Chapter 5 - The Unfinished Puzzle
The courthouse steps were absolutely swarming with aggressive reporters.
News of the dramatic confession had leaked out into the press within minutes.
Maria held Leo’s hand tightly as they walked out through the heavy glass doors.
Flashbulbs blinded them as microphones were shoved into their faces.
“Maria! How does it feel to be cleared of all charges?” a reporter yelled.
“Leo! Did you really hide the poison bottle?” another one screamed.
A squad of police officers had to physically push the crowd back to clear a path.
They finally made it into the safety of a waiting black sedan.
The driver hit the gas, leaving the chaotic circus far behind them.
Maria let out a massive sigh of relief and leaned her head back against the seat.
“It is finally over,” she whispered, closing her tired eyes.
Leo looked out the tinted window at the passing city streets.
“It isn’t over, Maria,” Leo said quietly.
Maria opened her eyes and looked at the boy in confusion.
“What do you mean, sweetie?” she asked gently.
“The bad people are going to jail.”
“You are safe now.”
Leo turned his head slowly to look her directly in the eyes.
“Victoria didn’t know where my dad kept the key to the safe,” Leo said.
“The safe where the real will was kept.”
Maria’s smile slowly faded from her face.
“They couldn’t find the new will,” Leo continued, his voice void of any emotion.
“That’s why they were so stressed out.”
Maria swallowed hard, her heart suddenly beating faster.
“How do you know that, Leo?” she asked nervously.
Leo reached into his small backpack and pulled out a thick, sealed yellow envelope.
“Because my dad gave it to me the night before he died,” Leo revealed.
Maria stared at the envelope as if it were a ghost.
“He told me not to trust Victoria or Uncle Richard.”
“He told me to give this to his lawyer only if something bad happened to him.”
Maria’s hands started to tremble again.
“Why didn’t you give it to the lawyer today?” she asked.
Leo gently traced the edges of the heavy envelope with his finger.
“Because my dad told me there was a third person involved,” Leo answered.
A cold chill ran straight down Maria’s spine.
“A third person?” she echoed faintly.
Leo nodded his head, his eyes burning with an intense, unnatural maturity.
“The person who actually unlocked the study door for Victoria that night.”
“My dad’s study locks automatically from the inside.”
“Someone on the staff had to have given her the master key.”
The black sedan suddenly swerved into a dark, abandoned parking garage.
The driver killed the engine and the headlights shut off, plunging them into total darkness.
Maria grabbed the door handle, but it was completely locked from the front.
The heavy glass partition slowly rolled down between the front and back seats.
The driver slowly turned around to face them in the shadows.
He pulled a silenced pistol from inside his dark jacket.
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“You’re a very smart boy, Leo,” the driver said with a cruel smile.
Maria screamed and threw her body over the child just as the man raised the weapon.
