Chapter 4 - The Man Who Knew Too Soon.
Daniel did not answer Mason’s message.
Instead, he turned off the office Wi-Fi and placed his phone inside a metal document drawer.
Caroline watched him carefully.
“You think he can hear us?” Daniel asked.
“I think he has known more about this house than you realize.”
Daniel hated how plausible the statement sounded.
Mason had helped install the new security system after Claire died.
He had selected the contractor.
He had set up Daniel’s phone access.
He even had an emergency code because Daniel traveled often for work.
At the time, it had seemed practical.
Now every convenience looked like an open door.
Daniel took the small memory card, Claire’s envelope, and the false passport.
He put them into an old laptop bag that had no electronic tracker.
Then he went to the sunroom.
Sophie sat beside Mrs. Alvarez with a glass of water she had not touched.
The moment she saw Daniel, she stood.
“Is Grandma going to take me away?”
Daniel knelt in front of her.
“No one is taking you anywhere.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
He did not look back at Caroline when he said it.
Daniel asked Mrs. Alvarez to stay with Sophie upstairs while he drove to the bank.
Caroline insisted on going with him.
Daniel refused.
“You stay here.”
“If Mason comes, do not let him inside.”
Caroline gave a bitter laugh.
“You still think I’m the only danger in this house.”
Daniel left without responding.
Union Federal Bank was twelve minutes away.
He drove there using side streets instead of the direct route.
At every traffic light, he checked the mirrors.
He told himself he was being ridiculous.
Then a black SUV stayed behind him through four turns.
Daniel changed lanes.
The SUV changed lanes too.
He turned into a crowded shopping center instead of the bank.
The SUV continued past him.
Daniel sat behind the wheel for a full minute before breathing normally again.
Maybe it had been coincidence.
He no longer trusted coincidence.
At the bank, the key matched Safe Deposit Box 318.
The bank officer asked for identification, checked the authorization card, and escorted him into the private viewing room.
Daniel opened the narrow metal box.
Inside was a flash drive, a sealed legal envelope, and a photograph of Claire standing beside Mason Keene outside a warehouse.
The date printed on the back was eight days before Claire died.
Daniel stared at the photograph.
Mason had told him he had not seen Claire during the final month of her life.
The legal envelope contained a statement signed by Claire.
It described unauthorized trust transfers totaling more than four million dollars.
It also named Northstar Family Services as a shell company.
The listed director was not Caroline.
It was Mason.
Daniel felt sick.
At the bottom of Claire’s statement was a second name.
PAUL VANCE, FAMILY ATTORNEY.
Daniel knew Paul well.
Paul had drafted Daniel’s will.
Paul had prepared Sophie’s guardianship plan after Claire died.
Paul had also notarized the forged document in Caroline’s bag.
Daniel reached for the flash drive.
His phone, powered off in his pocket, suddenly vibrated.
Daniel stared at it.
He was certain he had shut it down.
The screen lit by itself.
One message appeared from an unknown number.
May you like
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE BOX CLOSED.
The Bag Beside the Chair
