Chapter 5 - THE MAN UNDER THE RED UMBRELLA
The brass button came from an expensive custom coat.
Detective Ramirez traced the maker’s mark to a private tailor in Manhattan.
Only six coats with that exact design had been made during the year Evelyn died.
One belonged to Julian Vale.
Another belonged to Grant’s older half brother, Nathaniel Whitmore.
Grant had not spoken to Nathaniel in nearly three years.
Their relationship had collapsed after Grant inherited controlling interest in Whitmore Global.
Nathaniel had challenged their father’s will and lost.
Grant stared at the list of coat owners.
“Nathaniel was in London when Evelyn died.”
“That’s what his passport records show,” Detective Cole said.
“Do you trust those records?”
Grant did not answer.
Harris remained in custody.
During questioning, he denied helping Renata murder Evelyn.
He admitted deleting some security footage but claimed Renata had threatened his family.
His son, Owen, had suffered from a rare heart condition.
Renata secretly paid for an experimental surgery that saved his life.
In return, Harris removed footage from the estate server on the night of Evelyn’s death.
He insisted he had never seen the murder.
All he had seen was Renata walking toward the boathouse with Julian.
When Harris checked the dock later, Evelyn was already dead.
He had found blood inside the hidden room and cleaned part of it before realizing it belonged to Evelyn.
His confession made him an accomplice to obstruction.
It did not tell us who had pushed her into the water.
Grant called Nathaniel repeatedly.
No one answered.
By evening, a black sedan appeared beyond the estate gates.
It remained parked across the road for almost an hour.
When Grant’s guards approached, the driver sped away.
That night, Lily refused to sleep alone.
I made a bed beside hers and left the hallway light on.
At two in the morning, I woke to the sound of a music box.
The melody came from Evelyn’s old dressing room.
Lily was no longer in her bed.
I followed the music down the dark hallway.
The dressing room door stood open.
Lily sat on the floor in front of an antique jewelry cabinet.
She was turning a tiny golden handle attached to a ballerina music box.
“Lily?”
She placed a finger against her lips.
“Mommy said the walls had ears.”
She removed the wooden ballerina from the center of the box.
Beneath it was a small digital recorder.
My hands trembled as I pressed the power button.
Static filled the room.
Then Evelyn’s voice emerged from the speaker.
“If you’re hearing this, I was right to be afraid.”
Lily began crying silently.
Grant appeared in the doorway behind us.
He heard his dead wife’s voice and stopped breathing.
“I discovered that Renata Vale and someone inside Grant’s family have been stealing from the Whitmore Foundation.”
The recording crackled.
“They know I found the accounts.”
A faint sound came from the background.
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“If anything happens to me, protect Lily.”
The recorder paused.
Then Evelyn said the name none of us expected.
“Nathaniel is not the man in charge.”
A door slammed somewhere on the recording.
Evelyn gasped.
May you like
The final words were almost too quiet to hear.
“The person controlling them is Grant.”
