The Man Everyone Wanted To Blame

I stared at Adrian as if I were seeing him for the first time. His name was now connected to my father’s death, and the same man who had protected me, held my hand, and kissed me was suddenly being presented as a possible suspect in the murder that had changed my life. I wanted to believe him. I did believe him. But fear had already found its way into my heart. “Are you going to run?” I asked.

Adrian looked at me. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because running will make me look guilty.”

Nora folded her arms. “Then what are you going to do?”

“Find the person who is trying to frame me.”

I looked at the news report again. “Why would someone choose you?”

“Because they know I was close to your father.”

“And because you are protecting me.”

Adrian nodded. “If they make me look guilty, they can make you doubt everything I tell you.”

I swallowed. “So they want to separate us.”

His eyes met mine. “Yes.”

The way he said us made something move inside me, and I quickly looked away. There were too many problems around us for me to think about what I felt for him.

We left the café through the back entrance, and Adrian took us to a private apartment that belonged to one of his trusted friends. He told me the police might soon search his office and home. “You cannot stay in either place,” he said.

I placed my bag on the table. “Then where do we go from here?”

“Your father’s records.”

“What about them?”

“If we find the original records, we may find out who is behind everything.”

I nodded. “Where are they?”

Adrian looked at Nora. “Do you know a man named Samuel Reed?”

Nora’s expression changed. “My father?”

“Yes.”

I looked at her. “Your father knows about this?”

Nora nodded slowly. “My father worked with your father years ago.”

I stared at her. “You knew?”

“I knew they had business together, but I did not know it was connected to all this.”

Adrian looked at her. “Can we speak with him?”

Nora hesitated. “He has not been well.”

“We need his help.”

She looked at me, then nodded. “I will take you.”

We drove to Nora’s family home that afternoon, and her father was sitting in the living room when we arrived. The moment he saw Adrian, his expression turned serious. “You finally came.”

Adrian stopped. “You knew I would.”

“I knew you would come when Elena discovered the truth.”

I looked at him. “You knew about me?”

Samuel looked at me. “Your father told me everything.”

My heart tightened. “Then why did you never tell me?”

“Because I promised him.”

I felt anger rise inside me. “Everyone made promises to my father, but nobody cared about what I wanted.”

Samuel lowered his eyes, his voice weak. “You are right. I am sorry.”

I sat across from him. “What happened to my father?”

Samuel looked toward Adrian, then back at me. “Your father discovered that someone had been stealing money from the Marlowe Group.”

“I know.”

“No,” he said. “You do not know everything.”

I waited.

“The money was not being stolen for personal wealth.”

“What was it being used for?”

Samuel took a deep breath. “It was being used to control people.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

“There were politicians, business owners, lawyers, and even people inside the police.”

My heart sank as he continued, “Your father discovered that someone had built a network powerful enough to destroy anyone who tried to expose them.”

I looked at Adrian. “Was Victor part of it?”

Samuel shook his head. “Victor was useful to them, but he was not the person in control.”

“Who was?”

Samuel became silent, and I leaned forward. “Please tell me.”

He looked directly into my eyes. “Your father’s greatest enemy was someone you have known all your life.”

My heart stopped. “Who?”

Samuel looked at Nora, then at me. “Your uncle.”

I froze. “My uncle?”

“Your father’s younger brother.”

I shook my head. “That is impossible.”

“He was the one who introduced your father to the people behind the network.”

I could barely breathe. “My uncle died three years ago.”

Samuel nodded. “Yes.”

“Then how could he be responsible?”

“He was responsible for the beginning.”

“What about now?”

Samuel looked toward the window. “That is the question.”

Adrian stepped closer. “Where are the original records?”

Samuel looked at him. “I gave them to your father.”

“And after his death?”

Samuel’s expression became troubled. “I thought they were destroyed.”

I frowned. “You thought?”

“I never found them.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “Then someone else found them.”

Samuel nodded. “That is why people are dying.”

Silence filled the room. I looked at the photograph of my father sitting on the shelf, thinking about how I had spent years believing his death was an accident. Now I knew he had been trying to uncover something dangerous, something that had reached into my own life. I stood. “Where should we look?”

Samuel looked at me. “Your grandmother’s house.”

I froze. “My grandmother?”

“Your father believed the records would be safe there.”

I thought about the house, the old fireplace, the wooden floor, the hidden envelope, and the box we had already found. “Someone has already searched the house.”

Samuel shook his head. “Not everything.”

“What do you mean?”

He reached into a drawer and pulled out an old key, handing it to me. “Your grandmother had a room that nobody was allowed to enter.”

I stared at the key. “I knew about that room.”

“Then you know where it is.”

I nodded. “It is behind the library.”

Samuel looked at Adrian. “Take her there.”

Adrian nodded, and we thanked Samuel before leaving. As we walked toward the car, I looked at Adrian. “Do you think the records are there?”

“Yes.”

“And if they are?”

“We find the truth.”

I looked down at the key in my hand, and for the first time I felt something stronger than fear settle over me. I felt determination. I had spent too many years allowing other people to decide what I should know, and that was over now. I was going to uncover everything.

When we reached the car, Adrian opened the door for me. Before I entered, he touched my hand. “Whatever we find, do not blame yourself.”

I looked at him. “Why would I?”

“Because the truth may hurt.”

I gave him a faint smile. “I have already been hurt.”

I got into the car, and Adrian closed the door. As he walked around to the driver’s side, my phone vibrated. I looked at the screen, and a new message had arrived. I opened it, and the message contained only one sentence. Your uncle is not dead.

My hands went cold. I looked at Adrian, and he noticed my expression immediately. “What happened?”

I showed him the message, and his face changed as he stared at the screen for several seconds. Then he looked at me. “Do not tell anyone about this.”

“Why?”

“Because if your uncle is alive, then we have been looking for the wrong person.”

I stared at him. “And who have we been looking for?”

Adrian’s eyes darkened. “The person who has been controlling everything from the beginning.”