Chapter 12: The Final Evidence

"Who?"

The word left my mouth before I could stop it.

Julian didn't answer.

He looked at the document in my hand, then at the phone on the desk. Marcus was studying him too.

"Julian," I said. "Who has the evidence?"

He rubbed a hand over his jaw.

"I don't know if we should…"

"You should." My voice was steady. 

"You have spent years deciding what I should know and what I shouldn't. That ends today."

Julian held my gaze for a moment. Then he said, "Harrison."

I went still. An uneasiness settled over me, because Harrison had never once given me a reason to doubt him. "Chief Butler Harrison?"

Julian nodded.

"But why would Grandfather leave it with him?"

"Because Harrison was one of the few people he trusted completely."

"You knew he had something?"

"I suspected."

"Suspected?"

Julian exhaled.

"Your grandfather told Harrison to protect certain documents if anything happened to him. But after Grandfather died, Harrison refused to tell me where they were."

"Why?"

"Because your grandfather gave him one instruction."

"What instruction?"

"Only Sophia gets the evidence."

The room went quiet.

Marcus closed the folder in front of him. "That explains why the archive was accessed last night."

I turned to him.

"How?"

"If someone knows the evidence exists, they may be trying to reach Harrison before we do."

My phone vibrated. Another message.

This time, there was no text. Only a location. I opened it. My eyes narrowed. It was the address of a private building in Crestview.

"That's not Harrison's house."

Julian looked at the screen.

"No."

"Then what is it?"

Marcus leaned closer.

"An old Sterling storage facility."

I looked at him.

"Why would Harrison be there?"

"We don't know."

I picked up my bag.

"Then let's go."

Julian stood immediately.

"No."

I turned.

"No?"

"We don't know who sent that location."

"Exactly."

"You're not walking into a place because an unknown person told you to."

"I wasn't planning to walk in alone."

Marcus picked up his jacket.

"I'll go with her."

Julian looked at him.

"So will I."

Alexander stepped forward.

"And me."

I looked at all three of them. We left Westbridge within minutes. The drive back into Crestview was quiet. I kept looking at the location on my phone. Something about it bothered me. Not because it was dangerous. Because it felt planned. Someone wanted me there.

The building stood behind a row of old commercial properties. It looked abandoned from the outside, but the security lights were working.

Julian stopped beside the entrance.

"Stay close."

We entered.

The lobby was empty.

Dust covered the reception desk, but the floor had fresh footprints.

Marcus noticed them immediately.

"Someone has been here recently."

We followed the marks down a narrow corridor. At the end was a steel door. It was already unlocked. I pushed it open. Inside were rows of old cabinets. Most were empty. One wasn't. A black leather case sat alone on a wooden table. My name was written across it.

SOPHIA.

I walked toward it.

Julian caught my arm.

"Wait."

He looked around the room.

Nothing moved.

Marcus checked the corners before nodding.

I pulled the case toward me and opened it. Inside was a small stack of documents, a flash drive, and another envelope. The envelope carried my grandfather's handwriting.

I knew it immediately. My fingers trembled slightly as I opened it.

There was only one page.

Sophia,

If you are reading this, then you have returned to Sterling Global by your own choice. That means I was right to wait.

I swallowed.

There are people who benefited from the collapse of our family business. Some of them were connected to the Vance family. But do not make the mistake of believing every Vance was involved.

I stopped.

Julian stepped closer.

I continued reading.

The person who betrayed me was not a Vance. The Vances were only the beginning of the problem.

My eyes moved to the next line.

The evidence will show you who opened the door for them.

I looked at Marcus.

"What does that mean?"

He didn't answer.

I kept reading.

“Trust Harrison. He knows where the original records are. But do not trust anyone who tries to convince you that the past is finished.”

The final sentence was underlined. 

“Your father knew more than I ever told you.”

I stopped.

"My father?"

Julian's face changed.

I turned toward him.

"What did Grandfather mean?"

Julian said nothing.

"Julian."

He looked down.

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Then why do you look like that?"

He finally met my eyes.

"Because your father disappeared before Grandfather died."

I stared at him.

"My father didn't die?"

"No."

The room suddenly felt colder.

For years, I had believed both my parents were gone.

My mother had died when our family business collapsed.

My father had disappeared from our lives long before that.

Or so I had been told.

"You knew he was alive?"

"I knew he disappeared. I never knew where he went."

I looked back at the letter. The mystery had just become bigger. My grandfather hadn't only left behind a business. He had left behind a trail. And somewhere at the end of it was my father.

Then the lights went out. The room dropped into darkness.

Julian moved closer.

"Everyone stay together."

A second later, something crashed in the corridor.

Marcus reached for his phone. A light came on. Footsteps moved quickly outside. Someone was leaving. I grabbed the leather case.

"We're not letting them take anything."

Julian opened the door. The corridor was empty. But on the floor was a single photograph. I picke

d it up. It showed my grandfather standing beside a younger man. My father. And behind them stood a third person. I knew that face. Harrison.

On the back, written in my grandfather's handwriting, were five words.

“He knows where your father is.”