CHAPTER 48: WHAT MY FATHER LEFT BEHIND

The envelope lay between Amelia and Alexander on the kitchen table.

Neither of them had spoken since Alexander finished reading the message inside.

Your father kept something that could explain why Evelyn was asking questions about Blackwood.

Amelia folded her arms, trying to steady herself.

"Why would my father keep something like this without telling us?"

Alexander looked at the handwritten address.

"Perhaps he was protecting you."

"Everyone keeps saying that. My father protected us, Evelyn protected someone, Victoria kept secrets. But somehow, I'm the one left trying to understand what all of them were hiding."

Her voice trembled slightly.

She had spent years defending her father's memory. She remembered him as a quiet man who worked hard, came home tired and still found time to help Daniel with his schoolwork. He had never lived like someone with money to hide or secrets worth killing for.

Now another piece of paper was suggesting that he had kept something important.

Alexander reached across the table but didn't immediately touch her.

"We don't have to follow this address today," he said. "We can take time. You don't owe anyone an investigation."

Amelia looked at him.

"I know. But I want to understand what happened. Not because someone threatened me. Not because they want me frightened. I want the truth about my father."

Alexander nodded.

"Then we'll find it carefully."

The address led them to an old storage facility on the outskirts of the city. They arrived shortly after ten the following morning. The building stood behind a row of small warehouses, with a faded sign above the entrance and several delivery vans parked outside.

It looked ordinary, almost disappointingly so.

Inside, the reception area smelled of paper and cleaning products. A man in his sixties sat behind a desk, reading a newspaper. He looked up when they entered.

"Good morning. Can I help you?"

Alexander introduced himself and explained that they were trying to locate an old storage rental connected to Thomas Carter.

The manager's expression changed slightly.

"That was a long time ago."

"Do you still keep the records?" Alexander asked.

"Some. But our older files aren't all digital. We had a change of ownership several years ago."

Amelia stepped forward.

"My father may have rented a unit here. I'm trying to establish whether he left anything behind."

The manager looked at her for a moment.

"Do you have proof of your relationship?"

She produced a copy of her birth certificate and identification. He examined them before disappearing into a small office behind the reception desk.

They waited in silence.

Amelia looked around the room. A clock ticked above a noticeboard, and a printer hummed somewhere behind the wall.

After several minutes, the manager returned with a thin folder.

"I found a rental reference under Thomas Carter. The account was opened many years ago. The records are incomplete, though."

"Is there a unit number?" Alexander asked.

The manager checked the paper.

"Unit 214."

"Who last accessed it?"

He shook his head.

"That information isn't clear. The access records from that period are missing. There is a note showing that the account remained active for several years, but no reliable record of who closed it."

Amelia felt a chill move through her.

"Does that mean someone could have accessed it after my father died?"

"It means I can't confirm who accessed it. I don't want to give you an answer I can't support."

Alexander appreciated the honesty.

"We'd like to inspect the unit. What do you need from us?"

The manager explained the procedure. Because the account was old and the ownership records incomplete, he needed to verify the documentation and have them sign an inspection declaration. He also made it clear that they could not remove anything until the ownership of the contents was properly established.

After reviewing their documents and confirming the account reference, he agreed to let them inspect the unit under supervision.

As they walked down the corridor, Amelia ran her fingers along the cold metal doors.

"My father kept everything organised," she said quietly. "Receipts, school certificates, old photographs. Even the instruction manuals for things he bought years earlier."

Alexander glanced at her.

"Then he probably had a reason for keeping something here."

"Why wouldn't he tell Mum?"

"Maybe he didn't want her involved."

Amelia stopped walking.

"Or maybe he thought he had more time."

Alexander didn't answer.

They reached Unit 214. The manager unlocked it and pulled the metal door upwards.

Inside were several cardboard boxes, an old wooden chair, two suitcases and a collection of household items covered in dust. Nothing looked particularly important.

Amelia stepped inside slowly.

For a moment, she felt as though she had entered a forgotten part of her father's life.

She opened the first box. It contained old clothes, a broken radio and several books. The second held kitchen items and a stack of newspapers. In the third, she found photographs of the family.

There was one of Daniel as a small child, sitting on her father's shoulders. Another showed Amelia wearing a school uniform, smiling at the camera.

She touched the photograph gently.

"He took this on my birthday," she whispered.

Alexander stood nearby, giving her space.

They continued searching. A suitcase contained old bills and bank statements, most of them faded. Another box held tools, notebooks and several folders of property documents.

Then Amelia noticed a smaller wooden box pushed behind the chair.

She pulled it forward.

Inside were several envelopes, a small calculator and a bundle of papers tied together with string.

She recognised the handwriting immediately.

Her father's.

"Alexander."

He came closer.

Amelia carefully removed the bundle. Beneath it was a sealed brown folder with the words PRIVATE RECORDS written across the front.

And beneath those words was her father's signature.

She stared at it for several seconds before opening the folder.

Inside were photocopies of financial transactions, account references and a handwritten list of dates. Some of the company names meant nothing to her, but one made Alexander go completely still.

He leaned closer.

"Where did you find that?"

Amelia turned the page towards him.

The name read Northbridge Holdings.

Alexander's expression hardened.

"I know that company."

"What is it?"

"It was once connected to Blackwood. A subsidiary used for property and investment transactions. It was separated from the main business years ago."

"Why would my father have records connected to it?"

"I don't know."

Amelia examined the list of dates. Most were written beside account numbers and short notes. Then she reached the final page.

One date had been underlined twice.

It was the date Evelyn disappeared.

Amelia looked up.

"This is the same period."

Alexander took the page carefully.

"Yes."

"Do you think Evelyn was looking for these records?"

"She may have been. But we need to establish what they show before drawing conclusions."

Amelia turned another page, but before she could read further, a metallic sound came from behind them.

The storage unit door was moving.

They both turned.

The manager had been standing near the corridor when they entered. Now the doorway was almost completely covered by the descending metal shutter.

Alexander moved quickly towards it.

"Who's there?"

The shutter stopped halfway down.

A shadow appeared beyond the narrow opening.

Then a man's voice came from outside.

"You were never supposed to find that box."

Amelia clutched the folder against her chest.

Alexander stepped in front of her, his eyes fixed on the gap beneath the door.

"Who are you?"

There was no answer.

Only the sound of footsteps moving away.

Alexander looked back at Amelia.

"Stay behind me."

She nodded, but her eyes remained on the folder.

Her father's handwriting.

The missing financial records.

The date Evelyn disappeared.

For the first time, she was holding something her father had deliberately kept hidden.

And someone had just confirmed that they had been looking for it all along.