Chapter 6
I read my grandfather’s letter in his old office.
The room still smelled faintly of cedar and tobacco, though Daniel had replaced the furniture.
I hated him for that too.
My grandfather wrote that Daniel had always envied what he did not earn.
He wrote that Vanessa’s family had approached him about selling protected land.
He refused.
Then he began seeing forged documents.
Shifted accounts.
Pressure campaigns.
He suspected Daniel.
He lacked proof.
So he hid cameras in meetings.
Stored copies of original trust papers.
Recorded conversations.
The sealed drive held everything.
Priya loaded it onto an offline computer.
Daniel’s voice filled the room.
“The old man will die before he lets us build.”
Vanessa answered, “Then wait. Elena is easier.”
My hands went numb.
Another file.
Marcus saying, “Accidents happen on mountain roads.”
Daniel replied, “Not until after she signs.”
Vanessa laughed.
“She won’t sign. That’s why accidents matter.”
Detective Quinn’s face hardened.
Adrian whispered, “That is conspiracy.”
I stared at the screen.
My grandfather had known danger was coming.
He had left proof.
And still, I had almost died.
A final video opened.
Grandfather sat at his desk, thinner than I remembered, eyes sharp.
“Elena,” he said on screen, “if you are watching this, forgive an old man for not removing the snake sooner.”
Tears blurred my vision.
He continued.
“This family has confused blood with loyalty for too long. Choose truth. Choose the people who protect the house when owners forget how.”
I looked at Priya.
At Tomas.
At the staff waiting outside.
May you like
Then at the badge in my hand.
“I will,” I whispered.
