“He was going to expose us!” Harold shouted. “He had the ledgers. He had recordings. He was gathering farmers.”
Judge Reeves stepped toward him.
“Stop talking.”
Harold pointed at the retired judge.
“You signed the orders! You approved the foreclosures!”
“And you created the false accounts.”
Victor raised both hands.
“This conversation is over.”
“No,” I said. “It is finally beginning.”
He turned toward me.
“Where is the ledger?”
“Safe.”
“Give it to me.”
“Tell me what happened to Daniel.”
Clara gripped my arm.
We had agreed not to ask that directly.
But I could not leave without knowing.
Victor’s expression became unreadable.
“Your husband became ill.”
“Did you cause it?”
“No.”
“Did Harold?”
“No.”
“Did Judge Reeves?”
The retired judge scoffed.
“Do not be absurd.”
I looked at Victor.
“Then why did you fear Daniel?”
“Because he was stubborn.”
“That is not an answer.”
“He had enough documents to expose the land scheme.”
“And?”
“And nothing.”
Harold began laughing.
The sound was thin and unstable.
Victor turned sharply.
“What is funny?”
“You still think she doesn’t know.”
“Know what?”
Harold looked at me.
“Daniel made a deal.”
The room seemed to freeze.
“What deal?” I asked.
Victor stepped toward Harold.
“Do not.”
But Harold was beyond caution.
“Daniel agreed to surrender the original evidence.”
“He didn’t,” Clara said. “We found it.”
“He surrendered what he claimed was the original evidence,” Harold corrected. “In exchange, Victor agreed to leave the Carter farm alone.”
I looked at Victor.
“Is that true?”
He said nothing.
Harold continued.
“Daniel knew he was ill. He knew he did not have time for a long legal fight. He protected you.”
The anger inside me twisted into something else.
Daniel had not abandoned the investigation.
He had traded his chance at justice to protect our home.
“But Victor didn’t keep the agreement,” Clara said.
“I kept it while Daniel lived,” Victor replied.
“And after?”
“After Daniel d/i/ed, the agreement d/i/ed with him.”
The coldness of his answer silenced everyone.
Even Harold looked disgusted.
I stepped toward Victor.
“You came to me while I was grieving.”
“Yes.”
“You pretended to help me.”
“Yes.”
“You stole from me.”
“Yes.”
“You recruited my son.”
Victor tilted his head.
“Your son did not require much recruiting.”
My throat tightened, but I refused to look away.
“And you instructed him to make my refusal look like an accident.”
Judge Reeves swore.
Harold stared at Victor.
“What did you do?”
Victor’s calm finally shattered.
“He was supposed to frighten her! Marcus created that message because he was panicking.”
“You wrote it,” I said.
“You cannot prove that.”
“You just admitted it.”
He froze.
The hidden cameras continued recording.
Judge Reeves suddenly understood.
He looked around the office.
“She’s wired.”
Victor seized the front of my coat.
Clara shouted.
Before he could pull me farther, the office lights blazed on.
“P/O/LICE! RELEASE HER!”
The plant erupted with movement.
