Chapter 4: The Man in the Photograph
The attorney's name was Thomas Reed.
I knew him.
That was the part I couldn't understand.
Not personally. Not well. But I remembered him from the funeral.
He had stood near the back of the church in a black suit, holding a leather folder against his chest while everyone else cried.
I'd been seventeen.
I'd barely looked at him.
Now, ten years later, his face was staring back at me from a photograph Daniel had sent.
My mother stood beside him.
But that wasn't what made my hands shake.
It was the way my mother was looking at him.
Not like a friend.
Not like a client.
Like she was afraid.
I zoomed in until the image blurred.
“That's him,” Vanessa whispered.
I looked at her.
“You knew.””
“I told you I saw him with your mother.””
“You said you didn't know who she was afraid of.””
“I didn't.””
“You recognized him.””
Vanessa's eyes dropped.
“I recognized the photograph.””
“That isn't the same thing.””
“No.””
She looked toward the window.
“It's worse.””
My phone buzzed.
Daniel had sent another message.
*Come alone. Reed is here.*
I stared at the words.
Vanessa immediately shook her head.
“No.””
“You're not coming.””
“I wasn't asking permission.””
“Nia, listen to me.””
I grabbed my keys.
“If my mother left me a two-million-dollar trust, I'm finding out why.””
Vanessa stepped in front of me.
“You think money is the prize?””
“What else would it be?””
“The money is bait.””
I stopped.
“What?””
Vanessa's voice trembled.
“Your mother knew someone would come looking for it.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“You keep saying that.””
“Because it's true.””
“Then why are you so scared?””
She looked directly into my eyes.
“Because I watched your mother become afraid of the same things you're discovering now.””
I pushed past her.
Outside, the morning sun was already bright enough to make me squint.
My car started on the second try.
As I backed out, I saw Vanessa standing in the doorway.
She didn't wave.
She just watched.
Like she was watching someone drive toward a grave.
Daniel had chosen a coffee shop near the interstate.
When I walked in, I spotted him immediately.
Mid-forties. Gray hoodie. Nervous eyes.
He stood when he saw me.
“Nia?””
“Yes.””
He glanced behind me.
“You came alone?””
“Yes.””
“Good.””
“Where's the envelope?””
He reached beneath the table.
Before he could answer, a man's voice came from behind me.
“Miss Carter.””
I turned.
Thomas Reed stood three feet away.
Older now.
Silver hair.
Same narrow face.
Same cold eyes.
My mother's attorney.
I felt my pulse jump.
“You're Thomas Reed.””
He smiled faintly.
“You remember me.””
“I remember the funeral.””
“I'm sorry you had to meet again under these circumstances.””
“What circumstances?””
He looked at Daniel.
Daniel lowered his eyes.
Reed pulled out the chair opposite mine.
“Please sit.””
I didn't.
“What happened to my mother?””
His expression didn't change.
“That is a complicated question.””
“Then start somewhere simple.””
He looked at me.
“Your mother believed she was being watched.””
“By you?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
He said nothing.
I stepped closer.
“You were her attorney.””
“Yes.””
“You handled her estate.””
“Yes.””
“You knew about the trust.””
His eyes flickered.
That tiny movement told me more than his words.
“Yes,” he said.
My stomach tightened.
“How much?””
“Approximately two million dollars.””
Daniel quietly said, “That's what was written on the envelope.””
Reed looked at him.
“You opened it?””
“No.””
“Then you should not have discussed its contents.””
Daniel frowned.
“I didn't.””
Reed's gaze returned to me.
“The trust was established shortly before your mother's death.””
“Why didn't I know?””
“Because your mother instructed me not to tell you.””
“Until when?””
“Until you turned twenty-five.””
I stared at him.
“I’m twenty-four.””
“Yes.””
My heart began pounding.
“One year.””
“One year,” he repeated.
“Why?””
“Because she believed you would be safer.””
“Safer from what?””
Reed leaned back.
“Your mother didn't trust the people around her.””
“Did she trust you?””
His silence lasted too long.
“I was her attorney.””
“That wasn't my question.””
Daniel shifted in his chair.
Reed looked at him.
“You should leave.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not until she gets what I found.””
Reed's jaw tightened.
“Where is the envelope?””
Daniel reached into his bag.
My breath caught.
He placed a thick cream-colored envelope on the table.
My name was written across it.
*NIA CARTER*
Underneath, in my mother's handwriting:
*OPEN ONLY WHEN YOU ARE READY TO KNOW THE TRUTH.*
My fingers hovered over it.
Reed said quietly, “You should not open that here.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because once you do, there's no going back.””
I picked it up.
“That's exactly what I want.””
The paper felt heavier than it should have.
I tore the seal.
Inside was a single folded letter.
And a photograph.
I pulled out the photograph first.
My mother.
Thomas Reed.
And a third person.
A man standing partially in shadow.
I stared at his face.
Then my stomach dropped.
I knew him too.
“That's impossible,” I whispered.
Reed stood.
“Nia—”
I held up the photograph.
“That's my father.””
Daniel looked confused.
“But your stepmother said he wasn't involved.””
I looked at Reed.
“Why is my father standing next to my mother the night before she died?””
Reed's face went pale.
He reached for the photograph.
I pulled it away.
“Don't.””
His voice dropped.
“Your father was supposed to be dead.””
I stopped breathing.
“What did you just say?””
Reed stared at the photograph.
Then toward the window.
And for the first time, the attorney looked genuinely terrified.
May you like
Because outside the coffee shop, a black SUV had just pulled into the parking lot.
And the man who stepped out looked exactly like the man in the photograph.