Chapter 14 - FATHER
Marcus let go of Isabella.
"What did you say?"
"Our father didn't die of a heart attack."
Their father, Charles Hale, had died nine years earlier.
Isabella had been with him.
So had Thomas Reeve.
"What happened?"
Isabella shook.
"I didn't know until after."
"After what?"
"After the will changed."
Avery approached.
"Save it for the interview room."
"Who killed Dad?"
Isabella looked at Elaine, who had followed officers to the roof.
Elaine backed away.
Avery moved between them.
"Elaine?"
Isabella laughed bitterly.
"Ask her what hospital she worked at nine years ago."
Marcus stared.
Elaine had been an ICU nurse at St. Catherine's.
The hospital where Charles Hale died.
"What did you give him?"
Elaine said nothing.
Isabella whispered, "Potassium."
Marcus turned away.
His father arguing over baseball.
His father signing company papers at the kitchen table.
All of it ended by a syringe.
Avery said, "We don't know that yet."
Isabella looked at Marcus.
"I found the payment years later. Thomas paid Elaine. Owen moved the money."
"And you stayed quiet?"
"I wanted the company."
"You knew Dad may have been murdered and you used it as leverage?"
"I thought if I exposed them, I'd lose everything too."
"You already did."
At the station, Elaine finally talked.
Thomas Reeve had ordered the injection after Charles threatened to report financial crimes.
Owen arranged payment.
Isabella discovered it four years later.
Instead of reporting it, she blackmailed them for influence.
Owen decided Isabella had become a liability.
The plot against Khloe served two purposes: preserve Isabella's control and create chaos Owen could exploit.
Then Avery placed one final evidence bag on the table.
Recovered from Thomas Reeve's suitcase.
A sealed letter.
Written by Charles Hale three days before his death.
Addressed to Marcus.
May you like
Marcus opened it.
Marcus, if you are reading this, I waited too long to tell you what Isabella did when she was seventeen.
