Chapter 6 - Alyssa’s Last ArgumentDaniel had spent eleven months avoiding Alyssa’s office.
Nothing had been moved.
Her notebooks remained stacked beside the window.
Her coffee mug still sat beside the computer.
A dried purple pen rested exactly where she had left it.
That night, Daniel opened the door.
Cooper followed.
Rebecca stood behind him.
“You said Alyssa knew about Haven Ridge.”
“I believe she did.”
“How?”
“Because two weeks before she died, she called me.”
Daniel turned.
“You never told me that.”
“She asked about changing the foundation’s auditors.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“She asked me not to.”
Daniel stared at her.
Rebecca continued softly.
“She said she wanted proof before she accused her own mother.”
Daniel entered the office.
Alyssa had served as executive director of the Carter Family Foundation, created by her late father, Marcus Carter.
The foundation funded scholarships, housing grants and domestic-violence shelters throughout Virginia.
Evelyn had been its public face.
Alyssa had handled operations.
After Alyssa’s death from an aggressive illness, Evelyn had resumed more control.
Daniel had paid little attention.
He had been trying to survive.
Now he opened drawers.
Files.
Binders.
Nothing.
Cooper began sniffing beneath the desk.
“What are you looking for?” Daniel murmured.
The dog pawed at a lower cabinet.
Daniel opened it.
Inside were old financial statements.
Rebecca pulled one out.
“Haven Ridge.”
Daniel looked at the invoice.
Consulting services: $68,000.
Another.
$91,500.
Another.
$44,000.
“What consulting?”
Rebecca shook her head.
“There are no detailed deliverables.”
Daniel found handwritten notes in Alyssa’s margin.
ASK MOM.
WHY LEONARD AGAIN?
NO BOARD APPROVAL?
One page had been underlined three times.
$380,000 — PROPERTY ACQUISITION STUDY.
Daniel knew the foundation had never purchased that property.
He sank into Alyssa’s chair.
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
“Did she confront Evelyn?”
Rebecca looked uncomfortable.
“Grace may know.”
They found Grace in the kitchen.
When Daniel asked, Grace went pale.
“I heard them fighting.”
“When?”
“About a month before Alyssa went into the hospital.”
“What did they say?”
Grace hesitated.
“Your wife said, ‘Mia will never pay for what you did.’”
Daniel felt his heartbeat change.
“What did Evelyn say?”
“I couldn’t hear everything.”
“Try.”
Grace closed her eyes.
“She said, ‘This family exists because of me.’ Then Alyssa said, ‘No. This family survives in spite of you.’”
Silence.
Daniel looked toward the staircase.
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
Someone had been standing near the landing.
Evelyn.
She appeared a moment later.
“What are you all discussing?”
No one answered.
Her eyes moved to the papers in Daniel’s hand.
Her expression barely changed.
But barely was enough.
“Those belonged to Alyssa,” she said.
“They still do.”
“She’s gone, Daniel.”
The words were crueler than their volume.
Daniel stepped toward her.
“What is Haven Ridge?”
Evelyn did not blink.
“A consulting company.”
“Owned by Leonard Shaw.”
“Yes.”
“You paid him almost two million dollars from the foundation.”
“The board approved legitimate work.”
“Did Alyssa think it was legitimate?”
Evelyn’s face tightened.
“Don’t use my dead daughter against me.”
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“Then stop using her daughter against me.”
Cooper moved beside Daniel.
A low growl filled the room.
Evelyn looked at the dog.
For the first time, Daniel saw something in her face that was not annoyance.
Fear.
Not fear of Cooper attacking her.
Fear of what he had witnessed.
Daniel looked down at him.
“What did you see, boy?”
Evelyn walked away.
But as she disappeared upstairs, Daniel noticed something.
May you like
She was carrying a small brass key.
The same kind Alyssa had once used for the locked document drawer in her office.
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