Chapter 12 - WHERE THEY FIRST MET
Daniel and Julia met in a library.
Not a romantic one.
A dusty university archive where Julia spilled coffee on his notes and he pretended to be furious for exactly twelve seconds.
Years later, he proposed to her in the same building.
Julia arrived with Ortiz and a warrant.
She searched the old reading room.
Shelf by shelf.
Then she saw it.
The same edition.
She pulled the book free.
Inside the back cover was a small brass key taped flat.
Thomas’s key from Diane’s box looked almost identical.
Two keys.
Ortiz frowned.
“To what?”
Julia looked around.
Then remembered the old coin lockers that students used before entering the archive.
Locker 17.
The two keys turned together.
Inside was a blue leather ledger.
Julia’s knees weakened.
Beside it sat a recorder.
Daniel’s voice came through when Ortiz pressed play.
“If you’re hearing this, I ran out of time.”
Julia covered her mouth.
“Jules, I found Thomas.”
She began crying.
“He’s alive.”
Thomas, standing beside Park, stared at the recorder.
Daniel continued.
“Grant knew.”
“He says Mother forced him to help.”
“But now he’s protecting the lie because the money owns him.”
A pause.
“And there’s someone worse.”
Julia looked at Ortiz.
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“Someone who benefits if Grant falls.”
The next words were drowned by a loud crash on the recording.
Then Daniel whispered one name.
“Rebecca.”
Julia went cold.
May you like
Rebecca Mercer was Grant’s wife.
And she had been Julia’s closest friend for fifteen years.
