Chapter 4 - The First LieNatalie had always remembered her father as a man who hated unnecessary risks.
Thomas Quinn checked the weather before driving. He carried a flashlight in his car. He made Natalie wear a life jacket even when they paddled in shallow water.
He was a civil engineer who believed that structures should be designed around nature rather than against it.
When he died in 2019 from complications of heart disease, Natalie had inherited his notebooks, drafting tools, and an unfinished model of a wooden bridge.
She had not inherited an explanation for the final years of his career.
Those years had been clouded by arguments, professional disgrace, and a lawsuit he refused to discuss.
Now Vivian was sitting opposite her, suggesting that Catherine Vale had been involved.
Miriam closed the conference-room door.
"Start from the beginning."
Vivian placed the photograph on the table.
"In 2017, Vale Development controlled the Riverbend tract through a subsidiary. My mother wanted to develop it, but engineering reports identified serious drainage problems."
"What kind of problems?" Natalie asked.
"The land had been used for industrial storage decades earlier. Some areas had contaminated soil. There were also concerns about groundwater movement and flood exposure."
"My father knew?"
"He was hired as an independent consultant to review the drainage findings."
Natalie touched the edge of the photograph.
"He worked for the county."
"By then, he was consulting privately."
Vivian nodded toward the man in the picture.
"He insisted that the original engineering assessment be disclosed before we pursued development approvals."
"And Catherine?"
"She wanted another opinion."
Miriam leaned forward.
"Did the company obtain one?"
"Yes."
"Was the first report preserved?"
Vivian hesitated.
"I don't know where the complete original is."
Natalie studied her.
"That's not an answer."
Vivian looked ashamed.
"No. It isn't."
That evening, Natalie met Diane at the guesthouse.
She placed the photograph on the kitchen table.
Her mother stared at it.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she sat down.
"Where did you get this?"
"Vivian Vale."
Diane closed her eyes.
"I told your father not to take that contract."
Natalie pulled out a chair.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because after he lost his consulting work, he didn't want you dragged into it."
"What happened to him?"
Diane looked toward the dark window.
"Your father found discrepancies between two sets of groundwater readings. One set showed higher contamination levels and worse drainage conditions."
"And the other?"
"The one the development company preferred."
Natalie felt sick.
"Did he report it?"
"He tried."
Diane explained that Thomas had prepared a memorandum identifying the discrepancies. After a dispute with the company, his consulting contract ended.
Later, lawyers negotiated a confidential settlement related to his unpaid fees and claims arising from the contract dispute.
Natalie remembered the arguments then.
Her parents had fought behind closed doors.
Her father stopped answering calls from former colleagues.
And her mother once told Natalie that some powerful people could afford to make the truth expensive.
"Did he sign something saying the land was safe?"
"No," Diane answered quickly. "He refused."
"Then why did he stop talking?"
"Because he was tired. Because legal bills were mounting. Because he thought the records he'd preserved would eventually be enough."
Natalie watched her mother's hands tremble.
"Where are those records?"
"I don't know."
"Mom."
Diane looked away.
"After he died, I found his office drawers emptied. I assumed he'd moved everything."
"Moved it where?"
"He spent a lot of time at Ashcroft with your aunt Mae."
Natalie remembered her great-aunt's old library.
The room still contained her father's drafting table.
Bradley had insisted on renovating it after their wedding.
He said the room felt outdated and should become a modern study.
Natalie had refused to remove the drafting table.
But she had allowed him to install cabinets, replace the flooring, and take possession of the room for his work.
Now she wondered what else had disappeared during the renovations.
At nine that night, Natalie received a message from an unfamiliar number.
It contained a photograph.
The image showed the locked study at Ashcroft.
Her father's drafting table had been moved against a wall.
Someone had placed cardboard boxes on it.
The accompanying message read:
Your husband knew about Thomas Quinn long before he met you.
Natalie showed Miriam.
"Don't respond," Miriam said. "Preserve the message. We need to determine who sent it."
Three minutes later, another message arrived.
Ask Bradley what happened to the original Riverbend report.
Natalie stared at the screen.
Then a third message appeared.
This one contained no words.
It showed Bradley standing beside Catherine at a charity gala in April 2024.
Natalie recognized the event immediately.
It was the night she first met him.
She had always believed their introduction was accidental.
Now, looking at the photograph, she noticed Catherine standing behind them, watching as Bradley shook her hand.
A terrible question entered her mind.
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Had Bradley fallen in love with her?
Or had he been sent to find her?
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