Chapter 5: The Brother Who Never Came to the Funeral
Richard stared at the photograph until the edges bent beneath his fingers.
Edward.
His younger brother had not attended Eleanor's funeral.
At the time, Richard had accepted the explanation that Edward was traveling overseas on business. They had not been close for years, but Richard had still expected a call.
It never came.
Now, four years later, Edward's face had appeared in a photograph connected to a suspected financial fraud and the mysterious circumstances surrounding Eleanor's death.
Richard looked at Margaret.
“When was this taken?””
“November 19. The same night the cameras were disabled.””
“And you knew?””
“I suspected Edward was involved. I didn't know what he had done.””
Richard shook his head.
“My brother wouldn't hurt Eleanor.””
Margaret said nothing.
That silence hurt more than an accusation.
James stood beside the desk, studying the photograph.
“Why would Uncle Edward be involved with Victoria?””
Richard had no answer.
Edward had always been the reckless one. He spent money faster than he earned it, invested in businesses that collapsed, and relied on Richard to rescue him whenever his decisions caught up with him.
Richard had paid off his debts twice.
He had even given Edward a senior position at Whitmore Financial Group, believing that family deserved another chance.
Then, three years before Eleanor died, Edward had been dismissed after a dispute over company funds.
Richard had assumed the matter ended there.
Apparently, it hadn't.
“Where did you get this photograph?”” Richard asked.
Margaret placed her handbag on the bed.
“Eleanor hired a private investigator after she discovered discrepancies in the medication records. The investigator followed Victoria to Northbridge and photographed her meeting Peter Voss. Edward arrived twenty minutes later.””
“Who was the investigator?””
“His name was Samuel Reed.””
Richard recognized the name.
Samuel had been a respected former detective who specialized in financial crimes. Richard had hired him once to investigate an employee suspected of stealing company documents.
“Is he still working?””
Margaret nodded.
“He contacted me two days ago.””
Richard's eyes narrowed.
“Why?””
“Because someone offered him a large sum of money to destroy his old files.””
“Who?””
“He wouldn't tell me over the phone. He asked to meet me tomorrow morning.””
Richard looked down at the photograph.
“Then we're meeting him tonight.””
Margaret shook her head.
“He won't agree. He's frightened.””
“Everyone seems frightened,” Richard said.
“I'm beginning to wonder why I am the only person who didn't know what was happening in my own house.””
James looked at him.
“You weren't the only one who didn't know, Dad. You were just the only one who refused to believe it.””
Richard absorbed the words.
He could have defended himself. He could have explained the pressures of running a company, the years spent traveling, the grief that had left him unable to look directly at the woman he had lost.
But none of those explanations would change what James had experienced.
“You're right,” he said quietly.
James looked surprised.
Richard reached for his son's shoulder, then stopped before touching him.
“I'm sorry I didn't listen.””
James stared at him for a moment.
Then he nodded once.
It wasn't forgiveness.
But it was something.
A sharp knock sounded at the door.
Daniel Brooks entered, holding a tablet.
“Mr. Whitmore, I need you to see this.””
Richard took the device.
The screen showed a security log from the previous night. A user had accessed the estate's camera system at 11:06 p.m. The authorization had come from a device registered to Richard's private office.
But the device had not been in the office.
It had connected remotely from an address outside the estate.
Richard read the location.
His face tightened.
“That's Edward's house.””
Daniel nodded.
“We traced the connection through a private network, but the originating address matches his property.””
Richard looked at Margaret.
“Did Eleanor know Edward was involved?””
Margaret reached for the blue folder and pulled out a document they had not examined.
It was a letter addressed to Richard.
The envelope had never been sealed.
Richard opened it.
My darling Richard,
If you are reading this, I have either found the courage to tell you everything, or I have run out of time.
He stopped.
His throat tightened.
He forced himself to continue.
I know you love your brother. I know you have spent your life trying to protect him from the consequences of his choices. But there is a difference between helping someone and allowing them to destroy the people who love you.
Richard closed his eyes.
Eleanor had known.
She had known about Edward's debts, the forged signatures, and the missing money. She had known that Victoria was meeting Peter Voss.
And she had tried to warn him.
Edward came to see me last week, the letter continued. He told me that the company was in danger and that he needed your help. I offered to speak to you, but he begged me not to. He said you would never forgive him if you discovered what he had done.
I promised to keep his secret for one night. That was my mistake.
Richard lowered the letter.
“What did Edward do?””
Margaret's voice was barely audible.
“He used a confidential account to cover his debts. Then he moved the money through Northbridge. When Eleanor discovered the transfers, he asked Victoria to persuade her to remain silent.””
“Persuade her how?””
Margaret looked at James.
“By threatening to expose private medical information and claim Eleanor was no longer capable of making decisions.””
Richard's hands curled into fists.
“And the medication?””
“I don't know exactly what was changed. Eleanor believed someone had interfered with her prescriptions, but I never saw proof of who did it.””
“Did you tell the police?””
“I tried. Victoria had already persuaded the household staff that Eleanor was confused. When I went to the authorities, I had no documents they would accept, and the investigator refused to testify without protection.””
Richard stared at her.
“So you left.””
“I left because Victoria told me she would make sure James lost both parents if I stayed.””
James looked away.
Richard felt the weight of every missed opportunity settle on his shoulders.
He had spent four years believing Eleanor's death was a tragedy he could never understand.
Now he was beginning to see the shape of a conspiracy that had unfolded in front of him while he was too devastated to question the people closest to him.
His phone rang.
Edward's name appeared on the screen.
Nobody moved.
Richard answered and placed the call on speaker.
“Richard,” Edward said, his voice smooth and familiar.
“I've been trying to reach you all afternoon. I heard about the reception. Is everything all right?””
Richard looked at the photograph of Edward standing beside Victoria and Peter Voss.
“No,” he said.
“Everything is not all right.””
A pause.
“What happened?””
“Where were you last night?””
Another pause.
“At home. Why?””
“Your security credentials were used to access my estate's cameras.””
Edward laughed softly.
“That sounds like a problem for your security team.””
“Were you at Northbridge Medical Consulting four years ago?””
The silence that followed was longer.
Then Edward sighed.
“Richard, I don't know what you've been told, but you need to be careful. People are going to use your grief to manipulate you.””
Richard felt a cold smile touch his mouth.
“That's interesting. Victoria said almost exactly the same thing.””
“Victoria?””
“She's here with me. So is James. And we have a photograph of you with Peter Voss.””
Edward stopped breathing audibly.
When he spoke again, his voice had changed.
“Listen to me carefully. You need to put those papers away and send the boy upstairs. You don't understand what Eleanor was involved in.””
Richard gripped the phone.
“What was she involved in?””
Edward hesitated.
Then he said, “Ask Victoria what happened on November 19.””
Richard looked at Margaret.
She had gone completely still.
“What happened on November 19?”” Richard demanded.
Edward's voice dropped to a whisper.
“The night Eleanor died, she wasn't supposed to be alone.””
The call ended.
For several seconds, the only sound in the room was the quiet hum of the heating system.
James stared at his father.
“Dad?””
Richard lowered the phone.
His brother had just confirmed that he knew something about Eleanor's final night.
Something he had hidden for four years.
Then Daniel's tablet chimed.
A new security alert appeared on the screen.
Someone had just entered the estate through the rear gate.
The system identified the visitor using facial recognition.
Richard leaned closer.
The name appeared beneath the photograph.
May you like
*Peter Voss.*
And he was carrying a black medical case.
