Chapter 10 - The Dead Man's Study
Jason did not speak for a full minute after Mia told him about their father's call.
They stood in David Hawthorne's old study, a room Vanessa had kept locked since his death.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jason asked.
Mia's eyes filled with anger. "Because you were in London. Because Mom said Dad was confused. Because I was twenty-four and terrified. Pick one."
Jason looked away.
Rachel stepped between them before grief turned into another family war.
"What did David find?"
Mia pointed at the shelves. "Maybe it's still here."
Vanessa had removed personal papers after David died, but she had never cared about his books. David had collected biographies, military histories, and old detective novels.
Rachel ran her fingers along a shelf.
"He liked hiding things?"
Jason gave a sad smile. "Christmas gifts. Spare keys. Cash. He thought secret compartments were funny."
Mia pulled out a thick copy of The Count of Monte Cristo.
A small brass key fell to the carpet.
They stared at it.
"Dad," Jason whispered.
The key opened a narrow drawer behind the desk panel.
Inside was a leather notebook.
Jason sat down as though his legs had stopped working.
The first pages were ordinary: meetings, dates, complaints about board members.
Then the handwriting changed.
Vanessa moved foundation money again.
Grant says the accounts can be corrected before audit.
Later:
She wants me declared incompetent. She says I'm tired and paranoid. I know what she is doing.
Rachel looked at Jason.
He kept reading.
Final entry, three days before David's death:
If anything happens to me, Grant knows where the records are. Vanessa thinks the company belongs to her. She would burn the family down before giving up control.
Mia covered her mouth.
Jason turned the page.
Nothing.
Then Rachel noticed an indentation on the paper.
"There was another page."
It had been torn out.
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Jason closed the notebook.
The study door opened.
Vanessa stood there.
No lawyer. No police. No smile.
Just Vanessa.
May you like
Her eyes dropped to the notebook.
"You should have left your father's ghosts buried."
