Chapter 11 - GRANDMOTHER’S FINAL SECRET
Marcus found a sealed file inside the lighthouse cabinet.
It was marked with Nathan’s name.
Inside was a letter addressed to me.
Evelyn,
I wanted to tell you the truth.
Eleanor convinced me that contacting you would place you and Sophie in danger.
Preston discovered I had evidence of his theft.
He threatened to take Sophie from us.
When I refused to surrender the files, someone tampered with my brakes.
I survived the crash.
Eleanor arranged for me to leave.
She promised to bring you to me when it was safe.
Then she became ill.
I have waited every day for her message.
The letter was dated six months earlier.
Nathan was alive.
A phone number was written at the bottom.
My hands shook as I dialed.
The call connected.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then I heard his voice.
“Evelyn?”
I nearly dropped the phone.
“Nathan.”
He began crying.
He told me he had been living under another name in Vancouver.
Grandmother contacted him regularly until three months before her death.
Then all communication stopped.
He believed my family was watching me.
He feared returning would lead Preston directly to Sophie.
“I should have come back,” he said.
“Yes.”
My voice broke.
“You should have.”
“I thought staying away kept you alive.”
“It left me alone.”
“I know.”
There was no easy forgiveness waiting between us.
Only grief.
And a child who had grown up believing her father was dead.
Nathan agreed to return to Chicago and testify.
He had retained copies of the financial records Preston tried to destroy.
He also had photographs of his damaged brake line.
Detective Brooks arranged federal protection.
His flight was scheduled for the following morning.
Preston somehow learned about it.
At six twelve that night, Nathan called again.
“I think someone followed me from my apartment.”
“Call the police.”
“I already did.”
A vehicle appeared behind him.
He described a black SUV.
I heard tires screech through the phone.
Then a loud impact.
“Nathan!”
The connection remained open.
Footsteps approached him.
A man’s voice spoke in the distance.
May you like
“Preston said you should have stayed dead.”
Then the call ended.
