Chapter Thirty Two

The heart rate of Emily increased when she read that message.

"What could he be investigating?" Emily asked.

Damian said, "Financial records." "He believed that someone was using shell corporations to transfer money."

Emily's thoughts immediately turned to Lucas.

"Lucas found payments going through businesses connected to Victor," Emily stated.

Damian looked at her.

"Did he tell you that?"

"Yes," Emily replied. "He has been investigating Carter Holdings."

Damian looked back at the picture.

Damian remarked, "That could explain why my father was meeting your parents."

Sophia noted, "But it doesn't account for Victor."

"No, It doesn't." Damian replied.

Emily looked at Damian's face.

"You said earlier that you thought your father had been set up," Emily said. "Why?" She asked.

Damian responded, "The money was traced to accounts tied to him, but my father kept insisting that someone had used his name and access." This is because the evidence against him was too convenient.

"Do you know who was behind it?" "I do not know," Damian responded. "You have to know something," Emily said. Damian said nothing.

Finally, "My father left a file behind," he said. "Years later, I discovered it. One name continued to appear, but the majority of it had vanished. "Whose name continued to appear?" inquired Emily. Damian gave her a look. "Thomas Reed." Emily's face changed. "I already know about Thomas Reed," Emily replied. "Ryan told me he was his father's former head of security."

"My father knew him too," Damian remarked, nodding. Thomas had ties to more than just the Carter family.

Throughout the investigation, he communicated with my father. Sophia's raised her eyebrows. "So why did Thomas vanish?" Sophia was curious. "I have no idea, Yet his disappearance happened around the time my father passed away." Damian replied. "And not long before my parents passed away," Emily remarked, feeling a shiver run down her spine. Damian looked at her. "That's exactly what makes this so difficult." "What if Thomas knew what happened to them all?" Emily asked, lowering her gaze to the picture. "Then we have to find him," Damian remarked. "But we don't even know where he is," Sophia retorted. Damian gave a headshake. "Not yet."

Emily's phone began to ring. It was Lucas. She got up. "Lucas, what's wrong?" "I came across something regarding David Miller," Lucas replied in response to Emily's question. Emily straightened her posture. "His employment records are not merely incomplete," Lucas responded to Emily's question, "What did you uncover?" "Portions of his file were purposefully removed." "Are you able to recover them?" Sophia asked, glancing at Emily. "I'm working on it," Lucas replied in response to Sophia's question. However, there's more. Thomas Reed is mentioned in an old internal report that I found. Emily felt her heart skip a beat. "What does it say?" "There was a security incident involving Carter Holdings not long before your parents died," Lucas replied in response to Emily's question. "Thomas Reed was identified as one of the investigators." "Not yet," Lucas replied when Emily asked, "Do you know what the incident was?" "The final pages of the report are missing." Damian took a closer look. Damian said, "Just send us whatever you have." Lucas paused. "Damian?" Lucas inquired. "Yes," Damian replied. Lucas said, "I'll send it right now." And the call had ended.

Emily received a document on her phone a short while later. Sophia opened. There were just two pages in the report. A number of employees were listed in the first one.There was only one line in the second:

PRIVATE INVESTIGATION ORDERED FOR SECURITY INCIDENT.

There were three names below it.

Reed, Thomas, Damian Knight's father and Emily's father.

"My father, your father, and Thomas were all looking into the same incident," Emily remarked as she stared at the screen. "And Victor had some connection to them," Damian said, nodding slowly. "This took place before your parents passed away," Sophia remarked after taking a quick look at the date.

Emily felt her stomach tighten. "So whatever they found might be what connected all three families." Damian extended his hand to grasp Emily's. "You don't have to go through this by yourself," Damian said as she turned to face him. "I know," Emily said, staying put.

The investigation faded from her mind for a moment. Then Damian's phone started ringing. He got up. "Ethan, what did you find out?" Damian inquired. As he listened, his expression changed. "What happened?" Emily asked, keeping a close eye on him. When he hung up, Emily inquired. Damian gave her a look. "The original security report was located."Sophia bent over. "Where?" inquired Sophia. Damian tightened his jaw. "Within my father's storage facility." Emily's heart started pounding. "And what's inside?" Emily inquired. Damian gave her a direct look. "A document of my father's final encounter prior to his passing." He hesitated. "Your dad was also present."