“You used my account?”
“Only indirectly.”
“What does that mean?”
Mary Lou took a deep breath.
“Your eighty thousand dollars came from an account established in your name.”
I stared at her.
“You opened an account in my name?”
“Yes.”
“Without telling me?”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice!”
She began crying.
“No, Mom. I didn’t.”
Her voice cracked.
“If they had found the money, they would have taken it.”
“What money?”
“The money your father left me.”
I froze.
“My father?”
Mary Lou nodded.
“Before he died, Dad discovered the same financial network.”
I couldn’t speak.
“He left evidence.”
She placed a small envelope on the table.
“And he left something for you.”
My hands trembled.
I opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
My husband’s handwriting.
I hadn’t seen it in twelve years.
The first line made my heart stop.
“Theresa, if you’re reading this, Mary Lou finally decided it was safe to tell you.”
PART 8 — THE LETTER
I read the letter slowly.
“I know you will blame yourself.
Don’t.
Mary Lou did not leave because she stopped loving you.
She left because I asked her to disappear.
There are people who want what I discovered.
If they cannot find me, they will look for her.
And if they find her, they will eventually find you.”
I covered my mouth.
The letter continued.
“I made one terrible mistake.
I trusted the wrong person.
The person closest to our family knows where the evidence is.”
I stopped reading.
“What person?”
Mary Lou looked frightened.
“I don’t know.”
I continued.
“When the time comes, look at the photograph of our wedding.
Look at the man standing behind my right shoulder.”
My hands began trembling.
I looked up.
“My wedding photograph?”
Mary Lou nodded.
“It’s in the box.”
She pulled out an old photograph.
I looked at it.
My husband and I were standing in the center.
Behind us were family members and friends.
I studied the faces.
Then I saw him.
The man standing behind my husband’s shoulder.
My father’s old business partner.
The same man from Mary’s photograph.
I whispered:
“He knew.”
Kang Jun nodded.
“He’s the reason your husband died.”
My entire body went cold.
PART 9 — THE PERSON AT THE DOOR
Before I could say another word, the doorbell rang.
Everyone froze.
Kang Jun immediately moved toward the hallway.
“Who is it?”
Nobody answered.
The bell rang again.
Then came a knock.
Three slow knocks.
Mary Lou grabbed my arm.
“Mom, don’t move.”
Kang Jun checked the security camera.
His face changed.
“What?”
I whispered.
He looked at me.
“It’s him.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
He didn’t answer.
Then my daughter whispered:
“The man in the photograph.”
I stared at the front door.
The man who had supposedly been a respected family friend for decades was standing outside.
And he wasn’t alone.
There were two black cars parked along the street.
Four men stood beside them.
Kang Jun locked the door.
Mary Lou grabbed my hand.
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“You need to know something.”
“What?”
She looked toward the money upstairs.
“Those boxes aren’t the most important thing in this house.”
I stared at her.
“Then what is?”
She pointed toward the wall behind me.
“There’s a safe.”
I looked at the wall.
“Where?”
“Behind the painting.”
Kang Jun pulled the painting aside.
A steel door appeared.
Mary Lou entered a code.
The safe opened.
Inside was a single black folder.
She handed it to me.
“This is what they’ve been searching for for twelve years.”
I opened it.
Inside was a list of names.
Bank accounts.
Dates.
Payments.
And at the bottom of the final page was one name I never expected to see.
Kang Jun.
I looked at him.
He closed his eyes.
And outside, someone began pounding on the door.
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