Chapter 9 - LOCKER G-17
G-17 belonged to a private storage vault beneath Isabella’s old art foundation.
“She paid ten years in advance,” he told Emiliano. “Said nobody was to access it unless they had the original key.”
Detective Cross stood beside him as the steel drawer slid open.
Inside sat a red folder.
A flash drive.
And a photograph.
Isabella stood at a charity gala five years earlier, smiling beside Celeste Whitmore.
They knew each other.
Cross opened the folder.
Bank transfers. Shell companies. Consulting fees. Payments moving from Vega Holdings through a nonprofit Celeste’s family controlled and finally into accounts connected to Malcolm Reese and Adrian Whitmore.
At the bottom was a note in Isabella’s handwriting.
E — If you are reading this, I failed to stop them quietly.
Emiliano sat down.
Cross inserted the flash drive into an offline laptop.
A video appeared.
Isabella’s face filled the screen.
She looked exhausted.
“Emiliano, I hope you never see this. Because if you do, something happened to me.”
Grace made a small sound behind him.
He had not known she entered the vault room.
Isabella continued.
“Malcolm has been draining money through Whitmore charities. Celeste found out. She came to me first. She said she wanted to help.”
Emiliano looked at the photograph again.
“But I don’t know whether I can trust her. Adrian is involved. Marcus Vale is involved. And someone accessed my car’s service records.”
Grace started crying silently.
Emiliano pulled her against him as Isabella spoke from three years ago.
“If anything happens to me, do not assume it was an accident.”
The video ended.
For several seconds nobody moved.
Then Cross’s phone buzzed.
Airport police had found Malcolm Reese’s luggage.
Not Malcolm.
His suitcase contained cash, passports, and a second phone.
On that phone was a message sent one hour earlier to Adrian Whitmore.
May you like
THE GIRL HEARD TOO MUCH.
MOVE HER BEFORE EMILIANO FINDS THE FILE.
