Chapter 5: The Lawyer's Last Promise
Evelyn didn't wait for me to ask another question.
She pulled me through the fire door and down the stairs.
My shoes slipped against the concrete steps.
Behind us, a door slammed.
“She's not in the apartment!”” someone shouted.
Evelyn increased her pace.
“Keep moving.””
We reached the underground parking level.
A silver sedan sat beside the emergency exit.
Evelyn unlocked it.
“Get in.””
I hesitated.
“How do I know you're not working for Daniel?””
She stared at me.
Then she said something that made my chest tighten.
“Because your mother paid me to protect you, and I failed her once. I'm not doing it again.””
I got into the car.
Evelyn started the engine.
As we drove out, I looked back.
Two men were running toward the building entrance.
One of them was holding a photograph.
Mine.
I ducked.
“Who are those men?””
“Private security.””
“Daniel's?””
“Yes.””
“How long have you known him?””
“Since he was twenty-three.””
She turned onto the main road.
“He was charming back then. Your mother liked him. She thought he was ambitious, intelligent, and devoted to Marcus.””
I stared at her.
“Then why did she become afraid of him?””
“Because she discovered what he was doing at Bellhaven.””
“Tell me everything.””
Evelyn glanced at me.
“Your sister was found alive eleven years after she disappeared. She had been moved between private facilities under different names. She suffered a serious head injury during the first year of her disappearance. Her memories were fragmented.””
“Who kept her there?””
“Daniel's father had connections in the medical industry. Several facilities received money through his companies. The paperwork was designed to make certain patients difficult to identify.””
“That's kidnapping.””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't the police arrest them?””
“Your mother tried. She went to the police twice. Both times, someone warned the family before investigators could act.””
I stared at the passing streetlights.
“Who?””
“We never proved it.””
“And Daniel?””
“He discovered that your mother had contacted me. He threatened to expose private information about her unless she stopped searching.””
“What information?””
Evelyn didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she turned into a quiet side street and parked beside a small office building.
“We're here.””
I looked at the sign.
SHAW & PARTNERS — SOLICITORS.
The building was dark.
“Isn't your office closed?””
“Not anymore.””
She unlocked the side entrance and led me upstairs.
Inside, the office smelled of old paper and furniture polish.
Evelyn turned on a desk lamp.
“Sit.””
I remained standing.
“First, tell me why Daniel thinks I have a USB drive.””
“Because he believes your mother left evidence with Marcus.””
“Did she?””
“Yes.””
“What evidence?””
Evelyn opened a locked cabinet and removed a thick brown envelope.
“Bank statements. Medical records. Transfer documents. And a recorded conversation.””
She placed the envelope on the desk.
“Your mother gave me copies of everything shortly before she died.””
My heart started racing.
“Then why didn't you give them to the police?””
“I did.””
“What?””
“Two weeks before she died, I submitted the documents to a detective. Three days later, the detective was transferred. The following week, my office was broken into.””
She opened the envelope.
“Everything disappeared except one recording.””
A small digital recorder lay inside.
Evelyn pressed a button.
Static filled the room.
Then my mother's voice emerged.
“If you're hearing this, something has happened to me.””
I covered my mouth.
Her voice sounded tired.
Older than I remembered.
But unmistakably hers.
“Daniel believes he has won. He thinks I've stopped searching for Claire. He thinks Nia knows nothing. But I have proof.””
A chair scraped in the background.
Then another voice.
Daniel's.
“You should have left this alone.””
My entire body stiffened.
My mother answered.
“She's my daughter.””
“She doesn't remember anything.””
“She deserves to know.””
“She deserves a normal life.””
“Not one built on lies.””
There was a loud thud.
My mother gasped.
Then Daniel spoke again.
“If you tell Nia, you'll lose both daughters.””
The recording ended.
I stood frozen.
Evelyn switched it off.
“Your mother made this recording the day before she died.””
I shook my head.
“She died of a stroke.””
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
“That's what the hospital reported.””
“What are you saying?””
“Your mother had no previous history of cardiovascular problems. But the medical report was amended after her death.””
I felt the room tilt.
“Amended how?””
“The original report mentioned traces of a sedative in her blood. The final report didn't.””
I gripped the back of the chair.
“Are you saying Daniel killed her?””
“I'm saying I believe someone made sure she couldn't speak again.””
Tears filled my eyes.
I remembered my mother's last birthday.
She had called me twice that morning.
I'd been busy preparing for a meeting and hadn't answered.
She had left a voicemail.
Call me when you can, sweetheart. There's something important I need to tell you.
I had called her back the next day.
She sounded distracted.
She told me she loved me.
Then we said goodbye.
That was our last conversation.
I pressed my hands against my face.
Evelyn came around the desk.
“I'm sorry.””
I shook my head.
“Don't.””
“Nia—”
“Don't tell me you're sorry. Tell me how to find my sister.””
Evelyn returned to the desk.
She opened a drawer and removed a file.
Inside were several pages of hospital records.
“Bellhaven Recovery Center closed six months ago. The patients were transferred to different facilities.””
“Where did Claire go?””
Evelyn pointed to one line.
“St. Agnes Medical Residence.””
“Is she still there?””
“We don't know.””
I looked at the date.
The transfer had happened three months ago.
Three months before my mother's death.
A new message appeared on my phone.
Unknown number.
*Evelyn is lying to you.*
I showed her.
She stared at the screen.
Then her face went pale.
“Who sent that?””
“I don't know.””
Another message arrived.
*Ask her why she waited three years to contact you.*
I slowly looked up.
“Why did you wait?””
Evelyn closed her eyes.
For the first time since we'd met, she looked frightened.
“Because I was ordered not to contact you.””
“By whom?””
She looked at the door.
“Your mother.””
I frowned.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“She believed Daniel was watching you. She thought if you knew about Claire, he'd use you to reach her.””
“But my mother is dead.””
“Yes.””
“And you still didn't contact me.””
Evelyn sat down.
“Because someone else had already found Claire.””
My heart began pounding.
“Who?””
Evelyn slid another photograph across the desk.
It showed a woman leaving a hospital.
Beside her was a man in a dark coat.
I recognized him immediately.
Daniel.
But the woman wasn't Claire.
It was my mother.
Taken just four days before she died.
Evelyn whispered:
“Your mother wasn't trying to find Claire when she contacted me.””
She pointed to the photograph.
“She was trying to get Claire away from Daniel.””
Then Evelyn turned the page.
A handwritten address appeared.
Below it was a date.
And a name.
*CLAIRE WHITMORE.*
I stared at the surname.
“Why does my sister have Daniel's last name?””
Evelyn swallowed.
“Because three years ago, Daniel legally adopted her.””
I felt as if someone had struck me.
“That isn't possible.””
“It is.””
“But why?””
Evelyn's voice dropped.
“Because Daniel didn't just want to control the company. He wanted control of your family.””
Before I could respond, the office lights went out.
A car engine roared outside.
Then someone struck the front door.
Three times.
A man's voice shouted:
“Evelyn Shaw! Open the door!””
Evelyn grabbed my arm.
“Get under the desk.””
“Who is it?””
She pulled open a hidden drawer and took out a small key.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“Daniel.””
