Chapter 3: The Call That Changed Everything
Chapter 3: The Call That Changed Everything
Victoria's panicked voice echoed through the silent study.
"Matt!"
"They know everything!"
Every person in the room froze.
Matthew's face drained of color.
His eyes darted around the room, searching for a way out.
There wasn't one.
Detective Harris calmly reached into his jacket.
Without saying a word, he switched on another digital recorder.
The tiny red light blinked.
Recording.
Matthew forced a laugh.
"Victoria..."
"I think you've called the wrong—"
She cut him off.
"No!"
"They found Emily's video!"
"They found the drawer!"
"They have the petition!"
Matthew closed his eyes.
Only for a second.
But it was enough.
Enough for everyone to see the fear he couldn't hide.
He lowered his voice.
"What exactly did you tell them?"
Victoria's breathing was frantic.
"I didn't tell them anything!"
"They already had it!"
"They know about the guardianship."
"They know about Daniel."
"They know everything!"
Detective Harris slowly looked at me.
Neither of us spoke.
We didn't have to.
Matthew had already made his first mistake.
He hadn't asked, "What are you talking about?"
He hadn't denied anything.
Instead, he wanted to know what she had revealed.
Matthew turned slightly away from us.
"Calm down."
"I'm handling it."
Victoria sounded close to tears.
"You can't handle this!"
"The police are questioning me."
"They're asking about the trust."
"They're asking about Emily."
"They even know my real last name."
Matthew's shoulders stiffened.
Real last name.
Grace quietly inhaled.
Emily had been right.
Victoria had entered our lives under a different identity.
Matthew spoke through clenched teeth.
"Listen carefully."
"Don't say another word."
"I'll get you a lawyer."
Detective Harris stepped forward.
"That's excellent advice."
Matthew spun around.
His eyes met Harris's.
For the first time since arriving, he looked genuinely frightened.
Victoria's voice continued through the speaker.
"Matt?"
"Are you there?"
"I don't want to go to prison."
Matthew quickly ended the call.
Silence swallowed the room.
No one moved.
No one needed to.
The damage had already been done.
Detective Harris slowly held out his hand.
"I'll need your phone."
Matthew didn't move.
"Why?"
"As potential evidence."
"I haven't done anything."
Harris nodded.
"Then you won't mind cooperating."
Matthew looked at me.
"Daniel."
"You know me."
"I've always protected this family."
I stared at him.
"No."
"You protected yourself."
His jaw tightened.
"You actually believe Emily?"
"I believe facts."
"I believe evidence."
"I believe my son."
"And I believe the woman who spent ten years loving me."
Matthew shook his head.
"Emily wasn't thinking clearly before she died."
Grace's head snapped toward him.
"What did you just say?"
He realized his mistake.
"I mean..."
"She was sick."
"People become emotional."
Grace took one slow step forward.
"No."
"Emily wasn't emotional."
"She was terrified."
Matthew looked away.
The room fell silent again.
Detective Harris accepted Matthew's phone without another word.
One of the forensic technicians immediately sealed it inside an evidence bag.
Matthew watched helplessly.
"You're making a huge mistake."
Harris smiled politely.
"Perhaps."
"But evidence rarely lies."
Another officer entered the study.
"Detective."
"We've completed the search of Miss Victoria's vehicle."
Harris turned.
"Find anything else?"
The officer nodded.
"A second burner phone."
"And a laptop."
Matthew's breathing became noticeably faster.
"What laptop?"
The officer looked directly at him.
"The one registered under your company's account."
Matthew froze.
"I've never seen that computer."
"No?"
The officer opened another evidence bag.
Inside was a silver laptop.
A small black label remained attached.
Property of Carter Financial Holdings.
Matthew's company.
His eyes widened.
"I..."
"I don't know how that got there."
Harris folded his arms.
"I'm sure we'll figure it out."
Another detective hurried into the room.
His face looked unusually serious.
"Harris."
"We've got something."
"What is it?"
"The forensic team recovered deleted files from Victoria's phone."
Matthew slowly backed away.
Every instinct in his body screamed danger.
"What kind of files?"
The detective looked directly at me.
"Photos."
"Videos."
"Messages."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Of what?"
The detective hesitated.
"Your late wife."
The room became painfully quiet.
Grace covered her mouth.
"No..."
The detective nodded.
"They were monitoring Emily."
"For months before her death."
I couldn't breathe.
"What?"
He placed several printed photographs onto the desk.
Emily leaving the grocery store.
Emily walking Noah through the park.
Emily entering her doctor's office.
Emily sitting alone inside a café.
Every picture had been taken without her knowledge.
Someone had followed my wife.
Day after day.
Week after week.
Matthew refused to look at the photographs.
Instead, he stared at the floor.
Detective Harris noticed.
"You don't seem surprised."
"I..."
"I just can't believe someone would do this."
"No?"
Harris slid another photograph toward him.
This one showed Emily standing outside our family attorney's office.
In the background...
Barely visible...
A man stood beside a black SUV.
Even from the blurry image, I recognized the expensive watch.
The same watch Matthew wore every day.
I slowly looked at my brother.
"Why were you following my wife?"
His head jerked upward.
"I wasn't."
"The photo says otherwise."
"It's blurry."
"It could be anyone."
Grace stepped closer.
"No."
"I bought him that watch."
Matthew looked at her.
"It was Emily's birthday gift."
"I remember helping her choose it."
The room became deadly still.
Matthew instinctively covered his wrist.
Too late.
Everyone had already seen it.
Detective Harris quietly smiled.
"I think we'll have that watch photographed before you leave."
Matthew said nothing.
The front door suddenly slammed shut.
Another officer rushed inside.
"Detective!"
"What now?"
"We just interviewed one of the estate gardeners."
"And?"
"He says Mr. Matthew Carter visited this property almost every Thursday afternoon for nearly six months."
I frowned.
"That can't be right."
"I was usually working downtown."
The officer nodded.
"Exactly."
"He always arrived when you weren't home."
I turned toward Matthew.
"You told me those Thursdays were board meetings."
"They were."
"So why were you here?"
Matthew opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
The officer continued.
"The gardener also says Mr. Carter never entered through the front door."
"He always used the greenhouse entrance."
Grace suddenly looked up.
"The greenhouse..."
I turned toward her.
"What?"
She looked terrified.
"Emily met someone in the greenhouse every Thursday."
"She told me she was trying to solve a problem."
"What problem?"
"She wouldn't say."
Grace slowly looked at Matthew.
Then back at me.
"I think..."
"...she was meeting him."
A long silence followed.
Matthew's expression remained unreadable.
Then...
Something unexpected happened.
He laughed.
Not nervously.
Not politely.
He genuinely laughed.
The sound echoed through the study.
It was cold.
Almost amused.
When he finally stopped, he looked directly at me.
"You still don't understand."
His voice had changed.
The warmth was gone.
The kindness had disappeared.
Only arrogance remained.
"You think this started with Victoria."
He slowly shook his head.
"It didn't."
"You think Emily discovered our plan at the end."
Another smile crossed his face.
"She didn't."
I felt every hair on my arms stand up.
"What are you talking about?"
Matthew looked straight into my eyes.
Then he spoke the sentence that shattered everything I thought I knew.
May you like
"Emily knew exactly who I was..."
"...long before she married you."
