Chapter 7 - Rebecca’s Last Night
Detective Ruiz ordered everyone into the library.
Vanessa remained handcuffed.
Nathan stood near the window.
Elena sat beside him.
Margaret Howard refused to sit.
Ruiz placed Rebecca Mercer’s photograph in the center of the table.
“Start from the beginning.”
Vanessa stared at the photograph.
“My sister met Nathan at Georgetown.”
Nathan nodded slowly.
Images seemed to be returning to him in fragments.
“She studied architecture.”
“Yes.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“She loved you.”
Nathan’s expression tightened.
“I loved her too.”
Margaret turned away.
Vanessa noticed.
“She hated Rebecca.”
Margaret spun around.
“I wanted Nathan protected.”
“From what?”
“You.”
“From someone without a family name?”
Margaret’s voice sharpened.
“From someone connected to Gregory Pike.”
Silence followed.
Vanessa froze.
“What?”
Margaret looked at Ruiz.
“Rebecca’s father worked with Pike.”
Vanessa stared at her.
“My father was an accountant.”
“He laundered money.”
“No.”
Margaret walked toward a cabinet.
She removed an old locked box.
Inside were papers yellowed by time.
“Rebecca discovered what her father was doing.”
“She came to me.”
Vanessa looked stunned.
“She asked for help?”
“Yes.”
Margaret placed a letter on the table.
Nathan recognized Rebecca’s handwriting.
The letter described offshore accounts, fraudulent contracts, and Gregory Pike’s involvement.
Nathan whispered.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Margaret looked devastated.
“Because Rebecca begged me not to.”
“She believed if Pike discovered she had exposed him, he would kill her.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“You’re lying.”
Ruiz examined the letter.
“We can authenticate this.”
Margaret continued.
“The night of Nathan’s accident, Rebecca called me.”
“She was terrified.”
“She said Pike knew.”
Nathan gripped the table.
“Where was she?”
“She wouldn’t tell me.”
“What happened next?”
Margaret’s voice broke.
“Nathan left the house after overhearing part of the conversation.”
“He thought I had forced Rebecca to leave him.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“I remember driving.”
Elena touched his arm.
Nathan whispered.
“It was raining.”
Margaret nodded.
“You crashed twenty minutes later.”
Vanessa looked between them.
“And Rebecca?”
“She disappeared.”
Vanessa’s anger returned.
“You never searched.”
“We did.”
“Quietly.”
“You protected your reputation.”
“I protected Nathan while he was recovering from brain trauma.”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“You always have a justification.”
Ruiz leaned forward.
“What about the eighty-million-dollar policy?”
Margaret became still.
“I purchased it.”
Nathan stared at her.
“Why?”
“After the accident, I discovered someone had tampered with your brakes.”
The room froze.
Nathan’s face drained of color.
“You told me the crash was weather-related.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because I was terrified whoever tried once would try again.”
Vanessa looked toward Ruiz.
“Gregory Pike.”
Ruiz nodded slowly.
“It would fit.”
Elena’s stomach tightened.
Then Ruiz’s phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed as he listened.
“What did you find?”
A pause.
“Send it now.”
He ended the call.
Everyone watched him.
Ruiz opened the incoming photograph.
It showed an old security image from a highway gas station.
Timestamped the night Nathan crashed.
Rebecca stood beside a vehicle.
She was not alone.
The man beside her was clearly visible.
May you like
Nathan whispered his name.
“Uncle Charles.”
