Chapter 6 - An Account Under My Name
Luke's key fob opened a storage unit on the south side of town.
Naomi insisted that we notify the unit manager and arrange a documented visit.
The locker contained three cardboard boxes and a locked metal case.
Most of the boxes held invoices from Dad's business.
Several carried my initials.
I had never seen them before.
One invoice authorized a transfer from an account titled in my full legal name.
I turned the paper over, expecting some explanation.
There was none.
Mara watched me with a pale face.
“Eliam created the account using your identity,” she said.
“I never signed this.”
“That's the point.”
Naomi photographed everything before touching the case.
A locksmith opened it in our presence.
Inside was a thumb drive and a handwritten log of dates.
The dates matched large payments from Dad's business.
The payees were a consulting company, a property holding firm, and a charity I had never heard of.
At the bottom of the log, Luke had written: ASK E ABOUT THE TWO IDENTITIES.
“Which E?” I asked.
Mara answered without hesitation.
“Eliam.”
The thumb drive held short video clips from security cameras at Dad's business.
One showed Eliam entering the records room after midnight.
Another showed him leaving with a banker box.
The last clip was dated November fourth.
Dad stepped into frame at 3:14 p.m.
Eliam followed him.
They argued without sound.
Dad pointed toward the basement stairs.
Then the camera image went black.
Naomi checked the file details.
“This isn't a complete original,” she said.
“Someone cut it.”
My phone vibrated.
Eliam had sent me a photograph of our dining room.
Under it was a message.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU TOOK FROM YOUR FATHER'S HOUSE.
I stared at the image until I noticed the reflection in the window.
A second person was sitting at our table.
May you like
And I knew exactly who it was.
