Chapter 16 - The East-Wing Safe
The east wing had been closed for renovation two seasons earlier.
Thomas designed its original stone staircase, and I remembered him joking that the steps would outlast everyone who complained about climbing them.
Marcus called security before we approached the wing.
Rebecca warned us not to confront Vale alone or disturb potential evidence.
We waited until a deputy joined us, then walked through a service entrance into a corridor that smelled of paint and cold timber.
The safe stood behind a framed map of the first property boundary.
Madison supplied the combination over the phone.
It worked.
Inside were my missing red folder, a stack of vendor invoices, and a compact storage drive.
Rebecca photographed everything before the deputy secured the contents.
I opened the folder only far enough to confirm the letter and trust documents were present.
Tucked behind them was a handwritten summary of a dispute Thomas had documented years before his death.
He had investigated billing irregularities connected to Victor Vale's consulting firm.
The missing page identified the payments, the employees who raised concerns, and the independent firm that had verified the findings.
It also explained why Thomas had refused to sell any part of Silver Pines to Vale's backers.
Nothing in it suggested foul play in Thomas's death.
That insinuation had been a cruel tactic meant to destabilize me.
"He thought I would panic," I said.
Rebecca nodded.
"He mistook grief for helplessness."
The storage drive contained recent draft contracts and a spreadsheet outlining an attempt to purchase the lodge using leverage against its own assets.
A transaction like that could have left the business burdened with debt even if the ownership transfer eventually failed.
Marcus looked sick.
"He was going to make the lodge pay for its own takeover."
Before anyone answered, we heard footsteps outside the closed service door.
Security spoke sharply to someone in the hall.
Then a voice I recognized called through the wall.
"Elaine, you have no idea who you're protecting."
It was Vale.
May you like
And this time, Daniel was standing beside him.
