Chapter 3 - Storage Unit 614
The storage facility stood beneath an elevated highway, wedged between a shuttered warehouse and a repair shop. Rain had begun to fall by the time Damon and Marcus arrived the following morning.
The manager examined the key and checked his records.
“Unit 614,” he said. “The rental was paid through an attorney's account. The contract expired three months ago, but the contents haven't been claimed.”
“Who rented it?”
The manager hesitated.
“Amelia Cross.”
Damon felt the name strike him again.
His sister had known she was in danger.
Inside the unit, they found several boxes of personal papers, a child's knitted blanket, and a locked metal case. Dust covered everything except the handle of a small suitcase near the back wall.
Marcus examined the door.
“No signs of forced entry.”
Damon opened the first box.
There were bank statements, foundation invoices, copies of grant applications, and lists of payments to organizations that did not appear in the foundation's official reports.
Several transfers had been approved using Amelia's credentials.
But the dates made no sense.
Some had occurred while Amelia was hospitalized after the accident that eventually killed her.
Damon read the documents twice.
“She couldn't have approved these.”
“Someone may have used her account,” Marcus said.
The metal case contained a flash drive, a sealed envelope, and a handwritten note.
Damon recognized his sister's handwriting immediately.
Damon, if you're reading this, I wasn't able to explain everything in person. I made mistakes because I trusted people who knew exactly what I wanted to believe.
The note continued.
The foundation is being used to move money. I don't know who is responsible for every transfer, but I know Elisa's name keeps appearing where it shouldn't. If anything happens to me, don't assume the accident was simply an accident. Find Anna. She knows more than I do.
Damon read the final line in silence.
And please, if there is a child, don't let anyone convince you that protecting the family name matters more than protecting her.
Marcus placed a hand on the wall.
“Mr. Cross, the flash drive is encrypted. I'll have our forensic team examine it.”
“No. An independent firm. Someone who has never worked for the foundation.”
Damon slipped the letter into a protective folder.
A child.
Amelia had known there might be a child connected to the scandal.
Was Lily that child?
Back at the estate, Rachel reported that Lily had slept for nearly ten hours. She had eaten breakfast, taken a bath, and asked whether the chocolate cake was still available.
Damon smiled despite himself.
“We'll arrange a fresh one.”
But when he entered the guesthouse, Lily was standing beside the window, holding the photograph.
“Did you find Mommy?”
“Not yet.”
“Is she in trouble?”
Damon knelt.
“I don't know. But we'll find out what happened before we decide what to do.”
Lily looked at the photograph.
“Mommy said Aunt Amelia was the only person who believed her.”
Damon froze.
“Aunt Amelia?”
“She called her that.”
“What did your mommy tell you about Amelia?”
Lily rubbed the corner of the picture with her thumb.
“She said Aunt Amelia helped us when we didn't have a home. She said Aunt Amelia was going to tell the truth.”
Damon's throat tightened.
“How did you know to come to the gala?”
“Mommy gave me the picture. She told me to ask for Mr. Cross if she couldn't come back.”
“When did she tell you that?”
“Yesterday.”
Rachel stepped closer, her expression grave.
“Lily, did your mother say where she was going?”
Lily nodded slowly.
“She said she had to meet somebody. She told me to stay with Mrs. Bell until she came back.”
“Who's Mrs. Bell?”
“The lady who gives me soup.”
Damon immediately asked Marcus to trace the name.
An hour later, they found a neighborhood meal volunteer named Patricia Bell, who had been helping Anna and Lily at a temporary shelter.
Patricia confirmed that Anna had disappeared the previous night after receiving a phone call.
“She was terrified,” Patricia said. “She asked me to keep Lily safe. She said someone had discovered she still had copies of Amelia's records.”
“Did she say who?”
Patricia shook her head.
“She only said, 'If anything happens to me, take Lily somewhere people can't buy their silence.'”
Damon looked toward the guesthouse.
Lily was not simply a hungry child who had wandered into a gala.
May you like
She was the daughter of a woman connected to his sister's unfinished investigation.
And someone had known precisely where to find her.
