Chapter 9: A Son's Betrayal
Michael stood between the door and the others.
Andrew remained beside the bookshelf, his phone clenched in one hand.
Evelyn stared at both men.
She had once watched them sleep in the same nursery.
She had held their hands on the first day of school.
She had sat beside them through broken bones, failed exams, and heartbreak.
Now they were standing in front of her like strangers.
“Michael,” she whispered.
“Please tell me this isn't what it looks like.””
Michael rubbed his face.
“Mom, just give us the notebook.””
“Why?””
“Because it's not yours.””
Evelyn looked at him in disbelief.
“Your father left it for me.””
“Dad left a lot of things. Some of them were mistakes.””
Cole stepped forward.
“Your father left this for my mother, too.””
Michael turned.
“Stay out of this.””
Cole laughed without humor.
“That's interesting. You've spent your entire life staying out of my existence.””
Michael's jaw tightened.
“You have no idea what happened.””
“Then tell me.””
Michael looked away.
Andrew finally spoke.
“Richard said this would be easier if nobody got emotional.””
Evelyn turned toward him.
“Your uncle sent you here?””
Andrew nodded.
“He wants the notebook.””
“And you agreed?””
“Mom, you don't understand. The company is in serious trouble.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“Because of the missing money?””
Michael's face changed.
“What missing money?””
Ethan held up a page from the notebook.
“Millions of dollars were transferred through false suppliers. Richard's name appears repeatedly.””
Michael stared at the paper.
Then he looked at Andrew.
Andrew shook his head.
“We didn't know.””
Cole studied him.
“You didn't know what?””
“That Richard was stealing.””
“Then why are you here?””
Andrew hesitated.
Michael answered for him.
“Because if those records become public, the company could collapse. Hundreds of people could lose their jobs.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“Then you should have helped your father stop the theft.””
Michael's voice rose.
“Dad was dying! He wasn't thinking clearly!””
“He was thinking clearly enough to protect his wife.””
Michael looked at her.
“You keep saying that like he did everything right.””
Evelyn took a step closer.
“He loved you.””
Michael's expression flickered.
Then he looked at the notebook.
“He loved everyone except the people who actually helped him run that business.””
Ethan frowned.
“Are you saying you were involved?””
Michael didn't answer.
The silence was enough.
Daniel Foster moved toward the door.
“We need to leave. This is no longer a private family discussion.””
Andrew blocked him.
“Not until we get the notebook.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Move.””
Andrew looked at the older biker.
“You don't scare me.””
Marcus glanced at his trembling hand.
“Your hand says otherwise.””
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Evelyn spoke.
“Michael, when your father was sick, do you remember what he asked you?””
Michael looked at her.
“What?””
“He asked you to visit him on Sunday.””
Michael looked down.
“I was busy.””
“He asked again the following Sunday.””
“I had work.””
“And the Sunday after that?””
Michael's eyes narrowed.
“Mom, stop.””
“He waited all day. I told him you were coming. I kept telling him you were coming.””
Her voice cracked.
“He died on a Tuesday. And he still had your photograph beside his bed.””
Michael looked away.
Evelyn wiped her cheeks.
“I never told you that because I didn't want you to feel guilty.””
Michael's face twisted.
“Then don't use it against me.””
“I'm not. I'm asking you to remember who you were before money became more important than your family.””
Andrew lowered his phone.
For a moment, he looked like the little boy in Evelyn's photograph.
Then Michael moved toward her.
“Give me the notebook.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.””
“Mom.””
“No, Michael.””
He reached for it.
Cole stepped between them.
“Don't touch her.””
Michael shoved him.
Cole stumbled backward, striking the edge of the desk.
Marcus moved immediately, catching Michael's arm and forcing him away from Evelyn.
“That's enough.””
Michael struggled.
“Get off me!””
Marcus released him.
“Then stop acting like a bully.””
Andrew rushed toward the notebook.
Daniel moved to block him, but Andrew knocked a stack of papers from the desk.
The cassette recorder fell.
It struck the floor.
The plastic casing cracked.
Cole stared at it.
“No!””
He dropped to his knees and picked it up.
The cassette had slipped partly out.
He carefully removed it.
“Please,” he whispered.
Daniel examined the recorder.
“The machine is damaged, but the cassette looks intact.””
Cole closed his eyes.
“Thank God.””
Michael stared at the cassette.
“Give me that.””
Cole stood.
“No.””
Michael's expression changed.
“Do you know what that recording could do?””
“Tell me what my mother knew?””
Michael looked toward Andrew.
Andrew's face had gone pale.
Then Michael said something that stopped everyone.
“Your mother wasn't the only one who knew Richard was stealing.””
Cole stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
Michael swallowed.
“She came to my father with the evidence.””
“When?””
“Two days before the accident.””
Cole's voice dropped.
“And?””
Michael looked down.
“Dad wanted her to go to the police. Richard found out.””
Evelyn gripped the desk.
“Michael, what are you saying?””
Michael rubbed his forehead.
“Richard told me that if Elizabeth exposed him, the entire company would be destroyed. He said thousands of people depended on him.””
Cole's eyes burned.
“Did you know he was going to hurt her?””
“No!””
“Did you help him?””
Michael didn't answer quickly enough.
Cole stepped forward.
“Did you?””
Michael finally whispered.
“I drove him to the warehouse that night.””
Andrew covered his mouth.
Evelyn staggered backward.
Marcus caught her before she fell.
Cole looked as though the floor had disappeared beneath him.
“You were there?””
Michael shook his head desperately.
“I didn't know what he was planning. He told me he needed to speak with her. I dropped him off and left.””
“And then she died.””
Michael began crying.
“I didn't know what happened until the next morning.””
Cole's voice was almost inaudible.
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
Michael looked at the floor.
“Because Richard said he'd destroy us.””
Evelyn stared at her son.
“You let a woman die without telling the truth?””
Michael covered his face.
“I was twenty-four. I was terrified.””
Cole's eyes filled.
“So was my mother.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Andrew suddenly sat down.
“I have something.””
Michael turned sharply.
“Andrew, don't.””
Andrew looked at Evelyn.
“Dad gave me a flash drive three days before he died.””
Evelyn blinked.
“What was on it?””
“I don't know. He told me to keep it somewhere safe.””
Michael grabbed his arm.
“Shut up.””
Andrew pulled away.
“He said if anything happened to him, I had to give it to Mom.””
Evelyn stepped forward.
“Where is it?””
Andrew looked at Michael.
Then at Cole.
“Richard has it.””
Michael closed his eyes.
Andrew continued.
“He took it from my apartment last week. He said it was company property.””
Ethan frowned.
“Why didn't you tell anyone?””
“Because he threatened to send me to prison if I spoke.””
Cole stared at him.
“Then why are you speaking now?””
Andrew looked toward Evelyn.
“Because I heard that recording.””
He swallowed.
“And I think I know what Richard did the night Elizabeth died.””
A phone vibrated.
Michael looked at his screen.
His face turned white.
Cole noticed the message.
“Who is it?””
Michael didn't answer.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Show us.””
Michael slowly turned the screen.
A message from Richard appeared.
The police are asking questions. Get the notebook. Destroy the cassette. And whatever you do, make sure Cole never finds out who was driving the car.
Cole stared at the screen.
His voice was cold.
“Who was driving?””
Michael looked at him.
Then, with tears running down his face, he whispered:
“Richard wasn't driving that night, Cole.””
Cole waited.
May you like
Michael's next words shattered the room.
*“I was.””*
