Chapter 10 - THE RECORDING DANIEL LEFT BEHIND
The breakthrough came from an unexpected place.
A former coworker of Daniel's contacted Nora.
His name was Thomas Reed.
He had worked in the accounting department before leaving Chicago.
Thomas told Nora that Daniel had given him a sealed envelope shortly before disappearing.
He had been afraid to open it.
Afraid of becoming involved.
But after hearing about Lily's poisoning, he decided he could no longer remain silent.
Nora met Thomas at a police station.
He handed the envelope to Detective Sloan.
Inside was a flash drive.
And a handwritten note.
If anything happens to me, tell Nora I tried to do the right thing.
Nora began crying.
The drive contained financial records.
Copies of internal emails.
And an audio recording.
In it, Daniel confronted Marcus Bell about the diverted charity funds.
Marcus's voice was unmistakable.
"You don't understand how this works, Daniel."
Daniel answered:
"That money was supposed to help children."
Marcus laughed.
"Children don't run companies."
Daniel's voice hardened.
"I'm going to the authorities."
Then Marcus said something that chilled everyone listening.
"You should think about your sisters before making decisions you can't undo."
Nora covered her mouth.
Her brother had been threatened.
And he had kept investigating anyway.
The recording didn't prove what happened to Daniel.
But it established that Marcus had known about his findings.
It also provided a motive for silencing him.
Detective Sloan looked at Nora.
"We're reopening the missing-person investigation with this new evidence."
Nora nodded through tears.
May you like
"Thank you."
For the first time in four years, she felt hope.
