Chapter 6
I didn't sleep after Robert's call.
Every time I closed my eyes, I heard his voice.
Your father should have minded his own business.
I kept wondering whether those words were a confession.
Or a threat.
The next morning, Detective Brooks met us at the police station.
I handed her Evelyn's letter.
Then I described Robert's call.
She listened carefully.
"Did he directly admit harming your father?"
"No."
"Did he threaten to harm you?"
"He told me not to make the same mistake."
She nodded.
"We'll document it and examine the circumstances."
I rubbed my face.
"He's dangerous."
"That's possible. But we need evidence."
Arthur sat beside me.
He placed a folder on the table.
"Detective, we may have something."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"Richard requested copies of his pharmacy records before he died."
My heart jumped.
"Did he get them?"
Arthur nodded.
"Some were delivered to his office."
He opened the folder.
"His physician prescribed medication for high blood pressure. But Richard told me the tablets in his bottle looked different."
I stared at the papers.
"Could someone have changed them?"
"That's what medical specialists will need to determine."
Detective Brooks examined the records.
"Do you have the original bottle?"
Arthur shook his head.
"No."
My stomach sank.
"My mother probably threw it away."
Arthur looked at me.
"Richard kept a separate emergency supply in his office."
I sat forward.
"Where?"
"His locked desk drawer."
I remembered that drawer.
Dad never allowed anyone to open it.
After his funeral, my mother had the entire office cleaned.
I looked at Arthur.
"Did anyone preserve his belongings?"
"James arranged for several boxes to be stored."
My heart accelerated.
"The storage unit?"
Arthur nodded.
We immediately contacted Uncle James.
He told us there were three remaining boxes at a second storage facility.
This time, detectives accompanied us.
Inside the boxes were old photographs, tax records, notebooks, and several sealed envelopes.
Then I found something wrapped in a blue handkerchief.
A small prescription bottle.
My hands trembled.
"Arthur."
He looked up.
I held it carefully by the edges.
"Is this what Dad was worried about?"
Arthur's expression changed.
"Don't open it."
Detective Brooks stepped forward.
She photographed the bottle.
Then collected it for evidence.
I watched her seal it inside a protective bag.
For the first time, we had something that might answer my worst question.
What really happened to Dad?
But the investigation wasn't the only thing changing.
Arthur filed the necessary requests to protect the company.
A court appointed an independent administrator to supervise sensitive financial decisions while the disputes were examined.
My mother was temporarily removed from unilateral control over major transactions.
Robert's consulting contracts were suspended.
And the company's records were secured.
When Arthur told me, I felt a strange mixture of relief and sadness.
Dad's company was finally being protected.
But my family was falling apart.
That afternoon, my mother called.
I answered immediately.
"Mom?"
Her voice trembled.
"Malik, what have you done?"
I closed my eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"People are saying I've been removed from the company!"
"Because investigators are reviewing the money."
She began crying.
"Do you have any idea how humiliating this is?"
I stared at the wall.
For a moment, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
She was worried about humiliation.
Not the missing money.
Not Nia.
Not Dad.
"Mom, I need to know whether you're safe."
She went quiet.
"Of course I'm safe."
"Then why did you say Robert wouldn't let you talk?"
Her breathing changed.
"I was upset."
"Are you afraid of him?"
Silence.
"Mom?"
She whispered.
"Robert has documents."
I sat upright.
"What documents?"
"Things I signed."
My stomach tightened.
"What things?"
"I didn't know what they were at first."
I closed my eyes.
"Mom, you need a lawyer."
"I have one."
"Not Robert's lawyer. Your own."
She began sobbing.
"Malik, I never meant to hurt you."
My throat tightened.
"Then help us find the truth."
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered.
"Your father found out about the Williams money."
I stopped breathing.
"When?"
"Three weeks before he died."
My heart hammered.
"What happened?"
"He confronted me."
"And?"
"I told him Robert arranged everything."
I clenched my jaw.
"Did Dad believe you?"
"No."
Her voice broke.
"He said I had been lying for years."
I swallowed.
"Had you?"
She didn't answer.
Then she whispered.
"He told me he was going to restore Nia's inheritance."
I looked toward Nia, who was sitting beside me.
"And you tried to stop him?"
My mother began crying harder.
"I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"Robert."
I felt my stomach twist.
"He said if Richard exposed him, we'd all lose everything."
I closed my eyes.
"Mom, what happened the night before Dad died?"
Her breathing became uneven.
"Robert came to the house."
I gripped the phone.
"What?"
"He argued with your father."
My heart stopped.
"About what?"
"The missing money."
"And then?"
My mother began sobbing.
"I heard Richard tell him to leave."
I stood.
"Mom, did Robert hurt Dad?"
She whispered.
"I don't know."
"Did you see anything?"
Silence.
Then she said something that made my blood run cold.
"I saw Robert carrying Richard's medication bottle."
I couldn't breathe.
"What?"
"He said Richard had dropped it."
I stared at the wall.
"Did you believe him?"
My mother began crying.
"I wanted to."
I felt anger rising.
"Mom, why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because I was scared!"
My voice broke.
"Dad died!"
She sobbed.
"I know!"
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered.
"Malik, I'm going to tell the police everything."
I closed my eyes.
"Thank you."
But before I could say anything else, I heard a loud noise.
A crash.
My mother gasped.
Then Robert's voice filled the phone.
"Diane, give me that!"
I shouted.
"Mom!"
The line disconnected.
I stared at my phone.
Then looked at Nia.
"Call Detective Brooks."
My hands were shaking so badly I could barely stand.
"Tell her Robert's at the house."
Nia grabbed her phone.
I ran toward the door.
This time, I didn't care about the money.
May you like
I didn't care about the inheritance.
I just wanted my mother alive.
