Chapter 5 – The Anonymous Confession
Three sharp knocks echoed through the mansion.
No one moved.
The detectives waited patiently on the front porch while the housekeeper looked at me for instructions.
"Let them in," I said.
The front door opened, revealing two detectives dressed in plain suits. The older one introduced himself first.
"Detective Samuel Grant."
He held up his badge.
"This is Detective Elena Ruiz."
They stepped inside, their eyes immediately taking in the tense atmosphere.
"I assume," Detective Grant said, "this isn't exactly a family breakfast."
"No," I replied.
"It's something much worse."
Grant glanced around the room.
"We received an anonymous package at police headquarters this morning."
He placed a large evidence envelope on the coffee table.
"It was delivered by courier at 6:15 a.m."
No return address.
No fingerprints.
Only one typed sentence on the front.
Protect the child before it's too late.
Vanessa's breathing became noticeably faster.
Detective Ruiz carefully removed several items from the envelope.
The first was a copy of Leo's medical chart.
The second was a laboratory report showing that traces of an unprescribed sedative had been found in one of Leo's blood samples taken two weeks earlier.
I stared at the report.
"I've never seen this."
"You weren't supposed to," Ruiz replied.
"The original report disappeared from the hospital's records forty-eight hours after it was created."
Mara looked up sharply.
"Someone deleted it?"
Ruiz nodded.
"But whoever mailed us this package had already made copies."
The third item was a handwritten note.
Grant unfolded it carefully.
"It appears to be a confession."
He began reading aloud.
I changed the medication because I was told the child would never recover anyway. I was promised money if I kept quiet. I can't live with what I've done anymore. If anything happens to me, the Collins family should be investigated.
The signature had been cut away.
Only the body of the confession remained.
Daniel looked horrified.
"Who wrote that?"
"We don't know," Grant answered.
"But we intend to find out."
Richard Howard shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
Detective Ruiz noticed.
"Mr. Howard?"
"Yes?"
"You seem nervous."
"I'm an attorney."
"We're all nervous around police."
Grant smiled slightly.
"Usually."
He reached into the evidence envelope once more.
"There was one more item."
He placed a flash drive on the table.
"This was attached to the confession."
My stomach tightened.
"What's on it?"
"We haven't opened it yet."
"Why not?"
Grant looked directly at me.
"Because it was encrypted."
He paused.
"And the password appears to be your name."
Every eye in the room turned toward me.
I picked up my laptop from the desk and inserted the flash drive.
A password box appeared.
I typed:
NathanCollins
Access denied.
I frowned.
"My full name doesn't work."
Mara stepped closer.
"What did your father always call you?"
I thought for a moment.
Then I remembered.
When I was a boy, he never called me Nathan.
He always called me...
Nate.
I entered:
Nate
The screen unlocked immediately.
A single folder appeared.
FOR NATHAN ONLY
I clicked it.
Inside was one video file.
The timestamp showed it had been recorded almost seven months earlier.
I pressed play.
My father's face appeared on the screen.
He looked older than I remembered.
Thinner.
Tired.
As though he already knew his time was running out.
"If you're watching this," he began, "then Leo is in danger."
The room became perfectly silent.
"I've spent the last year pretending I trust people I no longer recognize."
His eyes filled with sadness.
"Greed changes people."
He sighed.
"I've documented everything."
He lifted a small metal key toward the camera.
"This opens Vault C."
Then he looked straight into the lens.
"Nathan..."
"If anyone in this family is willing to sacrifice your son for money..."
"They won't stop with Leo."
A chill spread through the room.
My father continued.
"There is another child."
Everyone frowned.
Another child?
"I've kept this secret because I feared what would happen if the wrong people discovered the truth."
My pulse quickened.
"Leo isn't the only legal heir."
The video suddenly cut to black.
"What happened?" Daniel asked.
I checked the file.
The remaining twenty-three minutes had been deleted.
Not corrupted.
Deliberately erased.
Detective Grant leaned closer.
"Can it be recovered?"
I shook my head.
"Maybe."
"But whoever erased it knew exactly what they were doing."
The room erupted with questions.
"What other child?"
"What did he mean?"
"Who erased the rest?"
Richard suddenly stood.
"I need to tell you something."
Every head turned toward him.
He looked exhausted, as though years of secrets had finally become too heavy to carry.
"I lied earlier."
"You've done more than lie," I said coldly.
He nodded.
"Yes."
Then he took a slow breath.
"The other heir..."
He looked directly at me.
"...isn't a stranger."
My heartbeat pounded in my ears.
Richard's voice barely rose above a whisper.
"It's someone already living under this roof."
Before anyone could react, a loud crash echoed from the sunroom.
Glass shattered.
Mara screamed.
"Leo!"
I sprinted toward the sound, my heart racing.
The back door stood wide open.
Cold morning air rushed inside.
A flowerpot lay broken across the floor.
Leo's teddy bear rested alone on the rug.
May you like
But Leo...
Was gone.
