Chapter 7 - THE BLUE HOUSE
The blue house stood on a quiet street outside Providence.
It was small.
Two stories.
White trim.
A porch that sagged slightly on one side.
The property belonged to a trust associated with the Arden family.
Adrian Bell had rented it briefly before his disappearance.
Marco didn't go alone.
He brought his attorney and a licensed investigator.
Elena insisted on coming.
I stayed in Chicago with Frank and Theo.
But Marco called me that evening.
His voice sounded different.
"Natalie."
"Yes?"
"We found something."
My stomach tightened.
"Adrian?"
"No."
He paused.
"A room."
Behind a false wall in the basement, investigators discovered a small office.
Inside were financial records, photographs, and several encrypted storage devices.
The documents connected the Arden Foundation to fraudulent transfers.
They also contained correspondence between Celeste and Patrick Heller.
The same financial adviser Elena had reported seven years earlier.
Marco's attorney contacted federal investigators.
The evidence was secured.
And for the first time, Celeste's carefully constructed world began to collapse.
But the most important discovery wasn't financial.
It was a letter.
Addressed to Elena.
Written in Adrian's handwriting.
Marco read it aloud over the phone.
"My love, if you're reading this, something has gone wrong. I need you to know that I never abandoned you. I never stopped loving you. And I would never willingly leave our son."
Elena began crying.
Marco continued.
"I've discovered that Celeste is using the foundation to move money for people who are far more dangerous than she admits. Rebecca knows. Your brother may be the only person powerful enough to expose them."
There was a pause.
Then Marco read the final line.
"If I disappear, don't believe the first story they tell you."
That night, I sat beside Frank's bed.
He looked toward the window.
"Adrian... good man."
I nodded.
"It sounds like he was."
Frank reached for my hand.
"Natalie."
"Yes?"
"Promise me... something."
"Anything."
He looked at me.
"Don't let Marco... become cruel."
I swallowed.
"Why would he?"
Frank's eyes filled.
"Because anger... makes men forget... who they are."
I held his hand.
"I'll remind him."
Frank smiled.
"Good girl."
Three days later, the investigators identified a man living under a different name in Vermont.
He had a scar across his forehead.
May you like
He worked as a mechanic.
And his fingerprints matched Adrian Bell.
