled out his old dictionary.
Inside was a small envelope.
My name was written on it.
This time, it was definitely his handwriting.
I opened it.
The letter was short.
*Ethan,*
*If you found this, it means the first message was discovered. Good. That means you didn’t trust blindly.*
I kept reading.
*Claire is not your enemy. She is the person who helped me uncover the truth.*
My hands shook.
*But she made one mistake. She trusted someone she should not have.*
I flipped the page.
One final sentence.
*The person who betrayed me is someone you have known your entire life.*
Then I saw the name at the bottom.
The name my father had written.
May you like
The name that made me stop breathing.
*Your mother.*