CHAPTER 47: THE FIRST PERSON WHO REMEMBERS

Amelia read the warning for the third time, hoping the words would somehow become less frightening.

Stop looking for Evelyn if you want your family to remain safe.

She thought of Daniel walking home from school, laughing with his friends, unaware that someone might be watching him. She thought of her mother lying in a hospital bed, still recovering and trusting that her daughter could keep the family safe.

Fear settled heavily in her chest.

But beneath it was anger.

Whoever had entered her apartment wanted her to stop asking questions. They wanted her to believe that her family would suffer if she refused to obey.

Amelia would not give them that power.

When Alexander arrived, he found her standing beside the kitchen table, the photocopy placed carefully inside a clear folder. He looked at the message and then at her.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm frightened," she admitted. "But I'm not going to stop."

He moved closer. "You shouldn't have to deal with this."

"Neither should my family."

Alexander took out his phone.

"I'll arrange for the police to examine the apartment. We should also review the building's security footage and check whether anyone entered while you were away."

"I agree. But I don't want guards following me everywhere."

"I'm not suggesting that."

"And Daniel still needs to go to school. Mum needs to continue her treatment. We can't disappear from our own lives."

Alexander looked at her for a moment.

"Then we'll make practical arrangements. No public updates about your family's movements, no sharing your address or personal details, and we'll make sure Daniel knows not to speak to strangers asking questions about you. Your mother should also know what's happening, without being unnecessarily frightened."

Amelia nodded.

"That sounds reasonable."

"I can arrange a security assessment for your apartment, if you agree."

"I do. But I want to be involved in every decision."

"Agreed."

He reached for her hand.

"I won't turn your life into a prison, Amelia."

She looked at him, grateful that he understood the difference between protecting her and controlling her.

The following morning, Alexander received an unexpected call from a private number.

"Mr. Blackwood?" a man's voice asked.

"Who is this?"

"My name is Peter Lawson. I used to work in the records department at Blackwood International. I left years ago."

Alexander sat straighter.

"What do you want?"

"I heard someone has been asking questions about Victoria."

"Who told you that?"

"I can't discuss this over the phone. There are things I should have told someone a long time ago."

Alexander glanced towards the office door.

"Then tell me where to meet you."

"Not at Blackwood. Somewhere public. And I want you to come alone."

Alexander paused.

"I'll consider it."

The call ended.

He immediately contacted Jonathan and asked him to verify Peter Lawson's employment history. Within an hour, Jonathan confirmed that Lawson had worked in the records department fifteen years earlier, during the period surrounding Evelyn's disappearance.

Alexander then called Amelia.

"I've found someone who may know something about Victoria."

"Who?"

"Former Blackwood employee. His name is Peter Lawson. He wants to meet me, but he refuses to speak over the phone."

"When?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

Amelia was quiet.

"Alexander, I want to come with you."

"No."

The answer came too quickly.

She frowned. "You haven't even heard my reason."

"This person may be connected to the people threatening you."

"Exactly. The warning mentioned Evelyn, and now someone from the old records department wants to talk about Victoria. My family has already been dragged into this. I have a right to hear what he knows."

Alexander rubbed his forehead.

"I don't want you walking into another dangerous situation."

"Then we choose a public place. We make sure someone knows where we are. We don't go anywhere private, and we leave if anything feels wrong."

He studied her expression.

She wasn't being reckless. She was asking to be treated as someone whose life was already involved in the investigation.

"All right," he said eventually. "We'll meet at a busy hotel café. Jonathan will know where we are, and we'll arrange for security to remain nearby without making a scene."

"Thank you."

"But if I believe there's a real threat, we leave."

"Agreed."

The next afternoon, Amelia and Alexander arrived at the hotel café ten minutes early. They chose a table near the windows, where the entrance and most of the room were visible.

Peter Lawson arrived shortly afterward.

He was in his early sixties, with a tired face, silver hair and a dark coat that looked several years old. He paused when he saw Alexander, then noticed Amelia sitting beside him.

"Mr. Blackwood," he said.

"Peter."

Lawson sat down, placing a small notebook on the table.

