Part 3 – The Man in the Garage
The radio went silent.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Nathan stared at Marcus.
"What did you say?"
The security chief repeated the message into the radio.
"Officer Lewis, confirm."
Static crackled.
Then the answer came.
"Male victim. Appears deceased. Underground Garage Level Three. Police and paramedics are requesting everyone remain upstairs."
Amelia felt the room tilt beneath her.
A body.
Inside their own building.
Nathan immediately turned to Detective Elena Brooks.
"We're going downstairs."
"No," Elena replied firmly. "My officers will secure the scene first."
"This is my building."
"And this is now a homicide investigation."
Her tone left no room for argument.
Nathan clenched his jaw but nodded.
Elena and Daniel hurried toward the elevator with several officers close behind.
The doors slid shut.
Silence returned.
Amelia wrapped her arms around herself.
"I don't understand."
Nathan looked at her.
"Neither do I."
"But someone is staying one step ahead of us."
Thirty Minutes Earlier
Rainwater streamed through the underground entrance as a black delivery van sat abandoned near the loading dock.
Officer Lewis had been following a faint trail of muddy footprints when he noticed something unusual.
One of the parking spaces was empty.
Not unusual by itself.
But fresh tire marks ended abruptly beside it.
As though another vehicle had stopped only briefly before disappearing.
Then he saw the hand.
A pale hand protruding from behind a concrete support pillar.
Lewis rushed forward.
The man lay face down on the cold cement.
Dark hair.
Gray coat.
Blood had pooled beneath him.
There were no obvious signs of a struggle.
No weapon.
No wallet.
Only a broken wristwatch frozen at exactly 9:18 p.m.
Back upstairs...
Marcus paced nervously.
"Whoever entered the building..."
"...may still be here."
Nathan nodded.
"Double every security post."
"I already have."
"No employee leaves until police finish questioning everyone."
Marcus disappeared down the hallway.
Amelia sat quietly on the sofa.
Her hands rested in her lap, but they wouldn't stop trembling.
Nathan noticed.
He walked over and knelt beside her.
"You need water."
"I'm fine."
"No."
"You aren't."
He poured a glass anyway.
She accepted it with shaking fingers.
For the first time that night, neither of them spoke about money.
Or forged signatures.
Or investigations.
Instead...
Nathan asked quietly,
"Are you afraid?"
Amelia gave a tired smile.
"I've been afraid since the moment you looked at me like I was a stranger."
His expression softened.
"I never wanted that."
"I know."
"I just..."
He looked toward the rain-covered windows.
"...didn't know what to believe."
She reached across the small distance separating them.
"You once told me something."
He looked back at her.
"When we got married."
"I remember."
"You said..."
"'If the whole world accuses you, I'll ask for your side first.'"
Nathan closed his eyes.
"I failed you tonight."
She squeezed his hand.
"You were scared."
"So was I."
For the first time in hours...
They looked at each other not as suspects or victims—
—but as husband and wife.
The elevator doors opened.
Detective Elena stepped into the penthouse.
Her expression was grim.
Nathan stood immediately.
"What happened?"
She removed a pair of latex gloves.
"The victim has been identified."
"Who is he?"
She hesitated.
Then answered.
"Victor Hale."
Amelia froze.
"The man outside the legal aid clinic."
Elena nodded.
"The same man."
Nathan frowned.
"So the person who approached Amelia..."
"...is dead."
Daniel entered carrying an evidence bag.
Inside rested a damaged cellphone.
"We recovered this from Hale's pocket."
"Can you unlock it?"
"Our cyber team is trying."
Daniel placed another evidence bag on the table.
Inside lay a small silver key.
The number engraved on it caught Amelia's attention.
She frowned.
"I've seen that number."
Nathan looked at her.
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"I just..."
She pressed her fingers against her temple.
"It feels familiar."
Two hours later...
Midnight.
Police continued processing the garage.
Reporters had gathered outside the building.
