Chapter 8 - THE LIGHTHOUSE
The fire department contained the blaze before it reached the main house.
The small stone lighthouse was blackened, but still standing.
Detective Brooks drove Marcus and me to the property while Daniel remained with Sophie.
The lake was gray beneath the morning sky.
Firefighters moved through the smoke near the dock.
The brass key opened a narrow door at the base of the lighthouse.
Inside, a spiral staircase led underground.
At the bottom was a steel cabinet built into the stone wall.
The cabinet had not been touched by the fire.
The key opened that too.
Inside were three ledgers.
A flash drive.
Copies of company bank records.
And a video message recorded by my grandmother.
Marcus inserted the drive into his laptop.
Grandmother appeared on the screen.
She looked tired, but her voice remained strong.
“If Evelyn is watching this, then Charles and Preston have finally become desperate.”
My father’s name felt like a second betrayal.
Grandmother explained that Preston had used company money to cover failed real estate investments.
My father concealed the losses by creating false vendor accounts.
My mother knew.
She persuaded Grandmother not to contact federal investigators.
In return, they promised to repay the company.
They never did.
Instead, they searched for new collateral.
Sophie’s property became their solution.
Grandmother had changed the trust to prevent them from accessing it.
“If they hurt Evelyn or Sophie,” Grandmother said, “release everything.”
I pressed a hand over my mouth.
Even from beyond the grave, she was protecting us.
Detective Brooks called federal financial investigators.
Marcus copied the files.
Then one firefighter shouted from outside.
A man was running toward the trees.
Officers pursued him.
He escaped through a broken section of fence, but dropped his phone.
The device belonged to Grant Keller.
Preston’s best man.
Grant had stood beside Preston when the phone was “discovered.”
He had also testified in the trust petition that Sophie had behaved suspiciously.
Detective Brooks opened the recent messages.
The final text had been sent by Preston.
Burn the lighthouse.
Find the ledger.
Do not come back without it.
May you like
A second message followed.
If Evelyn has already found it, take Sophie.