"I wasn't sure you'd come."

"Why did you contact me?"

The older man glanced at Amelia.

"Because I heard someone was asking about Victoria. And if her name is being mentioned again, then perhaps the truth is finally coming out."

Amelia leaned forward.

"What truth?"

Lawson looked uncomfortable.

"Victoria wasn't the only person asking questions about the company's records. Evelyn was asking questions too."

Alexander's expression changed.

"What kind of questions?"

"Financial transactions. Missing documents. Transfers that didn't match the reports being submitted to the board. She wanted to examine original records, not the summaries we were given."

"Did she tell you what she found?" Alexander asked.

"No. But she seemed frightened towards the end."

Amelia felt her stomach tighten.

"Frightened of whom?"

Lawson shook his head.

"I don't know. She stopped coming to the records department regularly. When she did come, she asked whether certain documents had been moved. She was especially interested in records connected to the old financial arrangements."

Alexander leaned closer.

"Did Victoria help her?"

"I saw them speaking together several times. They seemed to trust each other, but I can't tell you what they discussed."

Amelia glanced at the notebook.

"Did Evelyn ever mention Thomas Carter?"

Lawson stopped moving.

His eyes shifted towards her.

"Your father?"

"Yes."

The older man looked down at his hands.

"I remember that name."

Amelia felt as though the room had suddenly become smaller.

"Why?"

"Because his name appeared in one of the records Evelyn wanted to examine. She asked me to locate the original file."

"What did the record say?"

"I never saw the complete document. I only remember the reference. It was connected to an old payment and a missing authorisation record."

Amelia swallowed.

For years, she had tried to understand what her father had been involved in. She had seen his name used to threaten her, found documents that appeared to connect him to Blackwood, and fought to separate his memory from the accusations made by people who never knew him.

Now another person was telling her that Evelyn had been looking for his records.

"Did you think he was guilty?" she asked quietly.

Lawson looked genuinely uncomfortable.

"I don't know what happened, Miss Carter. I only know that Evelyn wanted to examine his file. She didn't treat him like a criminal. She seemed to believe his name had been used to hide something."

Amelia looked away, blinking quickly.

Alexander placed his hand gently over hers.

"We'll follow the evidence," he said. "Not assumptions. Your father's name appearing in a record doesn't prove he did anything wrong."

She nodded, drawing a steady breath.

Lawson opened his notebook.

"There is something else. Some of the original records were transferred to an old storage facility outside the city. It wasn't part of the main archive. A few employees knew about it, but access was restricted."

"Where?" Alexander asked.

Lawson wrote an address on a small piece of paper and slid it across the table.

"I don't know whether the records are still there. But that's where the transfer register sent them."

Alexander took the paper.

"Why didn't you tell anyone before?"

Lawson's expression darkened.

"Because the last person who asked too many questions disappeared. I had a family. I was afraid."

Amelia couldn't blame him. Fear had kept many people silent, and someone was still using it to control them.

The meeting ended a few minutes later. Lawson stood and buttoned his coat.

"Be careful, both of you. There are people who don't want those records found."

As Alexander turned to leave, Lawson suddenly stopped.

Across the street, a man stood beside a parked car, watching them through the café window. He wore a dark cap and held a phone near his face.

Alexander followed Lawson's gaze.

"Do you know him?"

Lawson's face lost its colour.

"No."

Alexander immediately turned towards the entrance, but by the time he reached the pavement, the man had disappeared into the crowd.

"Stay here," Alexander told Amelia.

He scanned the street, then noticed something near the café's outside table. A small cream-coloured envelope had been left beneath the edge.

He picked it up.

Amelia stepped outside.

"What is it?"

Alexander turned the envelope over.

Her name was written across the front in neat black handwriting.

AMELIA CARTER.

Neither of them spoke.

The stranger had been watching their meeting. He had known exactly where she would be.

Alexander looked at her, his expression hardening.

"Don't open it here."

Amelia stared at her name.

Whoever had left the envelope knew about the meeting before they arrived.

And that meant someone had been watching them long before Peter Lawson began speaking.