CHAPTER NINE The Secret Buried Beneath the Ashford Name
CHAPTER NINE
The Secret Buried Beneath the Ashford Name
Ella didn't move.
Neither did Megan.
The silence between them felt heavier than any argument.
Rain tapped softly against the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Finally...
Ella spoke.
"You just accused my family of helping murder your father."
"I did."
Megan answered without hesitation.
"Then prove it."
A faint smile appeared on Megan's face.
"I hoped you'd say that."
She walked toward a bookshelf.
From behind a row of novels, she pulled out a small steel safe.
A fingerprint.
A code.
The lock clicked open.
Inside was an old cassette recorder.
Several burned photographs.
And a faded leather journal.
Megan placed them on the coffee table.
"I've spent fifteen years collecting these."
Ella looked down.
The journal belonged to Michael Sullivan.
Its pages were scorched around the edges.
The handwriting became shakier toward the end.
Ella carefully opened it.
The final entry was dated...
One day before the warehouse fire.
She began reading aloud.
If anything happens to me...
It wasn't an accident.
Someone inside City Hall has been stealing millions through emergency contracts.
I finally have proof.
Ella turned the page.
Another sentence had been underlined three times.
I don't know who to trust anymore.
Not even the people wearing expensive suits.
Ella frowned.
"There's no mention of my family."
Megan nodded.
"Keep reading."
The next page contained a list of initials.
R.H.
M.C.
J.L.
A.H.
Ella froze.
A.H.
Ashford Holdings.
Her family's company.
She looked up immediately.
"No..."
Megan folded her arms.
"Recognize it?"
"My grandfather's company was called Ashford Holdings before it became Ashford Group."
Ella's heartbeat quickened.
"But those are only initials."
"They are."
Megan agreed.
"But listen to this."
She picked up the old cassette recorder.
Pressed PLAY.
Static filled the room.
Then a man's voice emerged.
Weak.
Exhausted.
Michael Sullivan.
"If you're hearing this..."
"I may already be dead."
Ella's fingers tightened around the journal.
The recording continued.
"I copied every document."
"The contracts..."
"The fake invoices..."
"Everything."
Michael coughed violently.
Then...
"Someone from Ashford Holdings contacted me today."
Ella looked sharply at Megan.
Megan didn't speak.
She let the tape continue.
"He said they wanted to buy my silence."
Another cough.
"I refused."
The tape suddenly stopped.
The ribbon had melted from fire damage.
Ella stared at the recorder.
"No name."
"No identity."
"Nothing."
Megan nodded slowly.
"Exactly."
"I've spent fifteen years trying to find out who that man was."
Ella closed the journal.
"My grandfather would never—"
"I know."
Megan interrupted softly.
That single sentence caught Ella off guard.
"You... know?"
"I investigated Arthur Ashford years ago."
Megan looked toward the window.
"He wasn't the one."
Ella blinked.
"Then why involve my family?"
"Because someone inside your family's company was."
For a long moment...
Neither woman spoke.
Then Ella quietly asked,
"If my grandfather is innocent..."
"Why destroy my marriage?"
Megan's expression hardened again.
"Because Noah and Charles were never the final targets."
Ella frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"They were the bait."
"The bait?"
Megan nodded.
"I knew if two celebrated heroes suddenly destroyed their own lives..."
"People would start asking questions."
She stepped closer.
"They would reopen old investigations."
"They would dig into forgotten records."
"They would uncover names."
Ella slowly realized where this was going.
"You wanted attention."
"I wanted the truth."
Megan answered.
"I just stopped caring who got hurt on the way."
Ella looked down at the tiny wedding ring still on her finger.
"My son..."
Her voice broke.
"He wasn't part of your plan."
For the first time...
Real guilt appeared on Megan's face.
"I know."
Silence.
"I wanted Noah to lose you."
"I wanted Charles to lose Rachel."
"I wanted them to experience helplessness."
She closed her eyes.
"I never imagined..."
"...they would ignore fifty-seven phone calls."
Tears formed in her eyes.
"I underestimated how deeply their pride had blinded them."
Ella searched Megan's face.
There was no lie.
Only regret.
But regret could never bring back a child.
Suddenly...
A phone rang.
It wasn't Ella's.
It wasn't Megan's.
One of Ella's security officers stepped forward.
"Miss Ashford."
He looked uneasy.
"We've located Charles Walker."
Ella stood immediately.
"Where?"
The guard hesitated.
"He escaped."
"But..."
"But what?"
The guard swallowed.
"He wasn't alone."
"He escaped with someone."
At the exact same moment...
Charles sped down an empty highway in a stolen pickup truck.
Beside him sat an elderly man with blood running down the side of his face.
The same mysterious stranger who had kidnapped him.
Charles had freed him only minutes earlier after discovering the kidnappers had turned against their own employer.
The old man was barely conscious.
"Why did they attack you?"
Charles asked.
The man coughed.
"Because..."
"They found out..."
"I copied the files."
Charles gripped the steering wheel tighter.
"What files?"
The old man reached inside his coat with trembling hands.
He pulled out a small USB drive stained with blood.
"This..."
"...is everything."
Charles stared at the tiny device.
"What is it?"
The man whispered,
"The names."
"The bank accounts."
"The people who ordered the fire."
"The people who buried the investigation."
"And..."
He forced the USB into Charles's hand.
"The person..."
"...who paid Megan."
Charles slammed on the brakes.
The truck screeched across the highway.
"What did you just say?"
The old man looked at him with fading eyes.
"Megan..."
"...wasn't working alone."
Charles felt his blood turn to ice.
"Who hired her?"
The old man's lips moved one final time.
He whispered a single name.
Charles's eyes widened in absolute horror.
"No..."
"That's impossible..."
Before he could ask another question—
A sniper's bullet shattered the windshield.
BANG!
The truck swerved violently across the highway.
The mysterious old man collapsed instantly.
A crimson stain spread across his chest.
Charles grabbed the steering wheel with both hands as another shot rang out.
Somewhere in the darkness...
May you like
Someone had just silenced the only witness who knew the entire truth.
TO BE CONTINUED...
