Chapter 13 - THE MAN INSIDE THE HOUSE
For the first time in decades, Baldric was afraid to walk through his own home.
It wasn't the kind of fear that came from a gun, a threat, or an enemy standing in front of him.
It was worse.
It was the realization that someone had been inside his life for years without ever needing permission.
Someone had watched his children grow up.
Someone had attended his wife's funeral.
Someone had sat across from him at the dinner table while knowing exactly how she died.
And now that person knew Baldric had finally discovered the truth.
He stood alone in the dark study, staring at the photograph that had just arrived on his phone.
It showed him standing at his desk.
The photograph had been taken only seconds earlier.
There was no one visible behind him.
No reflection in the window.
No shadow in the doorway.
Yet someone had been close enough to take the picture.
Baldric slowly turned toward the hallway.
Nothing.
He stepped forward.
The mansion was silent.
Too silent.
For years, this house had been his sanctuary.
Tonight, every hallway felt like a corridor inside a prison.
He walked toward the kitchen.
Then stopped.
A faint sound came from upstairs.
A door closing.
Baldric immediately reached for his phone.
Before he could call the police, another message appeared.
CHECK YOUR WIFE'S OLD STUDY.
He stared at the screen.
His wife's study had been locked for twenty-six years.
He had never allowed anyone inside.
Not even himself.
But now he walked toward it.
The door was still locked.
He pulled out the old key.
The lock clicked.
Dust covered the desk.
Nothing seemed disturbed.
Then Baldric noticed something strange.
A single lamp was turned on.
He hadn't turned it on.
He slowly approached the desk.
On top was an old leather notebook.
His wife's handwriting was visible on the first page.
Baldric opened it.
The first pages contained ordinary notes.
Family expenses.
Appointments.
Business meetings.
Then, halfway through the book, the handwriting changed.
The words became rushed.
Uneven.
Almost frightened.
Baldric read the first sentence.
I know who is helping them.
His heart began pounding.
He turned the page.
It isn't Elias.
Another page.
Elias came back because I asked him to.
Baldric froze.
The entire story he had believed was beginning to collapse.
Then he reached the final page.
Only one sentence remained.
The person you trust most is the person who has access to everything.
Baldric stared at those words.
And suddenly, a terrible possibility entered his mind.
He wasn't searching for a stranger.
He was searching for someone standing beside him.
Someone who had been helping him look for the traitor.
Someone who knew every step of the investigation.
Someone who had access to every document.
Every account.
Every private conversation.
Every room in the mansion.
Baldric slowly turned around.
Charles Whitmore was standing in the doorway.
The old financial adviser looked completely calm.
Too calm.
Baldric stared at him.
Charles stared back.
Neither man spoke.
May you like
Then Charles quietly said:
“You finally found it.”
