Chapter 9 - THE BOX MY MOTHER LEFT
The second blow nearly broke the lock.
"Basement," Father Ben said.
Ryan carried Lily. Owen took Emma. They hurried through the sacristy while the priest killed the lights.
A gunshot shattered the front-door glass.
"They're shooting at a church?" Ryan whispered.
Owen gave him a grim look. "You still think Victor has rules?"
They escaped through a basement tunnel that opened behind the cemetery.
Twenty minutes later, they reached a twenty-four-hour bank where Father Ben had arranged private access years earlier through a retired manager.
The brass key opened box 417.
Inside were two birth certificates, a cassette tape, property records, and a ledger.
The ledger listed payments from Victor Shaw to Ryan's father, private investigators, a judge, and a company named Northstar Holdings.
Owen turned pages quickly.
"Northstar owns the house."
Ryan looked up. "What?"
"Your house. Caroline didn't buy it. Victor's company did, then sold it to you through two shell companies."
The hidden rooms had never been an accident.
The cassette tape was labeled FOR MY BOYS.
They found an old recorder in the manager's office.
Their mother's voice filled the room.
Ryan, Owen, if you're hearing this, Victor knows your father took Owen. He helped cover it up. He says he'll fix everything, but I don't believe him anymore.
A pause. Then she whispered:
I think the crash last week was a warning.
Ryan's chest tightened.
The tape clicked off.
Owen turned the ledger over.
Taped to the back was a photograph of Victor standing beside Ryan's father at the river the day Owen disappeared.
And between them stood a third man.
Ryan recognized him immediately.
Detective Paul Harlan.
May you like
The officer who had led the search for Owen.
The same man who was now chief of police.