Television helicopters circled overhead.
Inside the penthouse, exhaustion settled over everyone.
Nathan stood alone in his office.
He replayed security footage again and again.
Every angle.
Every hallway.
Every elevator.
Nothing.
No clear face.
No obvious suspect.
Just shadows.
Marcus entered quietly.
"Sir."
Nathan didn't look away from the monitor.
"What is it?"
"We've interviewed every employee."
"And?"
"One person is missing."
Nathan finally turned.
"Who?"
"Housekeeper Maria Santos."
Nathan frowned.
"Maria?"
"She's worked here for eleven years."
"Exactly."
"No one has seen her since this afternoon."
Nathan immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Maria would never..."
Marcus nodded.
"I know."
"But her security badge disappeared at 4:06 p.m."
Nathan stared at the monitor again.
Someone could have stolen it.
Used it.
Disappeared.
Another piece of the puzzle.
Another unanswered question.
Meanwhile...
Amelia wandered into the library.
It had always been her favorite room.
Thousands of books lined dark wooden shelves.
The scent of old paper usually calmed her.
Tonight...
Nothing could.
She absentmindedly ran her fingers along a shelf.
One book leaned slightly farther out than the others.
She pushed it back.
Click.
A quiet mechanical sound echoed behind the shelves.
Amelia stepped backward.
"What..."
One section of the bookcase shifted.
Slowly.
Silently.
Revealing a narrow hidden compartment.
She stared in disbelief.
Nathan had never mentioned a secret room.
Inside rested only a small wooden box covered in dust.
She picked it up.
The brass latch was already unlocked.
Inside...
Old letters.
Dozens of them.
Each carefully tied together with blue ribbon.
Every envelope addressed to one person.
Elizabeth Ashford.
Nathan's grandmother.
Most of the letters had never been opened.
One, however, had already been unfolded years ago.
Amelia carefully opened it.
The handwriting was elegant.
"If anything happens to me, never trust the board. Someone inside the family has been selling our secrets for years. They will eventually come for the inheritance... and anyone standing between them and the company."
No signature.
No date.
Only one symbol at the bottom.
A black raven.
The same symbol printed on the envelope hidden beneath Amelia's music box.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Someone had left these letters hidden for decades.
Someone wanted them found.
But why now?
"Nathan."
Her voice echoed through the library.
He hurried inside.
"What happened?"
She silently handed him the letter.
His eyes widened as he reached the bottom.
"I've never seen this before."
"There are dozens."
Nathan carefully lifted another bundle.
Most were written between twenty-five and thirty years earlier.
All mentioned arguments within the Ashford family.
Missing company records.
Secret meetings.
Disappearing witnesses.
One sentence appeared repeatedly.
The Raven knows everything.
Nathan frowned.
"What is the Raven?"
"I don't know."
Before either of them could continue...
Daniel rushed into the library.
His face had lost all color.
"We unlocked Victor Hale's phone."
Nathan looked up.
"What did you find?"
Daniel swallowed.
"A video."
"Of what?"
"You."
Nathan blinked.
"Me?"
Daniel nodded.
"The video was recorded less than an hour before Hale died."
He held up the tablet.
The footage began playing.
Nathan appeared on screen...
Walking into the underground garage.
Alone.
He approached Victor Hale.
The two men argued.
Then...
Nathan shoved him.
Hale fell backward.
The recording ended.
The timestamp matched almost exactly the estimated time of death.
Amelia stared at the screen.
Then at her husband.
Nathan's face had gone completely pale.
"I never met him."
No one spoke.
Daniel looked at Nathan with visible conflict.
"The problem..."
He said quietly.
"...is that everyone else who sees this video is going to believe you did."
Outside, another flash of lightning illuminated the penthouse windows.
Somewhere in the darkness beyond the glass, the unseen architect of the conspiracy was still watching.
May you like
And for the first time since the nightmare began...
Nathan Ashford had become the prime suspect.
