Chapter 5 - The Trust
By midnight, Helena’s house was a crime scene.
Evidence technicians sealed the vault while a child advocate sat with Sophie in the library. Roman and Nora waited outside.
Nora spoke first. “I really thought you were dead.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t. I buried you without a body. Mom handled everything because I could barely stand up.”
Roman looked at her. “My attorneys wrote to you.”
“I never got anything.”
He thought of the sealed letters in the vault.
Neither of them needed to say more.
Detective Brooks approached with a folder. “Tell me about Sophie’s trust.”
Roman explained that his father created it before he died. Friday’s distribution wasn’t just cash. It included voting shares in Calder Freight.
“And if both parents are dead or unavailable?” Brooks asked.
Nora closed her eyes. “My mother becomes guardian.”
“There’s your motive,” Brooks said.
Roman looked toward the evidence room. “They declared me dead. What were they planning for Nora?”
Nobody answered.
An officer brought over the black syringe case.
“Lab will test the vials. We also found this under the same shelf.”
It was a flash drive.
Daniel arrived twenty minutes later with a laptop. He copied the drive and opened a file marked SCHEDULE.
Four lines appeared.
ROMAN — COMPLETE.
NORA — FRIDAY.
SOPHIE — TRANSFER.
HELENA — DISPOSABLE.
Helena read the screen and began shaking.
“That isn’t real.”
Daniel checked the metadata.
“The file was created under an administrator account.”
Roman leaned closer. “Whose?”
Daniel looked across the room.
“M.VELEZ.”
Helena whispered, “Marco.”
Then Daniel clicked the next tab.
A map opened.
One location was marked in red.
A lake house outside Geneva.
May you like
Under the address, someone had typed:
CHILD HOLDING SITE.
